Easy - 30. No, it's not that easy unfortunately. The truth is that it is different for every child. Some are responsible enough at a much younger age than others and therefore can be allowed to have a monitored account. The key to this is that you as parents are involved with them and the account. Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be a great way for your young ones to chat with their friends and family as long as some simple safety rules are followed.
• Set the account to private
• Become their friend (this means you need an account)
• Only approve appropriate friends
• Make sure pictures are appropriate
First things first, parents, sign up for an account. The accounts are free and you cannot monitor their activity otherwise. Next, make an agreement ahead of time that before they add someone as a friend they have your approval. While these seem like simple guidelines, they can become time consuming; but stick to them. For those not familiar with such sites, your children could quickly have fifty to a hundred friends if not more on their site. The task of checking on all of these friends before giving them the nod sounds tedious, but it is important.
Both Facebook and Myspace, as well as others, attempt to filter out fake profiles and obscene accounts. However, there is no way they will be able to catch them all. Also, just because someone is familiar to you and your child, does not necessarily make them appropriate online friends. The best way to be sure is to check their posting history. A young relative that still likes to post about their nights on the town, for instance, may not be the best person for your young child to follow.
Now that you have an account, this is also a great opportunity to learn of local events and activities and occasionally even specials and discounts for many places around town such as the Memphis Zoo or even the Memphis Library.
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