Parents on MySpace

I'm not talking about parents spying on kids' MySpaces – but about *parenting* groups on MySpace. I decided to look into it when Maggie in Vancouver posted in our NetFamilyForum(.org) about her own MySpace profile and her group's page, MySpaceMoms2006. Unfortunately, the link she posted didn't work, but clicking around MySpace Groups, I found dozens of geographically based parent solidarity and networking groups for moms (not so many for dads) in the East Bay, Tampa Bay, Tulsa, Vancouver, mid-Michigan, southern Maryland, New York City, Phoenix, and so on (there were also groups for single, teen, and stay-at-home moms, a group for "the alterna-parent crowd - Punk, Goth, DeathRock, Metal, etc.," and a "Daughters Against Moms on MySpace" group). This week Vancouver-based The Columbian led with the story of how one mom of a toddler was helped with a scary poison-control issue by another mom she met in MySpace. "The two Vancouver mothers are part of a growing group of parents who are raising children away from family or supportive friends. For this generation, that grew up with Internet access, cell phones and e-mail, meeting friends and getting advice online is not only easy, it's the norm."