I would consider myself to be bilingual. I speak English and French, and can throw in a Japanese phrase or two here and there (mostly "my name is Cheryl" and "How are you?") But there's a new language I'm finding myself having to learn: the language of text acronyms. Communicating with youth often means texting, and texting requires understanding what seemingly random letters strung together mean.
Walt Mueller at the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding has compiled a short list of some commonly used text acronyms among youth. While some of them are shocking (and I'm not saying I've come accross every single one as I interact with youth), it is important to be informed about the codes kids can use to communicate things to their friends without parents or other adults understanding what they're saying to their friends.
Here are a few from his list:
FML - F--k my life
9 - Parent is watching
143 - I love you
182 - I hate you
AITR - Adult in the room
LMIRL - Let's meet in real life
MOS - Mom over shoulder
NALOPKT - Not a lot of people know that
To see the whole list, click here. I have to warn you, some of the terms are shocking and explicit, but I feel it's important to keep you informed and to let you know that these are considered commonly used among youth. Be informed about what your kids could encounter as they text there friends. It's a different world out there!