This is a spin-off of the Facebook thread. Do you monitor your kid's internet usage? The time they spend online? What websites they visit? What they have on their social network profiles? What they are saying in emails?

Also, does your children have a cell phone? What age did they get a cell phone? Do they have texting?

The reason that I'm curious is because I work part time as a youth pastor and am interested to see how closely parents monitor their kind's technology usage.

she's only 1, but when she's old enough, you bet your ass I will.

Yes we monitor their internet usage.

No they do not have cell phones.

I have two junior high school age children with one beginning high school in the fall.

My boys are 8, 6, and 3. All 3 play on the computer/internet. The only PC they can use is in the living room, my wife and I have laptops as well but the boys are only allowed to use those in the living room as well.

Yes, we monitor. They have a separate log in from my wife and I's (ours is PW protected) and their log in profile has a "family/kid" firewall on it that only allows basically "PG" type sites.

No, they don't have cell phones and my wife and I will battle, I'm sure, down the road on the right age for them to get them. I say 16 and driving in case of emergency, she thinks more like junior high.

I'm not a parent, but when my parents first got internet, they monitored all the websites that my sister visited. I did abuse my priviledge and then they restricted me even further. Back then AOL let you select the level of internet access depending upon if a certain screen name was listed as 'child' or 'adult' or whatever. As far a cell phones go, I got my first cell phone when I turned 15. My parents were NOT about to give me a phone any sooner than that, and they would have waited until I turned 16 if I didn't already have a job. Prior to that I had to borrow my mom's phone when I went out with my friends.

Taser (the company) has come out with an application that allows parents to track their kids cell phone use. It allows them to see who's calling, when they are calling and even allows parents to intercept incoming phone calls. They can also screen text messages and block them from coming through to the child's phone. Personally, I think it's overkill...but I understand that some parents may see a need for such control.

My daughter is 12. I have a laptop so if she wants online, she has to do it in front of me. (I don't stand behind her should and watch everything she does, but I also don't let her run around the house with it because she would drop it for sure.) She does not get online much at my house. She might at her mom's.

She does have a cell phone, but we have a rule that I can check her texts anytime I like. I make sure she knows that I do check them every now and then, but that wouldn't be hard for her to get around if she just deleted them after she read them. I'm more interested in who she's talking to, than what she's talking about. (as long as I recognise that they are friends from school, I'm ok with it.)

Son is 13. Comp is in the living room, so his actions on it are always monitored. As far as a phone goes, he gets a cheap Virgin mobile to be used for emergency only, or to tell me where he's at here in town, or to come pick him up from a practice or whatever. No texting, either.

I didn't until I caught him looking at boobs. He was in 8th grade. I got some software at the time that blocked everything. He was so damn smart though I think he hacked in and figured out the password. He grew out of looking at naked bodies. Probably cause he could look at real naked bodies of his girl friend.... Boys will be boys when they are 13 to 18. I am glad I am past that age and like I said on the facebook thread. Sometimes what mom's don't know won't hurt them. It doesn't make them bad kids though. I couldn't have raised mine to be any better of a man then what he is today so those few porno shots he saw when he was young makes me sick to think he saw them at that age but he turned out just fine.

my kids are 16 & 10
yes I keep track of their internet time/sites/usage best I can
16 yr old has a phone

just_a_swimmer wrote: I didn't until I caught him looking at boobs. He was in 8th grade. I got some software at the time that blocked everything. He was so damn smart though I think he hacked in and figured out the password. He grew out of looking at naked bodies. Probably cause he could look at real naked bodies of his girl friend.... Boys will be boys when they are 13 to 18. I am glad I am past that age and like I said on the facebook thread. Sometimes what mom's don't know won't hurt them. It doesn't make them bad kids though. I couldn't have raised mine to be any better of a man then what he is today so those few porno shots he saw when he was young makes me sick to think he saw them at that age but he turned out just fine.

+1

Parents worry way too much about these types of things. If you raise your kid right, and he turns out just fine, what is it going to hurt if he sees a pair of tits online? It's part of growing up and learning for yourself.

No kids here, but my 12 year old brother is monitored. He has his own laptop, but he knows that my parents can (and will) check it at will. He's had a few incidents with inappropriate websites/emails/etc, but they were promptly addressed.


He does have a cell phone, but that's because there is no landline at the house. He does not have texting, and at 12, doesn't need texting.

Son is 15, has a cell phone, hardly ever uses the computer, except for homework assignments. He know we can check his phone at anytime to monitor his text messages.

DeyDurkie5 wrote:

just_a_swimmer wrote: I didn't until I caught him looking at boobs. He was in 8th grade. I got some software at the time that blocked everything. He was so damn smart though I think he hacked in and figured out the password. He grew out of looking at naked bodies. Probably cause he could look at real naked bodies of his girl friend.... Boys will be boys when they are 13 to 18. I am glad I am past that age and like I said on the facebook thread. Sometimes what mom's don't know won't hurt them. It doesn't make them bad kids though. I couldn't have raised mine to be any better of a man then what he is today so those few porno shots he saw when he was young makes me sick to think he saw them at that age but he turned out just fine.

+1

Parents worry way too much about these types of things. If you raise your kid right, and he turns out just fine, what is it going to hurt if he sees a pair of tits online? It's part of growing up and learning for yourself.

In some cases you are correct but inappropriate usage can also lead a young person down the wrong path. There is a very fine line there in my opinion. In my case I was lucky and probably at times trusted my son a little too much and thus the porno sites when he was in the 8th grade but after that point I did monitor him more closely when he was online. I can't say he never peaked again though. I was a single parent and he spent time at home alone but he did know I would check. Again though he was smart so who knows. All I can say is in my case he turned out OK and I couldn't be prouder of the man he has become. I am aware though that some are not so lucky. I feel you just have to know your kid, inside and out. Give them as much trust as you can but yet know when you can't. It's hard and I am glad I am done raising kids cause I would have to say it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.

If you live in our house, we have you're passwords and can check on you whenever we like. Our computer is in the living room, so if you want to take a chance that someone will catch you looking at inappropriate things, feel free. (Gotta laugh at the teenage boys and their porn!)

Our oldest was 16 when she got her cell phone and it's progressively gotten younger. And they all know I won't hesitate to shut texting or the whole phone off without notice when given cause.

When I was growing up (now 23) my parents didnt really monitor anything. Partly because I dont think they knew how. They were very mindful to tell us to be careful and such, but no actual monitoring. The internet has changed drastically though, and it is now a necessity for kids to use and know how to use. When I was growing up it was still sort of a novelty and "for fun" than it is now.

The cell phones, if your kid is in HS they need a cell. I got mine the summer between FR and SO years (when I got my license). But I really think with the world now, cell phones are pretty needed in peoples lives.

I disagree with the "need" comment.

Like others, our computer is in the the living area so it would be pretty tricky. Really, the only time he gets on line is to watch flowrestling, youtube or to facebook (which I have the password and I'm his friend so I can peek any every now and then). He got a cell phone in 6th grade because he was team manager for the wrestling team and traveled with them to meets and for ride purposes, it was easier. He didn't have texting until 8th grade and knows we reserve the right to check his texts at any point. We didn't let him get Facebook until this past fall (soph) but he has done nothing to cause me to distrust him so I felt he had earned it. Should that change, so will privileges to all such items.

Con_Alma wrote: I disagree with the "need" comment.

Sometimes people will bring up the "need" to be able to get in touch with parents, etc. at any time, although those of us who predate these devices somehow lived to adulthood without that ability.

Yeah, I made it through HS without having a cell phone....I mean, until my senior year, when my dad decided to get me one, as I was pretty busy, and it was just easier to use as an outlet to check in, etc.

I don't have kids, but if I did, they'd have unlimited usage. It seems like the younger generation is more technologically savvy than older ones, so I'd bet that if I had a son, he'd be able to root out the good porn a lot quicker than I can.

She's only 3, so don't have to worry about this yet...

As a High School teacher I get sick and tired of cell phones being the be-all and end-all of a kids existence. I'm sure I will allow my daughter to have a cell phone, but it will be bare bones and if she wants unlimited texting she will have to earn it. Of course, by the time she gets to HS age, texting will be obsolete and something else will be all the rage.

The Internet will be monitored and restricted appropriately, of course...

I didn't get my first cell phone until I was 17, and I had to pay for it myself.

Working for Verizon for so long, I couldn't begin to tell you how many kids less than age 14 have cell phones. Who the hell do they need to talk to so badly? I mean, a 9 year old girl went over her 5,000 limit of text messages for 2 months straight. If they need to talk to somebody when they're 9, they can use a phone.