The line between the real world and the virtual world continues to grow thinner and while adults can usually walk that tightrope, children are at risk from the dangers of the Internet that lurk below. While underage Facebook use, online bullying and sexting are unfortunately things that parents know to look out for, it is harder for military families to keep their kids safe when it comes to social media.

At the end of every school year, military kids are faced with separating from the friends they've cultivated over the past few years. Although it happens with some regularity, saying goodbye is never easy and parents have to figure out how they can allow their children to stay in touch with these friends.

"We've moved eleven times in seventeen years so social media has definitely been a bonus for my kids ... they still talk to friends from three moves ago. It has allowed them to ‘grow-up' together," said Army wife Nicole Leech, who is now stationed with her family in Germany.   

"I have allowed monitored underage Facebook use. Also texting, Facetime, email and plain old letter writing," said Donna Nolan, mother of two teenagers. "They both had friends who had phones by age ten or younger, so they had people to talk to. They also use them to text grandparents, but as for monitoring, I know their passwords for everything and I check their texts, emails and Facebook regularly."

However, depending where you live your kids might be faced with too many farewells even if they are not military.

"My kids have said goodbye to friends and it's tough but they use email and old fashioned letter writing. Plus, if they are friends on xBox, that's another way they can stay in touch," said Cara Mitchell, who lives just outside of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in DuPont.  

Like Mitchell, some parents are still wary about social media, even with parental controls in place, and so underage accounts are banned and other measures are taken.

"I guess I am strict - my kids have lost touch with the younger children who moved away because I refuse to let them make Facebook accounts until they are thirteen years old," explained mother of four and military spouse Amanda Huston. "I feel there is just too much freedom even when it's monitored - which I do until they are sixteen years old."

"My fourteen-year-old doesn't have a Facebook account, but the few people she's wanted to keep in touch with, I've friended them or their parents. That way Emily always has a way to stay in touch. Honestly though, with all the moving, I don't see it very likely that many of these friendships will remain long term. She's already figured that out and has learned to let go of them a little easier each time they leave," agreed Betsy Eves, another Army wife who has relocated out of the country.

"Usually we send cards for their friends' birthdays, but that even falls to the way side after awhile. What I do notice is that they still bring up their friends who've moved away in random conversations, so I will have to figure out how to do a better job at letting them keep in touch, at least for my two youngest," Huston admitted.

While there is no perfect solution to manage the long distance friendships that come with PCSing, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued some guidance for parents with regard to social media. For starters, parameters for social media use, from the time spent online to the fact that the computer should be centrally located in the home and not kept private are advised. Additionally, parents should not only know about all of the existing accounts and passwords, but also engage children and discuss their social media experiences so that there are no secrets.