What language is your child speaking online? There are thousands of internet acronyms. Some are harmless, but others may be drug slang and "code words."

LOL, POS, AFK, 420—What Does it All Mean?

LOL means Laugh Out Loud. | POS means Parent over Shoulder. | AFK means Away from the Computer. | 420 means Marijuana.

As a parent, there's a real reason to learn the language your child is speaking when they're communicating online or via cell phone text messaging. What may appear to be random letters, numbers, and gibberish are actually phrases and "code words" that teens use to get their point across quickly. Just have a quick look at the Text Messaging: Lost in Translation? video.

Begin with our list of the 20 Internet Acronyms All Parents Should Know. Then, download our Get Smart About Slang desktop widget. The widget uses the DEA Get Smart About Drugs database to help you identify drug slang terms used to describe substances.

The Internet offers a plethora of resources for parents interested in learning how to understand and speak their child's messaging language. To further your knowledge, please visit these additional resources: 

NoSlang has compiled a list of the Top 25 Internet Slang Terms all Parents Should Know.

TeenChatDecoder.com boasts a 6,000+ online acronym database that you can search for phrases you don't understand.

NetLingo offers an Internet slang dictionary that contains acronyms typically used in IM, text messages, and e-mail.