Parents: Do you know what KPC means?

WASHINGTON - The world of texting has brought about a whole new lingo that your children are using to communicate.

You may see them text KPC (Keep Parents Clueless) or PAW (Parents Are Watching) or PIR (Parent In Room).

"I personally am not very worried about these terms," says Internet safety advocate Larry Magid. "I don't think there's some evil plot to exclude parents. If a kid is trying to hide something from their parent, they're going to find a way."

Netlingo is out with the Top 50 Internet Acronyms Parents Need to Know.

"These types of codes have been around for along time, from the early days of chat and instant messaging. But if you think about it, codes have been around forever. Just about every profession has its own vocabulary, which only people in that world understand," Magid says.

"Young people are going to keep coming up with new ways to communicate, and old people are going to have a hard time understanding."

Of course, you remember the days of trying to pull one over on your mom and dad. So, it's probably worth your time to know that '8' means oral sex, IWSN means 'I Want Sex Now' and NIFOC means 'Nude in Front Of The Computer.'

Of course, not all kids are turning texting into sexting.

Magid says talking with your child about what he's doing and thinking is more important than trying to decipher the codes. He says there's a line between a young person wanting privacy and trying to hide something.

"Don't assume that just because your kid is trying to use some sort of shortcut on a cell phone or instant messaging, that they're necessarily trying to deceive anybody. They may be using these codes just to save keystrokes, or they just may be looking for some privacy."

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