Parent Talk: Hot posts on our daily blog

FACEBOOK SAFEGUARDS

I've made my share of parental missteps, but one thing I did right was this: When my son asked to create a Facebook page in eighth grade, I required him to friend me and his dad. I assured him we'd be "silent" friends, and that once he garnered the hundreds of followers all the kids have, we'd blend into the crowd and no one would even realize we were there.

This has worked out great -- while I haven't commented on his posts electronically, I have from time to time walked over to his room to tell him why I think something he posted is inappropriate or might hurt someone's feelings. This was a great learning experience for him. I haven't had to discuss a post with him in a long time -- he's now 15. His dad was good at noticing what time our son was online -- sometimes in the middle of the night, when he should have been sleeping -- and calling him on it.

I feel bad for parents who didn't make this a condition from the start. They have to resort to snooping. And apparently many have no problem doing so: According to a survey by AVG Technologies, 60 percent of U.S. parents of teenagers are comfortable spying on their kids' Facebook accounts without their knowledge.

I don't blame them -- I side with them in believing a parent's obligation to know what might be going on in a child's world trumps the child's right to privacy online.

-- BETH WHITEHOUSE

'E-I-E-I-O' IN YAPHANK

We recently took my 14-month-old daughter, Maggie, to the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center in Yaphank. She is quite fond of the song "Old McDonald Had a Farm." She encourages us to sing it over and over while she fills in the "e-i-e-i-o" and animal sounds.

We saw everything from cows and calves to sheep, lambs, goats and piglets. Of course Maggie wanted to run rampant, but I had to keep her close by.

Her reaction to the animals was a mix of surprise and apprehension. I think she was taking it all in -- the sight of having a real animal from "Old McDonald's" farm right in front of her, to the smells and not-so-everyday things she was seeing.

-- JENNIFER BERGER

WORKOUT PARTNER

It's difficult enough finding time to exercise. Child care responsibilities make it even more so. Add in a son complaining that his working mother has been working a little too much lately, and suddenly that hour a day that she's set aside for herself to be healthy and fit seems almost heartless.

OK, that Mom was me. Then I got an idea.

I asked my son, 8, if he would hang out with me while I rode the stationary bike, did sit-ups and lifted weights. He didn't seem too keen until I told him, "We can watch a DVD -- your choice!"

His eyes lit up.

He slid his best-of Three Stooges disc into the machine, and he decided to walk on the treadmill alongside me. I could tell how happy he was by the number of times he smiled and how he sneaked in a peck on the arm.

-- VALERIE KELLOGG