Twitter is a great tool for practicing Self-Awareness, Reading, and Writing. Try some of the ideas below or submit your own in the comment field at the bottom of the page. 

Self-Awareness Activity

Have your child create a username that reflects his personality, and then continue setting up his account keeping in mind how others will perceive his Twitter. He should upload any relevant photos of himself or of family and friends, pets, vacations, anything that you both agree is appropriate and a good representation of who your child is. He can also customize the appearance of his personal Twitter page with a unique background.

After the initial set-up and design of his Twitter account, your child should begin adding family and friends by searching for them by name. He can also search for his favorite celebrities by name, and see what they're up to!

Self-Control Activity

While you should encourage your child to interact with his peers, be sure he subscribes to local newspapers and even National Geographic. All too often Twitter users have very small worlds, in which they post self-indulging pictures and comments. Sometimes allowing your child to express himself is important, assuming he does not get careless. Be sure your child keeps personal information out of his twitter posts. Encourage him to retweet things he finds interesting. A balanced approach when using social media, will result in mindful usage. When your child is visibly upset, ask him how he is feeling. If the emotions continue to build, without any medium for expression, they will ultimately end up on Twitter. You child must be able to distinguish between content that is suitable for the public and content that is not. He must maintain solid discretion, and fight the urge to divulge too much information.

Reading Activity

Following other Twitter users means reading and responding to tweets. The more people that your child follows, the more tweets he has to read. He can also send and receive longer messages from friends and family that can further help him practice. Encourage your child to follow many different people, and parents can also create their own account where they can send messages and add to the amount of reading practice that their child is getting from Twitter.

Writing Activity

Your child will be encouraged to practice writing when he goes to write his first tweet. Tweets should be short and to the point, so that others will read them. Encourage your child to think about what he wants to tweet, whether he just saw a great movie or wants to make a comment about a recent sports game. He should brainstorm a complete sentence or two that sums up his main points. Maybe he wants to ask for homework help, fashion advice, or music suggestions, all of these types of questions with encourage others to respond to his tweet, increasing the amount of communication.

Twitter is just one of many places to socialize with friends and family on the web. Try some of the alternatives below and let us know which one works best for you in the comment field at the bottom of the page.

Facebook

Facebook is another popular social network, where users share status updates, photos, events, and more. Find out more at www.facebook.com.

Tumblr

Tumblr is an image-focused social network where users follow one another, and can re-blog content or post their own. Learn more in our Tumblr review.

Google+

Google+ is another option for social networking, that offers more complex privacy settings to help organize friends into specific categories. Learn more in our Google+ review.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a unique tool for saving ideas. While you can follow other users and send messages, Pinterest is more focused on maintaining visual lists of ideas or inspiration. Find out more in our Pinterest review.