I think it's important to have some IRL friends, but that online friends are a good stand-in too.
When I first had my son, I was living far away from any support network. I didn't have any friends or family around. My online moms' groups saved me from total insanity.
Like ColinsMum, I have a lot of close friends that I met online. Some I met online, then in person, and now we keep in touch online. Some online friends I've never met in person.
When it comes to our kids, though, I think of this more as something to be done in the teenage years. For example, a group met through an online course; or the friends they meet at a summer camp program far from home.
