At what age would you let your children online without supervising?

[kiwi_fish_bunny]

Originally Posted by México

Still I don't see why you get all fired up, I would actually let my 10 year old do more things on the internet if she asked for permission. I don't really see anything wrong with a 10 year old asking her parents if she can go to a certain site.

Originally Posted by México

I'm not saying I'm not going to allow them to not use the internet but if they want to go to a new site I want to know what they are going to see especially if they are only 10 years old. If it's a good site they want to visit than they would show me because they wouldn't have anything to hide.

hey i totaly agree with these points! and it would make you feel more confident in your child as they had the sence to ask first, instead of going behind parents backs

[Vint Fall]

Originally Posted by Matthew

wait, she asks permission to go to a new site?


wow parents need to catch up with technology..

agreed, it's kinda stupid and will never happen today since children are way more clever than they used to be, they ACTUALLY...OUTSMART adults... come on. why the hell is this world going nuts?

Originally Posted by Matthew

It's not like there's a pedophile trying to get her or anything.

Originally Posted by Matthew

Because the internet is a brilliant place, and whether you like it or not it's going to essentially rule our children's lives. And if you honestly think at that point that you're going to even be ABLE to tell them whether or not they can use the internet, you're in for a surprise. I just don't like the idea that future parents are out of touch with technology.

uh huh... why aren't children involved in sport activities no more and not studying here? don't tell me that... it doesn't have to take over your life, but it CAN. there might not be pedophiles but there CAN be. you never know. i involved myself with one last december and am not going to make that mistake ever again. sad is that today's pedophiles can even be 9 years old wannabes saying they're 50. is that right? i know who those are but they seriously corrupt. youtube, the main video site on the internet, has too much pornography, i accidentally entered one not knowing what the video is. did i ever want to though? i was a 10 year old for goodness sake. right after that is rapidshare sites(kids download games from there on their own) and forums filled with advertising and nude pictures, besides that and games. it's everywhere. i still stick to my point, would never let a 12 year old on the internet alone without knowing where is he/she going.

by experience, i can tell what children think while seeing what i said above. those aren't nice thoughts.

brilliant it is, but you have to be smarter to know how to use brilliant.

Originally Posted by kiwi_fish_bunny

hey i totaly agree with these points! and it would make you feel more confident in your child as they had the sence to ask first, instead of going behind parents backs

yes, as a child. if it spreads to your teens, they don't need confirmation to get what they want around here, it lowers our trust to them, as the young ones. still, it's not the internet's responsibility, nor parents(less than half), it's ours. if kids can't use internet how it's right to use, then parents won't be able to help them either.

[Simplyme7]

I believe that since technology is a such a big deal in our world today, that kids do need to have that experience of the computer at an earlier age than our generation did.

With that said, I think that I'd Monitor them pretty heavily until they were about 8 or 9. And when they were about 8 or 9 i think that I'd make them a folder with the websites that they are allowed to go on. If they were to find another site that they wanted, they could show me or my future husband, and if we okayed it, then it would be added to their safe sites. I also would make sure to have parental controls on it to make sure to not allow them to accidentally go to any sites that they don't need to be seeing.

As they prove that they are trust worthy I would allow them to go to other sites as well. However I do not believe that I would allow them to be completely unsupervised with the internet until they were around 13.

I also am betting, that since my bf makes such a big deal that i'm 'always on the computer' we will have a time limit for the kids.

I also will not ask for my kids myspace or facebook passwords UNLESS they give me a reason to no longer trust them. Then I may have to take that precaution, but i'd rather allow them to have that privacy.

But once they are old enough to have their own computer, then I will just hope that I have raised them well enough for them to make the correct decisions.

[Thurineth]

I'd say by 15/16 no supervision, but after 11, kinda stop supervising as much... give them more trust but do ask now and then what they're doing. After all the whole Jessie Slaughter thing, I would keep some kind of eye on what they were doing.

[kiwi_fish_bunny]

Originally Posted by Star's Heart*

yes, as a child. if it spreads to your teens, they don't need confirmation to get what they want around here, it lowers our trust to them, as the young ones. still, it's not the internet's responsibility, nor parents(less than half), it's ours. if kids can't use internet how it's right to use, then parents won't be able to help them either.

well it wouldnt hurt as a parent to know what your children re doing on the net, notbeing over bearing like not reading over there shoulder all the time, but to just know they are safe cos there are some major creeeps out there

[emma01]

Originally Posted by Matthew

You mean to let them on the internet? Seriously? I mean, sure that might have worked in 1992, but in 2010 and, assuming your child was born when you were 18, 2025 LETTING THEM ON THE INTERNET? By then, you won't have the choice whether or not to let them on the internet anyway, so both arguments are actually null :|

Sorry this is a bit delayed but you replied to my comment on the first page and what in the crackers are you on about??? I mean that if there was a site that in the terms and conditions said "you agree to be 16 years or over" I would not let my 14 year old on that site....because they aren't 16 or over and as easy as it is to just lie and put in a false date, that seems to give the message that you can lie about your age. I don't see what is wrong with that, and no they wont have to wait till 2025...they have to wait until they are the right age...wtf!

[ShimmeringFaerie]

Originally Posted by Matthew

You obviously don't understand the ecosystem of the internet...

A 10 year old, presumably, is playing on miniclip and hotmail. That's about it. The ecosystem of these three websites dictates the other websites she'll discover FROM these. From those three, there are very few possibly dangerous ones. It's not like there's a pedophile trying to get her or anything.


Also, it's not a case of having something to hide. If a child wants to go on YouTube, they're going to go on it whether or not their parents 'give them permission' to 'browse the scary world of the interweb'. 10 year olds these days know more about computers than most parents anyway.

Firstly, pedophiles aren't the only bad things that are supported by the internet. Kids could stumble across pornography and other graphic content. There's also a ridiculous number of internet scams going around. And cyber-bullying is huge. You posted the thread about Sydney something-arather, right? She was getting death threats, abuse, and so on. I wouldn't want my kids exposed to that.

Secondly, younger generations might know more about technology. That doesn't mean that they know more about life. Understanding how to use a computer or how to get through to blocked sites doesn't mean that a child is mature enough to handle the internet and the content on it. 10 year olds aren't able to pick up on when something doesn't feel right or might be dangerous in the same way that adults can. If you want to let 10 years olds loose on the internet with no restrictions, you might as well let them run around town at night too.

Thirdly, a child is hardly going to be significantly disadvantaged by not having free range on the internet at age 10. The most important computer skills are being able to type and use programs like Word or Excel. You don't need the internet to do those things. Older children might need the internet for research, but they don't have to have access to every site ever in order to do that and books are better resources anyway.

[MisplacedDreamer]

Originally Posted by Matthew

A keylogger is essentially the same, you're just making exceptions because you want to use one.

The reason why I understand isn't because of the minor, it's because of the second party would have an expectation of privacy. In the US, there is a fine line when it comes to posting emails to the public because of the expectation of privacy. However, my minor would not have that expectation on the computers I provide.

The issue is also that with the kids who are growing up with computers have children, it may be interesting to see the power balance. I think my group of cohorts are really the first ones who had computers.

I'm not that concerned about porn. If I have a teenager who is around fourteen, I'd let them have a Playboy subscription as long as it didn't leave the house and he or she tossed the old issue when a new one came in. Not a big deal.

Also, the biggest issue is controlling how much time my child spends on the Internet and how much of it is "living" through social networking sites or online games. An hour a day not spent on homework but screwing around is significant.

[Megan1]

It would depend on how mature my child was.

[Speechless]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl747

My parents didn't supervise us very much at all because they knew that we usually be playing computer games, but when I was in 9th grade they installed a spy program and my mom could read EVERYTHING including my personal myspace messages and email, it pissed me off that I was the one who had their emails and private things read, they(my parents) didn't read my older brothers stuff.

Yes, I remember that my Mum somehow figured out my password - which was impossible to guess to begin with, I'm guessing they had a spy program installed - and read through all my emails, including some from my then-time crush. They were harmless, just us chatting about school, but she forbid me from talking to him ever again. As a 12-13 year old, I was pretty terrified and wondered what else she'd read.. but that was the one time. Otherwise, my parents aren't so strict with me. I guess they trust me.

I would personally monitor my children's internet usage until they were at least 14. Just to be safe. Kids are getting up to a lot on the internet these days and it's important to warn them against handing out personal information/arranging to meet up with strangers etc.