Comments on: Kids and the wild, wild internet?

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:17:26 +0000

Oh… that’s very interesting. I would have gotten the kid a desktop, too. Laptops are a lot more expensive, and chances are that the kid’s first computer might get damaged or messed with in some way (we learn from our mistakes). Other than that, there’s no problem. I, like you, had full internet since I was really young…. nine, to be exact. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, unless people are implying we didn’t turn out well! lol

By: nichole

nichole — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:53:45 +0000

noone ever really said anything about don’t do this / dont do that etc, but i was a fairly smart child, and i was rather paranoid, and i had common sense enough to be smart. I don’t agree with logging your childrens every move though!! i think at some point, you have to let go. it just depends on the child I suppose!!
i however do think an 11 year old shouldn’t have their own laptop. but thats me!
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By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:11:26 +0000

At what age do you think it’s acceptable for a child (or teenager) to have their own computer? I haven’t really thought about this, I think it depends on the individual child and how mature they are. For instance someone of 13 may be very clued up (I was) and know not to give out personal info, another may give out their mobile number to an online friend… which at 13 I think is risky.

Also, at what age do you think it’s okay for a child to be able to go onto the internet without their mom/dad monitoring everything that they visit/do? Again I think it depends on the individual, I was the same as you… well 11/12 when I started going online unsupervised. I’d say that’s a reasonable age as I never did anything bad but I think even then it’s a good idea to check the web history to make sure they haven’t stumbled across something they shouldn’t.

Do you think it is acceptable for parents to install spyware or keyloggers onto their children’s computers in order to check everything that they’re doing and/or also have access to all their children’s accounts? I do agree with this but only up to a certain age as every body is entitled to privacy. I think maybe under the age of 13, again depending on the maturity of the child. 13 is around the age that kids, especially girls start to be very private and if they found out their parents were logging their activity you can see it being a HUGE deal to them as an invasion of privacy, etc.

I pretty much agree with you with what you said in your blog and my introduction to the internet when very much the same. I had LOADS of online friends, websites, etc. which my mum never knew about.

By: Rachy

Rachy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:44:42 +0000

My parents were pretty much the same as yours. They also warned me about posting personal information, and made sure I knew what I was doing. My whole family shared one computer, so I did have a limit on how many hours per day I could use it. I’m sure my parents checked the history occasionally to see what I was up to, but for the most part they trusted me enough to know that I wasn’t going to go searching for porn or anything. Most of my Internet time was spent on Neopets, or on forums for my favorite bands.
I’ll be honest though. Everything I learned about sex, I learned from fan fiction when I was 13. So maybe I was a little more mischievous than my parents thought. ;D

I didn’t get my own computer until I was 17, though, and in high school I shared one with my brother. I don’t think I would give an 11 year old their own computer, just because I would be paranoid they wouldn’t take care of it properly, but I wouldn’t stare over their shoulder at every little thing they do. The idea of invading my child’s privacy like that makes me cringe. Kids are people too.