Here is a little help for you to translate some of the Internet chat lingo your kids may be using.
Here is a list of some of the more popular Emoticons used in Internet Chat and Email.

:-| Ambivalent
o:-) Angelic
>:-( Angry
|-I Asleep
(::()::) Bandaide
:-{} Blowing a Kiss
\-o Bored
:-c Bummed Out
|C| Can of Coke
|P| Can of Pepsi
:( ) Can't Stop Talking
:*) Clowning
:' Crying
:'-) Crying with Joy
:'-( Crying Sadly
:-9 Delicious, Yummy
:-> Devilish
;-> Devilish Wink
:P Disgusted (sticking out tongue)
:*) Drunk
:-6 Exhausted, Wiped Out
:( Frown
\~/ Full Glass
\_/ Glass (drink)
^5 High Five
(((((name)))) Hug (cyber hug)
(( )):** Hugs and Kisses
:-I Indifferent
:-)*(-: Kiss
:-# Lips are Sealed
:~/ Mixed Up
:-O Mouth Open (Surprised)
(_) Mug (coffee, beer)
@[_]~~ Mug of HOT Coffee or Tea
**** Popcorn
&&&& Pretzels
@--)--)(-- Rose
---/--@ Rose
:-@ Screaming
:O Shocked
:) Smile
^ Thumbs Up
:-& Tongue Tied
:-\ Undecided
;) Wink
|-O Yawning

The Smiley Emoticon :-) turned 25-years-old in September of 2007. The first time it was used to convey a smile was at 11:44 a.m. on September 19, 1982.

Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says, he was the first to use three keystrokes -- a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis -- as a horizontal "smiley face" in a computer message.

Fahlman posted the emoticon in a message to an online electronic bulletin board during a discussion about the limits of online humor and how to denote comments meant to be taken lightly.

Happy Birthday Smiley!

:-)