Should children have facebook accts?

[d_squared431 0]

I was at work yesterday and received a friend invite from my 10yr old. I was rather upset when I received emails and an invite. That night I asked him about it and he said he didn't have an acct. Today, I was talking with my sister and she asked me why I let the 10 yr old have an acct because my niece who is 12yrs old was upset he had one and she was older and couldn't. Apparently my niece got on his acct and sent me the invite and a few emails from it to get him in trouble for creating one. The 10yr old apparently asked her to edit a picture for him and gave her his gmail acct. information and that is how she found out. This is one time i am thankful for my niece telling on him.

He has been told in the past he can not have an acct because he is too young and doesn't need to be on a social networking site. I see more and more children with accts and just wonder why their parents let them or if their parents even know.

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[The_Don 0]

Good God. Are you kidding?


Fuck Facebook.............

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[oldwomanc6 38]

If you let your young child have a FB account, you might as well throw them overboard to the sharks. If you let your teenager have an account w/o your supervision, you might as well say "I don't give a shit about what my kid is up to".

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

"It Depends"

I don't have a serious issue with younger kids having an account as long as they are closely supervised while on line. It's how a lot (and I mean a whole lot) of people communicate.

Making sure privacy is maintained, checking out all the friends, watching the posts very closely, all that is very important. I know parents that have any posts made by (or to) their kid come across their (the parents) phone as an e-mail. Stalking your kid isn't a bad idea.

I do have a serious issue with him creating an account when he was told not to. I have a worse issue with the lying about it.

You aren't being overprotective at all.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Stewie 0]

Thanks for being one of the parents that actually gives a shit. I get friend requests from my cousins and nieces after their parents have pointed them in my direction (my profile is hidden from a search).

These parents know that people post all sorts of stuff on my wall that is inappropriate for children. These parents also let their children (6-10 years old) watch "Weeds". I was horrified the first time I was over there and the characters were discussing blow jobs, right in front of the kids.

In answer to your original question, I'm not a parent, never will be so I have no idea. Good luck!

"Fuck that. I'll take a good ass-pounding over a bj any day." -- pyrotech

[Meso 38]

I think it mostly comes down to knowing your child.

Social networks have a stigma to them, but fact is that if you want to keep your child from the 'dangers of the net', you need to take away their cell-phones, ban them from internet cafes and discuss whether or not every one of their friends have constant access to a PC. Remember that google is probably more dangerous than facebook.

I can assure you the things going on through cell-phones with kids seems to be far worse than whatever can happen on facebook. Remember pictures are easily shared via MMS through phones where there is no easy way to share 'dodgy' images on facebook. I think one should just give them rules, like no adding people who they haven't already met and no adults unless they're family. It's easy to monitor a profiles friends list.

My niece and nephew have facebook accounts (10 and 13) and I have them added, I just make sure that I block them from all my status updates and only make my photo uploads visible to them. And adults who have kids added should think about that too, if they're going to be making obscene statuses, they should block the status from the kids.

But again, I don't see it as any worse than the outside world. If your kid is standing in line at a take-outs place there is probably the same risk at overhearing something inappropriate.

I think it depends a lot on the child and the relationship between the parent and child and how well they know them. I know that as an extremely socially awkward and shy kid, I would have probably been able to have far more friends if I had access to a social networking platform where I could actually talk to people easier.

In the end, as I see it, it is both understandable for some parents to let their kids have them and for others not to.

[nigel99 143]

Meso I agree with most of your post. The only thing is that by allowing someone under 13 to have an account you are teaching them not to follow rules.

It is a nightmare as a parent to keep up with what kids are doing, but in some ways technology helps the parent. It is much easier to see what friends of your child do and say on facebook, than it is do find out what they get up to behind the bike shed for example.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[skymama 35]

I say no, but not because I'm afraid of the dangers of the internet, but because I think 10 year olds should be doing other things instead of sitting on the internet and checking their FB account.

Kids today are given too much too soon. Once you give in on something, then the limits start getting pushed higher and higher. I'm amazed at the items kids 10-12 are given for gifts by their parents, like fancy phones and computers. If you do that now, you're going to have to get even better things for their 16, 18, 21 birthdays!

It's ok to take a stand and be the "mean" mom. I was that mom and while it caused a lot of fussing while my kids are teens, I'm very close with them and I think they respect the standards I had for them. It also appears that my daughter is going to be even tougher on her kids, which cracks me up because she was the one I had the most trouble with adhering to the rules!

As far as FB is concerned, pick an age you feel it is appropriate and sit down with him and talk to him about it. "You can have an account when you're 12, as long as I can monitor it and as long as your grades are good. In the meantime, go outside and play a game with your friends in person."

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[DiverMike 5]

Quote

I say no, but not because I'm afraid of the dangers of the internet, but because I think 10 year olds should be doing other things instead of sitting on the internet and checking their FB account.

My kids have facebook accounts (that my wife monitors) and I have 4 kids between the ages of 10 and 13. They are also extremely active physically. I don't agree there is a cause-effect relationship with the internet and fat lazy kids. I think fat lazy kids are that way for other reasons and we blame computers or the internet.

We wouldn't let them have a facebook account without 'friending' mom or dad. All my kids refused my friend request because they thought I would embarrass them, but accepted their mom's.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[piisfish 135]

isn't there a minimum age for Facebook ?

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[DiverMike 5]

You are correct. I checked with my wife and she indicated only my 14 year old has a facebook account because the minumum age is 13. I didn't know this when I gave them permission to sign up, but my wife obviously did. The two 12 year olds have another couple of months before they will be allowed to get one.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[Remster 24]

Get them on a social network with some redeeming value:

http://www.reading-rewards.com/

Remster

[rehmwa 2]

Seems to be kind of a busybody thread - It's none of my business what "children" (in general) should have or have not

that's up to each kid's parents to make that call and no one else

It is my business only concerning my kid

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[champu 1]

Parents who have facebook accounts have kids who have facebook accounts.

[oldwomanc6 38]

Quote

Parents who have facebook accounts have kids who have facebook accounts.

Conversely, kids who have FB accounts better have parents who have FB accounts in order to monitor it.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[DiverMike 5]

Quote

Parents who have facebook accounts have kids who have facebook accounts.

+1

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[jclalor 12]

This is directed to whoever is concerned with their kids and social media.


It's the future. If you think there's a chance your 12 year daughter is going to invite a 40 year old man over to the house when your away, you already lost the battle.

Remember when every time something horrible happened to a kid and the media could not link it to "My Space" fast enough

Your kid is a million times more likely to be hit by lightning or a run-away cement truck before they are caused harm by a social media site.

[skymama 35]

Quote

I don't agree there is a cause-effect relationship with the internet and fat lazy kids. I think fat lazy kids are that way for other reasons and we blame computers or the internet.

Nowhere in my post did I mention anything about FB kids being fat and lazy. I just said kids should be doing other things instead of checking in on FB. I have an account, it's addictive! Also, at that age they're still developing social skills; face to face conversations and learning how to read other people are an important skill to have. Of course, with 6 people in your house, I'm sure they get plenty of interactions.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[DiverMike 5]

Quote

with 6 people in your house, I'm sure they get plenty of interactions.

Two of them are red heads so you don't want to really be around when they interact
I have always been a techno geek and encourage my children to be comfortable with changing technology. Some jobs they may be applying for in the future will probably place a higher value on web based communication skills than people to people skills.

To paraphrase the bible, "The geeks will inherit the earth"

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[James525 0]

My 13 year old cousin has a fb account. She has 400 other friends, and I can't believe she knows them all in real life.

She's fairly clued up for her age, and her parents are on there and can monitor her activity, but it still scares me how easy it could be for her to be exposed to the worst kind of humanity. A friend request from someone with the picture of a teenager, a few messages and then an invite to meet up... If I ever become a parent this stuff is going to give me nightmares.

My skydiving - http://unstable-exits.blogspot.com/

[masterrig 1]

Quote

Get them on a social network with some redeeming value:

http://www.reading-rewards.com/

...but that's not as much fun as FB! I had an FB acct. for awhile, just to see what it was all about and to me, there's waaay too much room for trouble.


Chuck

[NewGuy 0]

Definately a no. It is amazing how few people realize the negative aspects of social networking such as facebook - for not only children but adults. Its as if society is made up primarily of lemmings slowly marching to their demise. Sadly, very few get it and it is foolish to expose our children to this as well.

[VideoFly 0]

As a middle school principal, I deal with loads of student fights which are initiated and exacerbated by Face Book bullying, threatening and gossiping by peers. As a result, violent incidents at school and at home have skyrocketed in recent years. Oftentimes, parents of students involved in fights defend their children by using negative Face Book communication as an excuse and justification for fighting. Sometimes parents of students in trouble ask me what they can do to protect their children from violence and when I suggest possibly suspending and/or monitoring their children’s Face Book communication, they act as if my ideas are preposterous.

The decision to allow children to have Face Book accounts should be made by parents. Additionally, on-line communication can be beneficial or it can be detrimental to a child’s well being. I believe that determining factors are directly related to parental communication, monitoring, and the setting of good examples.

[shropshire 0]

Good post and in the main I agree.... but FB (and T'interweb in general), is just the latest way for kids to pick on each other (something that they've been doing since the dawn of time).


Is this the worst generation of kids ever? - Nope (probably not) the Greeks were moaning about their little darlings a couple of thousand years ago.....

Quote

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[skymama 35]

I posed the question to my 22 year old daughter. She said "no way".

Back in the day, she would have been the one sneaking around and setting up accounts.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon