Parents should know what messages their kids are getting and sending online and by text. Stay up-to-date with the latest text slang, acronyms and emoticons.
In this computer age, so many teens are texting on a daily (if not every minute) basis as well as communicating on social platforms like FaceBook, MySpace, and Twitter. It’s important for parents to keep an eye on what their child is texting out there and what’s being sent to your kids, to ensure they aren’t being cyberbullied or that their safety could be at risk. But there are so many slang terms and acronyms it can be hard to understand even a one-word text. Here are some links and a brief description to help you get the knowledge you need to understand what your child is texting.
Spy Phone Mobile Tracker
Spy Phone mobile tracker will help you keep track of all incoming and outgoing phone numbers of text messages. This tracking information will include phone number called or phone number of party calling. You can track what your kids are messaging as It will also keep track of the date and time of the text messages and their content.
Internet Slang Dictionary and Translator
Internet Slang Dictionary and Translator is a great site. It offers a translator where you can type in the unknown word and have it translated. There is also a dictionary listing of terms that you can browse through to get yourself up on the latest lingo. The website also offers Top 25 for Parents, with important terms you should know like PRON meaning porn and CD9 meaning parents are around.
Safe Internet Surfing
Another site to check out is Safe Internet Surfing, where a long list of acronyms is provided. Also available is a Glossary of Emoticons. You can check out the sidebar for useful information such as tips for how to surf the net safely, internet safety statistics, and reporting internet sites and activities. Near the bottom of the page, it offers a sample parent-child contract for using the Internet and a list of warning signs for dangerous activities kids could be involved in online.
Teen Chat Decoder
At Teen Chat Decoder, you can type in the slang term and it will give you a translation on the spot. This site also offers teen chat decoder software for your desktop that you can download for free. It also provides information on parental controls, online safety tips, and a list of recent news stories regarding teens, texting, and the Internet.
Transl8it
The Trans8it is a great site that lets you put in your word to be translated and it also will do the reverse translation. So if parents want to send a hip message back to their kids, they can put in their proper English sentence and have it abbreviated to text slang. This site is set up so you can use the translation tool and then send out your messages straight out from the site, but it does require you to register first.
Lingo2Word
Lingo2Word is another amazing site that allows you to translate English to texting lingo and vice versa, it also offers a dictionary for learning new terms. This site only allows a limited number of translations, once you reached their maximum you either have to pay or wait a week to try again. There are pop-ups and advertisements on this site, if you don’t want to see them, the site says you can pay a service to block them. This site is geared more to attract teens than parents, but it’s useful for its slang content.
Kids are typing, tapping, and texting away these days and they have created all sorts of shorthand ranging from acronyms to emoticons. Parents should do their best to keep up on texting slang so they can decipher what messages their kids are sending and getting. It helps parents with knowing what’s going on in their children’s lives and it better ensures their health and well being as well.
