At what age would you allow your child to use facebook?

christine24t

I'd say high school is okay. But then it would also depend on the child's maturity.

My 13 and 15 year old cousins have them and they are way too young. Post immature stuff, etc. Their mom has had to punish them for things they've done on FB.

WendyTerry420

Everyone knows facebook isn't cool anymore so I would do my kid a service and just not allow it.

Agreed

This is what my 15 year old says. She is on Tumbler and claims that "only old people" are on Facebook. :laugh:

garlic7girl

I would say 15 or 16 but in reality it depends hugely on their maturity and behavior and respect of me and my rules...I have to see it over all and how consistent....not just the age.

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Chubbyhulagirl

My son is 9 and has one but his is completely private, he is only friends with his young cousins and some other adult family members and goes on (supervised) maybe twice a month. He likes the games but doesnt do much of the networking.

SwimFan1981

If I had children, I would probably encourage them to be sociable with friends in real life as opposed to online.

mdmcmillen

16.

mgobluetx12

Not until 16 probably. Maybe younger if I had the password and was their friend. I didn't start using until last year. I still wonder why I bothered.

Yolanda4160

well according to the rules of facebook, they cannot be younger than 13. For me, I would probably say 13 or 14. But it would be very restricted with privacy settings. And I would have the password to log in if needed and be listed as their friend in order to observe (based on all the online bullying).

Litlbeast

My son will be 12 in Feb, and I'm getting him a computer and will be creating an FB account for him. He's a pretty mature almost-12 year old, but regardless - each day when I come home we'll sit together at his computer, look over any activity on his page, discuss any friend requests. And everything on it will be for friends and family only - also, no unsolicited friend requests, only people he knows from sports or school, or family.

He's young for this, but he's a very social person and yearns to be able to connect with friends and family daily, and I believe now we as parents have a responsibility to teach our kids how to use the internet and social networking safely and defensively. It's practically as important as managing one's bank account.

MizMliss

Being a mother of a now 19 yr old and working with teenage kids on a daily basis, I can tell you that kids will find ways of getting a FB account if one does not let them have one. Many parents will allow their kids one as long as the parent is also a friend on the page, well guess what they will add you but will have a second FB page where you are not a friend! kids are curious and find ways!

I disagree, my daughter is 15 and not allowed to have a facebook because I say she is too busy with school and sports to be caught up in social media drama. She wouldn't sneak one because she respects my authority and her boundaries. And flat out: I don't play. The one time a few years ago when she tried to have a KidSpace, she lost internet access for a year.

Yolanda4160

This is solely dependent on the maturity level of the child. Some might be ready for the responsibility at 12 while others are not ready at 25.....

This! Completely agree! my 10 yr old daughter has a smart phone (my idea for her own safety and security) and it has not been a problem at all!

jessicathomas15

I have a 15 year old daughter. She first asked for Facebook when she was 11. We said she could have one when she was 13 if her grades in school warranted Facebook usage. She started one behind our back when she was 12. We found out and grounded her from Facebook (and monitored her username to see if she reactivated). She registered a new account under her cousins name until we found that one and disabled it. When she started high school, we allowed Facebook but limited usage. After some disciplanary issues, we took away her laptop. So she started using her iPod. We took away her iPod and she started using her younger brothers' iPods without permission. We locked down their iPods and she started taking our phones/iPads to get onto Facebook. We locked down our phones/iPads with passcodes and she borrowed an iPod from a friend at school to keep in her locker and bring home to access Facebook.

Bottom line - Facebook is crack to teenagers - I believe more so to girls than boys. Maybe not true for all girls, but I know most of my daughter's friends can't seem to survive without it.

With our boys who are younger, it will depend mostly on their maturity level, but I'm really hoping it fizzles out in the next couple years.

I hope this doesn't offend you but I would be a little worried about the fact that she was willing to keep defying you. However much I wanted these things when I was younger I would never have gone behind my parents backs when they had said no. Don't just accept that it's 'crack to teenagers', take charge and discipline her!

teryx123

If I had children, I would probably encourage them to be sociable with friends in real life as opposed to online.

This ^^ for a number of reasons. I don't plan to ever use facebook. Personal contact is a much richer and more satisfying experience. I think the reason so many people feel the need to have 1000 "friends" is that they don't have 3 that they can touch, smell, or share eye contact with. I also think that mechanisms like facebook at a young formative age encourage narcissism. You don't enrichen your life by telling everyone in the word what you think. You grow as a person by listening to what everyone else has to say. Personal contact encourages the listening skills. These are just my personally held beliefs, and not a judgement on what anybody else does.

Melroxsox

If I had children, I would probably encourage them to be sociable with friends in real life as opposed to online.

This ^^ for a number of reasons. I don't plan to ever use facebook. Personal contact is a much richer and more satisfying experience. I think the reason so many people feel the need to have 1000 "friends" is that they don't have 3 that they can touch, smell, or share eye contact with. I also think that mechanisms like facebook at a young formative age encourage narcissism. You don't enrichen your life by telling everyone in the word what you think. You grow as a person by listening to what everyone else has to say. Personal contact encourages the listening skills. These are just my personally held beliefs, and not a judgement on what anybody else does.

^ this:) well said.

naveed1naveed

too late, they are already in

iorahkwano

I'd say 16...

Older guys prey on young girls through the internet since they can't meet them in bars or in their school. I would hope by 16 that my daughter would be mature enough to handle herself & not send guys naked photos of herself (It happens!)

As for a son, I'm not sure... There isn't as much perceived danger for him, but it seems hypocritical to have different age limits because of gender. I would say 16 too, because some younger boys write terrible disrespectful things on Facebook that their parents are probably not aware of.

Another thing to be cautioned about: There are some terrifying photos on Facebook that could give a kid nightmares! I've seen people share photos of horrible things to "raise awareness" but it is more disturbing than helpful! Photos of abused or dead animals, dead fetuses, abused children, burn victims with horrific injuries, mass murder in foreign countries, etc.

I was particularly disturbed by a photo of a dog who had its face blown off from kids putting lit firecrackers in its mouth
Who wants their 12 year old to see that or WORSE, try to mimic it...

Chelseaax

15. I hate it when parents let their kids use facebook at a rediculously young age

zombilishious

I let my oldest get an account when he started middle school, because he was seriously the only one of his friends who didn't have one ...

VeganZombie13

13