We often talk about how technology has made parenting more difficult: 10-year-olds who demand their own $300 cell phones, teens and huge text-messaging charges, sexting, Facebook and online privacy issues, cyberbullying… the list goes on and on.

What you don’t hear or read as much about is how technology has helped those of us who have to parent from a distance.

For divorced parents, non-custodial parents, parents who have to travel often for business, and parents of kids who are away at college, being able to video-chat via Skype, check a teen’s status updates on Facebook, or fire off a midnight email has helped to ease some of the pain of separation. Text messaging, in particular, seems to be the easiest way to stay in touch.

A quick survey of the college-age interns in my office confirmed that busy young adults find it easier to text than talk — a fact that the two teenage girls in my household quickly confirmed. It takes seconds. you don’t have to be chained to a computer (the horrors!), and it lets your parents know you’re OK without having to devote 30 minutes to a phone call. In the case of kids who travel between their mom’s and their dad’s houses, texting is an easy way to let the other parent know you’re safe, or to have a private chat. (Too much texting can be disruptive, however — and yes, I’m speaking from experience here – so be sure to set limits with your child, if you can’t with your ex.)

Of course, a video chat via webcam is no substitute for face time, and even a marathon texting session can’t take the place of a real conversation. But it’s a way to keep the lines of communication open — and maybe even make your work-life juggle a little less difficult.

How do you stay in touch with your kids when you can’t be there?