My Concerns
Kieran is now on MSN and has been set up with his own username.
This has caused us as parents some concerns on how children use MSN.
One incident Kieran told my parents who were looking after him, that he was going to his friends house over the road from where we live, but when me and Simon got home from work and checked up on Kieran he was not over the road at his friends but many streets away. He had spoken to his friends on MSN and arranged with them to meet up with him, but did not tell us the truth on where he was going. We spoke to Kieran about dangers of walking the streets and that he must tell us the truth on where he is going, we explained he must not arrange meetings on MSN without our knowledge.
Having spoken also to one of my friends, she has also being shocked by what goes on with her daughter on MSN. She could not believe the language and talk a nine year old boy was sending to her daughter, she has now blocked this boy out so her daughter cannot talk to him.
To me and Simon MSN is not child friendly, we feel when a child reaches a young adult then this may be the time to use MSN, but for young naive children it can cause a few problems unless you watch over them every time they use the computer.
With my daughter Sophie, her friends have fallen out using MSN and use MSN to talk about each other, they also use it to argue amongst one another, so still at the ages of 13 they are still not sensible.
What we have seen of MSN we are not impressed it may not be your child but the other children your child maybe talking to. Our other concerns are they do not always know who they are talking to, it could be anyone. There is an element of danger on MSN with children who are not using MSN as they should be, but what is the right age??
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The Locke Family - They have agreed to take up the Birmingham Mail's challenge to become more internet savvy, learn more about new technology and to bring their family into the digital age. Parents Julie and Simon will be taking up the challenge along with children Sophie and Keiran.
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It is tricky - or rather impossible - to know everything your kids do online. I think the problem lie less with the technology and more with the reality of human relationships. So the internet is not a bad thing - the way some people behave on the internet might be.
You have already taught your children how to manage the risks of crossing the road and chosen to do that rather than the option of preventing them going anyway near a road which might pose a risk to them. I think the same approach works best with the internet.
Good luck and enjoy.
I agree it is difficult. But if the computer is kept in the family room rather than tucked away in a bedroom and if you treat use of the Internet as a shared familiy experience with your children and look for sites together then their time alone chatting to their friends may be less risky.
Falling out and using rude words is all a part of growing up - we all did it in the playground and out on the streets kicking around a football ... just now that has moved online.
The Internet is such a rich and valuable source of knowledge and insiration for children, but with dangers that need supervision.