A mom writes: IM impersonations

Just as I was working on this week's feature on the IM life of middle-schoolers, a reader, Betsy in Ohio, emailed me with a question about IM parental controls (which aren't - can't be - provided by the free, public IM services like AIM, ICQ, or Yahoo Messenger). When I replied, she kindly, over several email exchanges, shared her experience with an IM trick a couple of kids close to her had played on peers. Her account echoes important points school counselor Amanda makes in the feature - e.g., about being in touch with other parents and how to work with our kids on this. For Betsy's comments, click here. As you can tell, I welcome comments and often publish them for the benefit of all readers. Please email me at anne@netfamilynews.org.