<p>9 year old youngest daughter video I chats with oldest sister all the time as do DD’s dorm friends, they think she is a riot, little one sings to them, performs her made up skits she and her friend make up. It helps oldest daughter cope with missing her little sister grow up, it was one of her concerns when she was going away last year, not being a part of her life growing up.</p>
<p>D set me up on Skype, so I’m willing to try it.</p>
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<p>This is the same setup in our house. We’ve only used it once now, but D2 is heading off to London for the fall semester, so we plan on using this instead of phone calls whenever possible since it’s free. I’m looking forward to the free calls.</p>
<p>Using the phone option on Skype is a much better connection that it is via phone calls. We all have cameras, but haven’t yet used it to communicate w/ college D (although during her long-distance romance Freshman year, they’d connect w/ their cameras and sit and do homework “together”. awwwwww! (gag!)</p>
<p>It’s strange, but we’re mostly an IM/txt message family.</p>
<p>Hubby uses Skype to video chat with his dad and sister. He mentioned that he could do this with son this year at school. S’s response “Ain’t gonna happen” with a smile.
Son and I text mostly.</p>
<p>When I read the title of this thread I thought it was contemplating bringing The Truman Show to life.</p>
<p>Son & hub set up the camera on our PC & son has camera on mac. Got skype all set, but we haven’t used it yet. Initially I thought my desire to do this was a bit ‘much’ but I’m glad to see others have at least considered it! Son has private bedroom in suite, so maybe he won’t be adverse to doing it.</p>
<p>Actually, so glad this thread was started—had almost forgotten we had the skype option, in all the craziness of move-in/travel/adjustment while home.</p>
<p>I know DS was away at a ballet intensive this summer in New York and we sent her off with her laptop and webcam. It was so great to be able to see her every night and she was able to show me combinations she had learned and things she had bought, etc. We have Skype, but ended up using Windows Messenger. I can’t remember why, but I think it had something with the hardware. It worked great!</p>
<p>DS may be much more brief, but I know he will be glad to see us and his little sis.</p>
<p>< S’s response “Ain’t gonna happen” with a smile.></p>
<p>Haha, same here! We have skype and I asked my s to use it to talk with us (I’m only asking for once a week, and brief!!!) after we leave him next week for his freshman year. He responded the same as above! Guess I’ll be texting mostly (again, not likely to be more than weekly!), with the occassional voice on the phone. Boys, sigh.</p>
<p>Think back about your college years. Can you visualize a call from your parents where the “background” visual was something you might not have wanted them to see? I can, and I married the guy! I think that phone calls and text messages and email is enough. If your kid wants to set up Skype so he can see you and/or the sibs and dog, fine. If not, respect their privacy.</p>
<p>My DS would have a cow. I read about a mom who checked her son’s bank balance daily and called him to advise on whether he was spending money wisely. Gee, wonder what sort of husband he’ll make? </p>
<p>Gotta let them go. That’s part of the parenting job. I have cousins in their 50’s who can’t make a single decision without a telephone to “Mommy” who is nearing 80. </p>
<p>Sorry, this one strikes me as creepy. If the kid suggested it, that would be one thing – but parents are NOT supposed to go to college with their offspring. Actually, they do that on Family Weekend – but the rest of the time is supposed to be about NOT being supervised and succeeding.</p>
<p>My husband already bought Skype for when our daughter goes away to college next year. 
He loves those kinds of techie toys, so this just gives him an excuse. He’s tried it out at home between his and her computer. That novelty wore off fast. I don’t think he’s turned it on since. Maybe when she goes away it will be more fun…to a point! She may not agree. :)</p>
<p>I’m with Olymom. As sophomore year begins for our son, I’m amazingly serene. Those of you who are sending a kid to college for the first time (like I was last year) will learn that there’s great joy in seeing how independent they become. The terrific thing about last year was finding out how secure he is in his young adult relationship with us and how well he handles life on his own at college. We communicate just fine via e-mail, texting, and regular phone calls. Sometimes I’ll snap a goofy photo of the dog on my iPhone and send it to him. I’m happy to see him in person, but I don’t need to see him on my computer screen to have a good conversation–and I find Skype really awkward and not that satisfying. I don’t hesitate to send an e-mail or forward an interesting link–just like my own mother, who sent me newspaper clippings in college. There’s no pressure to answer, though he often does. It is hard to wonder what they’re doing all the time. But I’ve found that the fewer questions I ask, the more information he provides.</p>