FaceTime and imessage are really useful tools for communicating. My kids have iPod Touch devices but I had always thought that they needed email addresses to use FaceTime.

If you are like me, the thought of setting up an email address for your 7 year old is scary. You know there will be the usual spam that you'll have to delete etc. And you wouldn't dream of allowing them a private communications channel that you didnt monitor.

Anyway for Gmail users I've got a solution that doesn't require a real email address.

In the iPods settings for FaceTime and iMessage add an email address in the following format:
Username+uniqueid@gmail.com

Username is your regular gmail username and uniqueid can be anything like +iPod or +kidname.

Gmail has this quirk that any time the + is used it ignores it and sends it to the main email address. You will receive an email apple asking you to verify. Go ahead.

Once done you simple add your kid to the contact book with the fake email address. Then open FaceTime or iMessage and use that contact.

Simple!