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Facebook has become the new battleground for parents and teens –a place where teens are trying to gain more independence and parents are trying to keep them safe. When it comes to ‘Friending’ your parents, not all teens are ready to click the “accept” button and feel having their parents become part of their online community is similar to having their parents read their diary.

Some parents are opting to not step foot onto this virtual battleground and are choosing to not even attempt to become Facebook ‘Friends’ with their children. As a security expert, this is a move I do not endorse—in fact, I sit firmly in the camp that becoming your child’s Facebook ‘Friend’ is one of the key ways to keep them safe during their teen years.

Why? Here are 3 reasons why it is important for parents to become Facebook ‘Friends’ with their teens:

It allows you to monitor your child’s online activity and conversations in a very real and honest way. They know you are there, they invited you in—it is not as if you are sneaking into their room and looking through their drawers.

It helps deter the posting of inappropriate messages and photos. Before a teen posts a message or photo they will be thinking ‘is this something I would want my mom or dad to see?’ If the answer is no, they won’t post it—keeping them from making what could be a very big mistake. In addition, if you do see inappropriate messages or photos being posted, this is a great way to begin those somewhat hard conversations with your children.

You get valuable insight into what is happening in their offline world. Not that you need (or want) to know how many times Susie broke up with Billy, but just seeing what your child is posting and/or is having posted to their page, gives you a glimpse into what is happening IRT (In Real Time). This may explain changes in behavior and help encourage offline discussions.

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Many people dream of going on big adventures; only a few ever do it. For this article, I found 13 individuals, couples and families who had the guts to embark on epic adventures. You may envy them, or you may think they’re crazy. But I guarantee that their stories will inspire you.Karl Bushby: Walking around the worldKarl Bushby is attempting to break world records by walking around the world. He set off from South America in 1998, walked north to Alaska and walked across the frozen Bering Straits (the first man to do so) into Russia. That alone took 8 years, and Karl has been delayed in Russia with visa problems for the last two years. Ultimately, his aim is to end up in London. By that time, he expects to have been walking for 14 years, with over 36,000 miles covered. Visit his website: Goliath Expedition.Manon Ossevoort: Traveling by tractor from the Netherlands to South Africa and onto the South PoleManon Ossevoort is a theatre maker and actor from the Netherlands who is travelling from the Netherlands to South Africa by tractor. Along the way, she is collecting the dreams of people she meets (on pieces of paper). From South Africa, she will travel by boat to Antarctica, where she will continue on foot or by tractor to the South Pole. Here, she plans to build a snowman and place the pieces of paper containing people’s dreams in the belly of the snowman. She is also raising money for War Child. Visit her website here.Becky Sampson: Travelling by horse from London to Tokyo.From London to Tokyo, by horse. Becky Sampson and her piebald pony, Bertie’s Quest, are setting out on a 15,000 kilometre, four-year quest through Western and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China and Japan. Becky is aiming to raise £15,000 for SOS Children, an organization that works to provide safe places for orphan children to live and grow. Her journey is slated to begin in February 2009. Visit her website: Expedition Equus.Ted Simon: Motorcycled around the world, twiceBack in 1977, Ted Simon set off on a 4-year motorcycle journey through Africa, the Americas, New Zealand, Australia and across Asia into Europe. He covered 78,000 miles on a 500cc Trumph. 25 years later, at the age of 70, he did it all again. He’s written books about both his journeys, which you can order from his website, Jupitalia.Kinga Freespirit: Hitchhiked around the worldIn 1998, Kinga Choszcz and her husband Chopin set off with $600USD and hitchhiked around the world for five years. Their amazing journey took them through the Americas, New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Russia before culminating in Europe. She wrote a book about the experience called Led By Destiny. In 2005, Kinga again set out, this time to Africa. Sadly, she died from malaria in Ghana in 2006. Read about her earlier adventures on her GeoCities website, or her more recent ones here.Christoph Rehage: Walking from China to GermanyChristoph Rehage is walking from China to Germany, a journey that will take at least two years. After almost a year, he’s still making his way through China. He writes about his trip on his website, The Longest Way.Frank Muldowney: Pushed an empty wheelchair across AustraliaFrank Muldowney pushed a wheelchair containing his invisible friend “Harvey” from Perth to Sydney, a 4,000 mile journey undertaken to achieve world peace. Visit his website: Believing in Harvey.Tim Cope: Traveled by horse from Mongolia to HungaryTim Cope followed in the footsteps of Genghis Khan and traveled 10,000 kilometers by horse from Mongolia to Hungary. The journey took him over three years. Visit his website: Tim Cope Journeys.Colin and Julie Angus: Completed the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globeIn 2004, Colin Angus, his fiancee Julie Wafaei and someone else (the website doesn’t say who) took off from Vancouver and began a two-year cycling, skiing, canoeing, hiking and rowing trip that became the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe. They’ve done other similar adventures, which you can read about on their website: Angus Adventures.Rory Stewart: Walked across Afghanistan in 2002Rory Stewart may not have covered as much distance as some of the other people mentioned here, but consider where he was walking and when. He wrote a book about his adventure called The Places in Between, which you can order from his website: Rory Stewart BooksThe Vogels: Cycling from Alaska to ArgentinaThe Vogels are a family of four (mom, dad and ten-year old twin boys) cycling the full length of the American continent over 2 and 1/2 years. Read about their adventures on their website: Family on Bikes.The World by Road: Driving from New Zealand to New YorkOK, so they’re not driving all of that, but The World By Road expedition crew are on one very big road trip. So far, they’ve driven through Australia, Asia, Russia, Europe (including far north Scandinavia), Africa and South America. After over 50,000 miles and a year and eight months, they’re on the home stretch. Check out their website: The World By Road.Amy and Wim: Cycled from Belgium to China for their honeymoonNow isn’t that romantic? After tying the knot, Amy and Wim rode from Belgium to China, covering almost 11,000 kilometers. Read about their journey on their blog: Amy and Wim.Life is an adventure; let the journey begin!

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Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.