Do you really know what your teen is doing in that chat room? You might think it's harmless fun ? and it could be. However, it could also be something far more dangerous, and as a parent you need to find out before problems get started. If you're going to allow your son or daughter access to a teen chat room, follow these simple tips:

?Monitor the Internet use that your child is involved with. Don't give them access to the Internet when they're not supervised.

?Know who your child is talking to in a teen chat room. If you don't know them and your child won't introduce them, they should be blocked and have no further contact with your child.

?Make sure your son or daughter is only going to a teen chat room that's moderated by adults.

Another thing you should know about teen chat rooms is that teens often use a lot of acronyms and abbreviations so that adults don't understand what they're saying. Avoid this problem by knowing some of these common terms:

1.AITR: This abbreviation is for Adult In The Room.

2.P911: Parent Emergency ? used when it parent suddenly appears or becomes nosy. There are a lot of different ways to say this.

3.MIRL: Meet In Real Life. This is an important one and can be especially dangerous. You should know where your teen is and who he or she is meeting with at all times.

4.S2R: Send To Receive (pictures) ? this could be innocent, but sometimes pornographic pictures are sent this way, as well.

5.LMIRL: (Lets) Meet In Real Life. Just a variation on number nine.

6.CD9: Code 9 ? this is a more hidden way of saying that parents are around.

7.E or X: Ecstasy (the drug). This could be vital teen chat information and help you as a parent determine if your child has a drug problem or if he or she is being offered drugs in a teen chat room.

8.ASL(R P) : Age Sex Location (Race / Picture). Obviously a concern. Gender and race are not that important, but age, sex, and location, as well as a picture, could lead a sexual predator right to your child's doorstep.

9.TDTM: Talk Dirty To Me. Not much to say about this one. It could easily be the first sign a parent might have that their teen either is, or is about to become, sexually active.