My kids are 10 and 7. They have wifi that we monitor and chat games that we also monitor. Will we miss some things? Probably. Keeping them from online chats or games is not on our agenda. They are both active in sports and arts. We boat and fish. We cook together. The internet isn’t their life, but it is a part of their lives. I hope we are doing things right?
When my kids were 10 and 7 I did the same. They turned out to be great adults.
But you didn’t have a quick, simple camera to take naked selfies with, and you didn’t distribute those pics to your friends.
I’ve never had children, used Facebook, or owned a cellphone (that could text or had a camera), and I’m of the opinion that there’s nothing wrong with parents not giving their kids a way to send and receive dick pics to/from each other and to/from adults without the parents being informed.
I’m also of the opinion there’s no reason for anyone under the age of 31 would need facebook anyway.
kids already use every tool possible to torment each other. why give them a dedicated tool with which to make it even easier to let them bully each other?
I seriously don’t get you people who think you “need” to give your kids phones so you can “get in touch with them.” Did your parents need to give you a phone? did their parents need to give them a phone? chances are for most of the year your kids are in school. call the school. outside of that, stop being a frickin’ helicopter.
Is the comparison between having them use the service and not chat at all? Or it is it an alternative to them using other chat services? The latter is a good reason to have one for children, and it would be good if it was properly monitored. Sorry, but kids can get into a lot more problems online with the whole world than they can just playing outside around the neighborhood. I mean, it would be a child predator’s dream if it were completely unmonitored. And are you really going to trust some stranger to do the monitoring, especially when they’d have to watch so many kids?
That said, I can see the first argument that they shouldn’t be on in the first place. At least, for younger kids, if not for the older ones. Make it text only, and then you’ll at least need the kids to know how to read to be able to use it, which would be a decent barrier. And make sure older kids know what sorts of things they should never do. (But that THEY won’t get in trouble for doing. The person pressuring them will.)
At least, that’s my opinion without really checking into how it all works. For all I know, parents must approve anyone they add to chat, which is a pretty good idea, and might mean they could slack off the supervision somewhat. But, with video, that could still be a problem, unless the video that can be shared is limited.
There are already numerous chat apps that are available. Why not this one?
Don’t give a smartphone to your 6 year old. Seems easier to me.
My parents weren’t divorced, and my mom didn’t work. I didn’t participate in the swim team. I didn’t have ballet class. It was acceptable for me to leave school at the end of the day and bike over to a park 4 miles away with my friends, heading for home only when the streetlights came on.
Being able to text my kids allowed us to arrange where/when we’d meet, what restaurant everyone could agree on, wether Julie had her mom’s permission to join us, etc. Cell phones made our lives far easier.
I really don’t understand why people are giving Kayaker shit over giving his kids a phone? My parents trusted me with the responsibility of driving their car when I was a teenager, and I’m sure that’s true of many of us reading this thread. People can die if that responsibility is abused or merely neglected for a single moment. I think Kayaker’s a thousand percent doing it right: start trusting your kids with the little things so you can trust them with the big things later. It’s all a matter of how involved you are with your children. I’m sure if Kayaker sees unusual behavior, he’ll investigate their use of the phone. Parents can be oblivious and uninvolved, regardless of whether they give their children a phone or not. I think Kayaker gets parenting and the rest of you don’t.
If they need a name for this service, “PervMagnet” would be a good one.