Accepting Your Teen on Facebook

Facebook has proven to be one of the most addictive and popular sites on the Internet. It seems that everyone from your grandmother to 13 year-old daughter has a profile page.

Those defining moments in a high-schooler’s life: the heartbreaks, embarrassments, friendships and relationships that can hurt so deeply can only intensify when a rude comment shows up on their Facebook wall or they are tagged in a compromising photo. Online, it’s hard to control what your child is saying or sharing with others, or what others are sharing with them.

As a parent, you may recognize that Facebook and other social networking sites are unavoidable, but you want to talk to them about using the site appropriately without sounding ‘uncool’ or confrontational. What do you say to your child if their status updates make you cringe? You don’t want to see a tagged photo of your teen at a party, watch their relationship status change to 'it's complicated' or stumble upon a suggestive profile picture in their wall photos, but you don't want them to block you from seeing it, either.