What is best way to set up apple id for family?

Question

We have 4 people in same family with Apple devices- 4 ipods and iphone.  We currently all share same apple id for purchasing and sharing songs and apps.  However when we sync we get each others contacts (i use mine for my business so my kids now have all my contacts on there phone and vice versa). Now my duaghter is getting my texts that should be going to my phone on her ipod. I dont know what she did or why this is happening other than she did something to her ipod messaging in settings.  How do we create separate id's for each for everything except purchases for each family member and still use common for purchases?
Jamie

Answer 1

iCloud has nothing to do with your iTunes or App store accoutns.
All Apple services use AppleIDs as the account login credentials.  So any service or services that you set up using the same AppleID will be on a common account.
To set your kids up with their own Game Center accounts, they do not need iCloud at all.  What they need are their own, unique AppleIDs to use when logging in to Game Center.
1. Separate AppleIDs = separate Game Center Accounts.  iCloud has nothing to do with it.
2. yes, when the log in with new AppleIDs they will be starting over from scratch.  Game center accounts are tied to an AppleID, so if you change the AppleID you change the Game Center account (no way around that for any Apple Service).
3.  Again, your iTunes & App Store accounts are tied to an AppleID, nothing whatsoever to do with iCloud.  As long as you all keep using the same AppleID for the stores, then you will continue to share all purchased content as it will all have been purchased with the same account (= the same AppleID).
4.  iCloud is an email and online storeage service from Apple.  When you create an iCloud account, it is tied to the AppleID in use at the time you create the account.  So, if you wish to keep your email, and your sync'd content separate from others, then you should create an iCloud account with an AppleID that only you use. 
Same thing goes for iMessage.  If you all create iMessage accounts with the same AppleID, you will all be sharing the exact same messaging account.
You can have as many AppleIDs as you wish (or have email addresses for), and you can use a different one for every single Apple service offered, if you wished to.  In your case, it sounds like you want to all share one AppleID for the iTunes & App store, but create separate AppleID(s) for things you wish to keep private, like Game Center, iCloud and iMessage.