Many GO Parents are in rural communities or smaller cities, a long way from the nearest face-to-face opportunity to network with other parents of gifted children. Occasionally, we have a GO parents' chat, usually via Skype rather than the onsite chatroom. Skype is a free programme you can download that allows you to have the online equivalent of a conference call. We don't currently use video with Skype, because in areas with slower broadband the impact on sound quality is severe. 

On Friday afternoons during term-time, we have student Skype chats at 4pm. Parents often find it convenient to pop in at the end of this session with any questions they may have. GO parents are also welcome to get in touch at other times, although GO Team parents will usually address minor issues through the contact person at your school first. 

Mary St George, GO Teacher, has also set up a Facebook group on giftedness, and a facebook page on Gifted Online. Both of these include people beyond the GO community, but parents, grandparents, teachers and other adult supporters of GO children are particularly welcome to join. The group has a lot of discussions about gifted children and their needs, and a lot of links to useful resources. The GO page mostly has links at present, but is also a place where you can upload photos of gifted children's work. This is especially recommended for little ones who are too young for gifted online but want photos of creations uploaded just like an older sibling enrolled with GO. Pop over to the facebook Gifted Online page, upload a photo of junior's creation, and it will be appreciated! Your child's name is not required on Facebook - we do understand that it is a public venue. Mary can also be found online via Twitter and Google+, and would willingly support you in using these resources to network with other parents of gifted children.

There are many other online resources to support parents of gifted kids:

• The NZAGC Forum has been supporting New Zealand parents of gifted children for many years.
• SENG has just published a free e-book called The Joy and the Challenge: Parenting Gifted Children.
• Gifted Online organised the Gifted Awareness Week Blog Tour, which includes many articles written for or by parents of gifted children.
• Parents of gifted children were usually not regarded as gifted when they were at school. However, as they read up on giftedness, they quite often suddenly realise for the first time that they are gifted themselves. Here is a handy page if this sounds familiar!