Tips on social networking with your school-age kids

I am republishing an interesting blog written by Becky Emmett for Malaysian parents here. She is sharing with us ways to connect with our kids in this internet era. Some parents may disagree and still prefer the traditional way of face to face communication. Anyhow, I feel that both ways are as important and are mutually inclusive. Feel free to comment or add more ways you seem necessary :)

BTW, you can also retrieve this full blog from here. Enjoy your reading!
Kids all over the world are back in school now and spending more and more time on their PCs, mobile devices, and cell phones communicating with their friends.
If you’re a parent, you might wonder if you’ll see much of your kids between now and the next summer break. A recent study showed that 93% of teens are online daily and 34% visit the Internet multiple times each day.
Obviously there is no substitute for interacting with your kids face-to-face. I happen to believe that no piece of gadgetry or software or social networking can possibly take the place of meals together or family activities.
But to help parents stay connected with their kids in additional ways, I’ve put together some tips. Do you have other ideas? Please use the comments box below to share your thoughts.
Social networking: I see this as a chance to learn—in a different way—about your child’s life outside of the home. What movies, music, or books are they talking about? Who are their friends? If you haven’t already, you can create your own personal page and share it with your kids. You may have more in common than you thought!

1. Social networking sites also help teach kids the importance of weighing what you share publicly. Kids should think twice about posting things (or, obviously, doing things!) that would make a parent flip—or scare off a potential boss. Facebook and MySpace are among the most widely used social networking sites.
2. Texting and instant messaging: LOL, OMG, BRB. Do you know what these acronyms mean? Texting on a cell phone or instant messaging on your PC is an easy way to keep in touch real time–when your student is at the library, in the dorm room, or walking to and from class. Some of the most common text services are AIM and MSN.
3. Blogging: Set up your own blog. I think this is a great way to let your kids learn more about what you’re thinking about and interested in. You can also suggest a blog to your child. And don’t just read it: Respond. Give feedback. Dispense your friendly parental wisdom. But remember, of course, that blog comments are not always private. To create your own blog, visit www.blogger.com/start or blog.com/.
4. Micro blogging: Set up a Twitter or Plurk account to give and receive real-time updates in 120 words or less on your PC, cell phone, or mobile Internet device. This can sometimes be quicker and easier than e-mail or a phone call. Twitter, Plurk, and similar services allow instant communication. Most sites let you decide who can receive your updates so you don’t have to share them with the world. To sign up for a Twitter account, visit https://twitter.com/signup. To sign up for a Plurk account, visit www.plurk.com/Users/showRegister.
5. Home cooking: Is your child cooking for him- or herself for the first time? Give your college student a break from Top Ramen. E-mail or scan recipes, and then post them to your blog, send them via e-mail or enter them onto an online cookbook, such as My Cookbook. To sign up for a My Cookbook account, visit www.mycookbook.com/
6. Video sharing: If your kids are heading off to college, consider posting your home videos online on sites such as YouTube.com. A variety of video hosting sites are available—just search the Internet to find the site that you prefer. And of course it works both ways—your youngster can post his or her school videos for you to watch. To sign up for a YouTube account, visit www.youtube.com/signup?next=/.
7. Free calls: Skype is a great deal. It lets you keep in touch with your college student via free PC-to-PC calling. If you both have laptops with webcams, you can see your student and his or her surroundings in real time as you chat. To sign up for a Skype account, visit www.skype.com/welcomeback/.