Sixty-three percent of parents who use text messaging believe that it improves their communication with their children, according to a recent Cingular survey on text messaging and parents conducted by Mediathink. In addition, 65 percent of parents who text message say they communicate more frequently with their children when they are away from home and 64 percent said that texting made their kids easier to reach.

Cingular has teamed with clinical psychologist and parenting expert Dr. Ruth Peters to develop "TXT2CONNECT - A Parent's Text Tutorial." The tutorial provides parents with tips from Dr. Peters on how to better communicate with their kids via text messaging and to understand popular text messaging lingo.

"Wireless phones and text messaging have become a central force in the way tweens and teens connect with one another," said Dr. Ruth Peters. "Kids want to communicate -- but on their terms. Parents who are in vogue with the text messaging trend can stay in better touch with their kids and connect with them on their level and in a more meaningful way."

The survey indicated that nearly half of parents who use text messaging were taught to do so by their children. Forty-five percent of parents who text message said they are most likely to send a text message to their child on weekends when they are out with their friends. Sixty-nine percent of parents who text said they use text jargon, such as "R U Home" or "BGood" when communicating with their kids via text messaging.