1 smart mom's process

She sounds like a great parent, and her process in navigating online social-networking issues with her 13-year-old will sound familiar (and be useful) to a lot of parents. But don't stop reading Los Angeles Times reporter Catherine Saillant's account after the first page. An idea from her sister is what really got the smart-parenting wheels turning: "My-49-year-old sister, Christine, joined MySpace and told me she was having fun using it. She urged me to set up my own account so we would have a free, easy way to exchange emails and photographs. I thought … what if I allowed Taylor [her daughter] to maintain a page while keeping a close eye o nit? I'd join too, to become familiar with the site's benefits and drawbacks?" Check out the article to see what happened (hint: you will not be surprised to find it wasn't all smooth sailing, but there was some priceless collaborative learning.) For further tech-parenting input, including coordinating with the parents of our kids' friends, see advice from psychologist Ron Clavier, author of Teen Brain, Teen Mind, in the Toronto Star.