Once upon a time, it was Pig-Latin. These days, the Internet has created several ways for both children and adults to communicate with each other. In part one of this series, I'll give you a list of the most common acronyms or "initialisms" that your children are using daily, via the web and phone. Some of these you will be familiar with already; some may shock you.

We all know LOL (laughing out loud) or BRB (be right back). Like any form of slang, this arose out of the necessity for speed and ease of use. But some of the more unusual acronyms children from 8-18 are using give cause for concern.

I think the first one that really caught my attention was POS (parent over shoulder). That's basically a big warning sign to the chatter on the other computer, saying 'better not get into anything you wouldn't want my mom or dad to see.' This one came up frequently in some of the sexual chats covered by "To Catch A Predator" and is one of the most important initialisms you should be familiar with. It comes in many forms, including POTS and P911.

Another worrying one is pr0n, which is a (not very subtle) way to chat about pornography. And then there's BD, which to the untrained eye means nothing. But it actually stands for baby dance, another way of saying sex.

The list is also heavily populated with phrases that talk about pregnancy and birth control. In a time when teen pregnancies are both on the rise and occurring at younger and younger ages, this too is a concern.

Anyway, enough preamble. Here's the most complete list I could put together. Study it well, maybe print it out and keep it next to the family computer. This will be helpful for you, and a clear indication to you kids that you're in the know about this secretive way of talking. Next time, I'll cover the basics of symbolic text such as Leet (1337), a much more complex way of secret communication.

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AAK - Alive And Kicking

AAR - At Any Rate

AAS - Alive And Smiling

AF - Aunt Flo — menstruation/period

AFAIK - As Far As I Know

AFK - Away From the Keyboard

AFN - that's All For Now

AND - Any Day Now

AOTA - All Of The Above

AP - attachment parenting

AV Avatar - A picture often used in chat rooms and bulletin boards to give a unique identity.

b/f - Boyfriend (also shown as bf, B/F, or BF)

b4 - Before

BAK - Back At Keyboard (I'm back)

BB or BBS - Internet bulletin board

BBL - Be Back Later

BBS - Be Back Soon

BBT - basal body temperature

BC - because, or birth control, or before children

BCNU - I'll Be Seeing You.

BCPS - birth control pills

BD - baby dance (sex)

BEG - Big Evil Grin

BF - breastfeed, or boyfriend

BFN - Bye For Now

BFP - big fat positive (pregnancy test)

BIL - brother-in-law

BM - breast milk, or bowel movement

BR - Best Regards

BRB - Be Right Back

BRH - Be Right Here

BTA - But Then Again....

BTDT - been there, done that

btw - Between you and me ...

BTW - By The Way

CD - cycle day

CIO - cry it out

CP - Chat Post

CU - See You - also known as cya

CUL8R - See You Later

CUOL - See You online

CWIM - see what I mean

CYA - See Ya

D/L, DL, d/l, dl - Downloading, or Download it.

D00D, dood - Dude

DC - daycare, dear child

DD - dear daughter

DF - dear fiancé

DH - dear husband

DIKU - Do I Know You?

DIS - Did I Say

DS - dear son

DSD - dear stepdaughter

DSS - dear stepson

DW - dear wife

EG - Evil Grin

EM - e-Mail

EOT - End Of Thread (meaning end of discussion)

ez or EZ - easy

F2F - Face To Face

FAQ - Frequently Asked Question

FIL - father-in-law

FITB - Fill In The Blanks

FOCL - Falling Off Chair - Laughing

FT - full time

FTR - for the record

FUBAR - "Fouled" Up Beyond All Repair / Recognition

FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

FWIW - For What It's Worth

FYI - For Your Information

g/f - Girlfriend (also shown as gf, G/F, or GF)

GA - Go Ahead

GAL - Get A Life

gest - Gesture ... a small multimedia file played over the internet, usually expressing an emotion or comment.

GFN - Gone For Now

GGOH - Gotta Get Outta Here

GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike

GR - Gotta Run

GR&D - Grinning, Running, and Ducking.

GTG – got to go

GTR - Got To Run

GTRM - Going To Read Mail

H&K - Hugs and Kisses

HAGD - Have A Good Day

HAGO - Have A Good One

HB - Hurry Back

HPT - home pregnancy test

HTH - Hope That Helps

huggles- Hugs

IAC - In Any Case

IB - I'm Back

IC - I See

ICQ - I Seek You. A computer program used to communicate instantly over the Internet.

IDK - I Don't Know

IDN - I Don't know

IDTS - I Don't Think So

ILU or ILY - I Love You

IM - Instant Message

IMHO - In My Humble Opinion (or In My Honest Opinion)

IMO - In My Opinion

IOH - I'm Out of Here

IOW - In Other Words

IRL - In Real Life

IVF - in vitro fertilization

IYO - In Your Opinion

JAS - Just A Second

JIC - Just In Case

JJ or J/J - just joking

JK or J/K - just kidding

JMHO - just my humble opinion, or just my honest opinion

JMO - Just My Opinion

Joo, JOO & u - You

JW - Just Wondering

k, K, or kk - Okay.

Kewl - cool

KIT - Keep In Touch

KWIM - know what I mean

L&D - labor and delivery

LFFAO - Laughing My (freaking) A** Off

LMAO - Laughing My A** Off

LO - little one

LOL - Laughing Out Loud

LTNS - Long Time No See

LTS - Laughing To ones Self

LY - I Love Ya.

LYL - Love You Lots

MC or M/C - miscarriage

MIL - mother-in-law

ML - maternity leave

MM - mother's milk

MYOB - mind your own business

NIMBY - Not In My Back Yard

nm, or NM - Never Mind

NMS - not my style

NMSAA - not my style at all

nOOb, noob, newbie or newb – new user, new person

NP, np - No Problem

NT - No Thanks

O - ovulation

OBTW - Oh, By The Way.

OF - Old Fart

OIC - Oh, I See

OJ or OK - Only Joking or Only Kidding

OL - the Old Lady

OM - the Old Man

OMG - oh my gosh, or oh my god

OP - original poster

OT - Off Topic

OTOH – on the other hand

OTOMH - Off the Top of My Head ...

P911 - My parents are in the room.

PG - pregnant, or pregnancy

PITA - Pain In The A**

PLZ - Please

PMJI - Pardon Me for Jumping In

POS - Parents are looking Over my Shoulder.

POTS - Parents Over The Shoulder

PP - previous poster

PPL - People

pr0n - porn

QT - Cutie

ROFL - rolling on floor laughing

ROTF - Rolling On The Floor (laughing is implied)

ROTFLMAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off

ROTFLMFAO - Rolling On The Floor Laughing

RSN - Real Soon Now

SAHD - stay-at-home dad

SAHM - stay-at-home mom

SAHP - stay-at-home parent

SIL - sister-in-law

SN - Screen Name.

SO - Significant Other

SOTA - State Of The Art (latest technology)

SPST - Same Place, Same Time

SSDD - Same S**t, Different Day

SY - - Sincerely Yours

SYL - See You Later

TAFN - That's All For Now

TC - Take Care

TFH - Thread From Hell

TGIF - Thank Goodness It's Friday

THX - Thanks!

TIA - Thanks In Advance

TMI - Too Much Info. (information)

TNT - 'Til Next Time

TPS - That's Pretty Stupid

TS - Tough S**t

TTFN - Ta-Ta For Now

TTTT - These Things Take Time

TTYL - Talk To You Later

TY - Thank You

TYT - Take Your Time

TYVM - Thank You Very Much

US - You Suck

US or U/S - ultrasound

UW - you're Welcome

UY - Up Yours

VPPH - Virtual Places Page Host

WAH - work at home

WB – welcome back

WC - WelCome

WEG - Wicked Evil Grin

WEU - What's Eating You?

WFM - Works For Me

WHO - work out of the home

WIIFM - What's In It For Me?

WTG - Way To Go

WTGP? - Want To Go Private? (go to a private chat room)

WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?

YBS - You'll Be Sorry

YL - Young Lady

YM - Young Man

YR - Yea, Right. (sarcastic)

YVW - You're Very Welcome

YW - You're Welcome