Should I Let My 10Yr Old Daughter Get a Facebook Account?

Hi A.,

Absolutely not! Rules are clearly stated that a child has to be at least 13 years old. I personally still think that's to young but if the rules state it and you let her have one then you are telling her it is okay to lie. Lying in little things always leads to bigger problems.

A., there are too many predators out there.

M.

Facebook clearly states you must be 13 or older. Some where in the fine print it tells you what the penalty is for violation.
Here's the headline in my local paper today:
"Hampton sex offender charged with stabbing, sexually assaulting woman he met online".
She was 19. Just think of the trouble a 10 year old could get into.

Absolutely not! Facebook itself has a rule that you must be 13 or over to have an account. They do this for the safety of everyone using the site. Stand firm and be the mom!

No.
Put it this way... a parent can monitor things, set it up for them, tell them about internet safety etc. But inevitably, they at this age, are still not old enough to completely safeguard themselves. Even adults for that matter, make mistakes online, with social networking venues, and get fooled.

My friend's girls... at about that age, had a Facebook account. They are good kids and responsible etc., and the Mom too.
Well, it turned out that a 40 something year old MAN... was corresponding with them.... trying to cultivate them if you will, as a predator does. Her girls' thought is was just a joke and funny and they didn't take it seriously, so they didn't tell their Mom, right away. Meanwhile, they would chat about themselves to him. Thinking they were being "clever" and joking. As you know, this is dangerous.
Their Mom, just had a cow, and notified the police. Her girls are no longer allowed to join any social media sites.

These sites, are also used to "bully" other kids, to post photos of themselves on it, to spread vicious rumors about other kids etc.

A 10 year old, simply does not have the common sense nor maturity to safely navigate the whole realm of internet safety or fully knowing what information to give out or not... about themselves or their family.

Well, I would say no.

I honestly believe that she is way to young for this type of interaction with all these different types of people, but then again I don't know your daughter. I myself don't know how mature she is or how resposable she is either,. if it was my daughter I would not let her.
I joined facebook not too long ago and I've incounter things on here that I didn't expect and was a little shocked at and I'm a 53 yr old women. I even got off the site I was on. I was shocked. But then I didn't know that type of behavior was allowed on there. So you see I believe in the old fashion type of parenting and always will, Wait until they are a little older, she is olny 10. Give the child a chance to be a child and don't expose her to these types of things already, she'll get enough of these things when she gets older.
I'm not saying facebook is a bad site because it's not., It's a good site and you can have lots of fun on it and meet lots of nice people. But I just believe that 10 years old is too young. And 9.5 is really too young. I thought there was a age limit but maybe I'm wrong.
She is your child you'll have to be the one to deceide that but think carefully about it, and remember you can't always know who she's talking to. Just be carefull and trust in your daughter. You should know how she is. But then again she is only 10. Thanks for listening.

omg, not just no, HELL NO!

Another no vote for me. I think even the minimum age requirement of 13 is way too young. There are too many risks when it comes to these social networking sites. Sexual predators, cyber stalkers, cyber bullies, and I'm sure the risks will only multiply as more and more people join.

Another thing that I don't think that people realize is that the stuff that is posted on Facebook is on there FOREVER. Ten years down the line, do you really want potential employers to be able to do a search on your child's name and read what she wrote about herself when she was a teenager? Kids are not wise when it comes to things like this. My 14-year-old niece has a FB account, and some of the stuff that she posts appall me. I tried warning my SIL, but she's in massive denial. I just think it's a huge mistake.

Kids have to be 13 to have an account unless you lie about their age.

My daughter turns 13 this month and will get an account then, though.

No. My 12 year old son asks from time to time, and I still tell him no. He has no need for it.

NO! It doesn't matter how well you monitor her, predators are out there!!!!

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!

Im a Young mom 22 years of age of a 3 yr old child.
I Would NEVER let my YOUNG child on Face Book Myspace NOTHING.

Too Many Sicko's In this world and I don't belive they are mature enough to be on a computer where anyone or anything can contact her...

The interenet is the greatest and worst thing that has ever hit this planet.
Great for learning. Its also one that exposes young kids to things they shouldn't be.

There have been children who have killed themselves becasue of cyber bullies they met online.

Helpful Links :

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/02/kids.social.networks/i...

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/02/23/is-facebook-bad-for-y...

Facebook has a 13-year-old minimum age. If your daughter's friend is 9.5 and has an account, she has lied about her birthday to be on there. I do not think that is a good way to introduce your daughter to the internet. Please don't do it. I personally think 13 is too young to be on Facebook.

Please be aware that you will be especially responsible for what happens since your child is under age. If you decide to allow her you need to be aware of all the dangers of not just facebook but the internet. She needs to learn internet safety. Do you think she is ready for that responsibility? Given that you rarely use facebook are you ready for the responsibility of monitoring her? I use facebook and love it very much but it can be addictive and overwhelming and very distracting from school work. The perfect excuse would be that she is under age - tell her wait three years.

As you know, you get to make the final decision here. Choose wisely you know your child best. Maybe?

NO! Way too young, and way too many variables you can't control. Be careful, a smart 10 year old will do it behind your back without your knowledge.

You have to lie about her age because you have to be 13. So at first I was dead set against it.... But then I noticed that my kids' friends whose parents I know who are just as over protective as I am (can you say helicopter parenting?) have FB accounts, so I looked more into it. I can tell you that I have a 10 year old girl and a 12 year old boy and I am going against nearly everyone else here to tell you that I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad that I let them join!!! My son started middle school this year at a different school where all of his elementary friends went, so I didn't know one single person that he became friends with this school year. You don't just invite a bunch of 6th graders you don't know to come over for a play date, especially the girls he has crushes on, so I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I can get to know these kids. I have been active at the school and have attended several events and seen some of these kids face to face, but haven't had a chance to get to "know" them. But on FB, I really can see a glimse into who they are. I had my kids "friend" me but then "hide" my posts so I can see everything they post on my home page yet they don't see my posts that I have with my friends. I have their passwords and I go into their accounts several times a week and spy on their friends. They are aware that I do this. They are only allowed to friend people they actually know, not friends-of-friends. Also, it has been an AMAZING motivator to get them to behave, do homework, keep up their grades, get along as siblings, do chores, etc because with every mis-step they get grounded from FB! Yes, the internet is scary, but the technology our kids' generation is growing up with is HERE TO STAY so I say teach 'em young how to be safe and take baby steps to letting them get involved in the technology (especially the FREE stuff! My kids don't have cell phones because I don't see the point in paying to have them text and call their friends, but they can communicate for free on FB!) You don't want them to wake up one morning as a teenager and be so niave about the internet that they make careless mistakes because they are like a kid in a candy store, finally getting to do what has been forbidden for so long. Just my 2 cents, but if she is allowed at other kids' houses, chances are she will be on the internet at their house, so teach her at home under your guidenace how to be safe, and monitor (aka stalk!!) her account.

I can only tell you what we do in my home. Most of my grandkids have facebook acocunts. I don't allow anyone to friend them that I don't personally know or a friend personally knows, like my best friends mom is friends with the kids so they can be neighbors in the games, she lives in another state but I trust my friend to know her mom and say if she's safe to friend the kids or not. I made their ages much older than they are but kept the original day and month. The computer is in the living room with a picture of Christ above the monitor along with some Gary Olsen prints. They are never on the computer, even just playing games, without me or my husband in the living room. While they are on facebook they are on playing farmville, farmtown and cafe world with relatives, friends, and siblings that live in other homes. I selected on the privacy settings that only friends can see information about them and I left everything blank, no personal information at all, my choices for network were one of 2 large cities in my state and both are hundreds of miles away. When you enter their name in your search you get a page up with a gray screen that says "XXX only shares information with people they know" "Would you like to send a friend request?". I have about a third my 157 friends that have their kids on too. Only some of them are friends with my grand kids. They don't need to be friends with my friends from high school, although they are good upstanding people, most are Baptist preachers or work for the Baptist General Convention.

I feel it is an honest to goodness personal choice for you. If they have computers in their room they are already going places you don't know about. We have had talks at church about how to manage kids on the internet and I feel secure in our choices, hence the central location of the computer and pictures of Christ above the monitor. You have to have that peace of mind too. You won't sleep easy if you don't have that confidence.

I am on facebook a lot and have never had issues, some people try to friend me but if I don't know them I just "ignore" them and they can't ask again. I enjoy getting reaquainted with my local friends, relatives, high school friends, and people at my church that have moved away. I really like Facebook and the security features it offers.

Lots of the people I interact with have children and they have accounts, the kids have pictures of themselves in their photo albums, they post about their football games, activities, etc...that give too much information to my way of thinking but again they are only posting to a certain group of people. I have also found a lot of people put pictures of their pets, their kids, and cartoon characters as their profile picture, so a stranger really can't tell if you're an adult or a kid if they did see the picture.

Trust your instincts. I personally believe that it's too young. The internet is no place for children to hang out and be social. IF you do decide to let her have an account then make sure that you are friends with all her friends, that you monitor all her activities (and check what her friends are up to on there too), change her privacy settings so that no info or photos are available to people that aren't her friends, and that she isn't on FB when an adult is not close by and keeping an eye on what's going on. I'm sure your daughter is trustworthy, but it's just scary all the stuff that kids get sucked into!

Absolutely NO. I've got an almost 10 year old and he's no where near having his own account.

I believe the fb guidelines state that you must be 13 yr old. So in order to set up a fb account before that, one must lie about his or her birthdate. I made my daughter wait. It may seem like a stupid rule but I believe that following the rules and not lying is always the best policy.

10 is much to young. Besides I think you have to be older to set up a facebook page.

It depends on her maturity and your willingness to "police" both her and the site. I have facebook and I love it, but it could very easily have corrupting influences on young people. There are some applications that are very benign (just time-wasters, but no real danger), but then there are some available that are nearly pornographic. Plus, there are some friends, "fan pages" and "groups" that range from good to quite evil. [I'm sure f/b does try to ban the really bad sites, and I think they have a filter that blocks people from using "bad words" in the names of sites -- I say this, because I've seen people start group names like "you don't know shiit" to get past the profanity blocker. But there's only so much they can do, y'know?]

Anyway, much like everything else in this world, it's not so much that a certain thing is bad or evil, but how it is used. Television can be a wonderful tool, but there is a lot of garbage on it, too. It just depends on whether you think there is more good than bad (and have a method of weeding out the bad to keep your daughter safe).

I recently set up an account on Facebook for my Granddaughter, who lives with me. I am so sorry I did it. The understanding was that she was to communicate with only her other Grandparents and her Dad and a couple of close friends from church. I went through and set everything in settings to "Only Friends" and "Only Me." Of course thinking to keep it as private as possible. There is no privacy on Facebook. The few people who know her have friends and those friends now have access to her as well. The information and the pictures of all of their friends keep popping up on her page to invite as friends. Big Mistake. I check it daily just to clear out all the STUFF and I clear out hundreds of pictures by the end of the week.
Monitor it well if you decide to go ahead and do it for her.

If you have to lie to get the account set up for her that should tell you something right there. I have a very mature 12 yr old daughter, but I will not let her get an account. I do not believe in teaching her to lie to get what she wants.

I don't like FB for anyone. It is an enormous time waster. Children should certainly be computer literate but FB has way too much personal info out there for the taking. Your name, city, & date of birth is probably mentioned and that is enough for someone to chase down your social security number and therefore your identity. Heck, there are probably good pictures available as well. FB is also full of keylogging programs that allow folks to steal credit or debit card numbers. My husband has a FB page and his credit card number was stolen that way. I work in banking & insurance and these are issues I see often. I don't want ANY body to have access to my information and definitly not my childs info. Beware. Social networking sites can be full of unexpected pitfalls.

No, she needs to be 13 to set up a facebook account. I believe your first instinct is right. My kids were older than 13 before they became interested in facebook, so I have not encountered this. But I have a cousin who's son just turned 13 and got to set up a facebook account. Everybody praised her on facebook for sticking to her guns and making him wait until then. You could let her set up an IM (chat) account and she could chat with her friend that way.

A., If you ask 100 people this question, you are going to get 100 different answers so all I can tell you is what I have experienced. My 10-year old son has a FB account that he hardly ever uses. I know his account name and password and can look at it at anytime. He has been instructed not to "friend" anyone who he does not know and if he writes one thing that is inappropriate about himself or another person, the FB page goes away. It has not been a problem at all for him. That being said, almost all of the little girls in 5th and 6th grade at his school have FB accounts and I have heard some of them say that other little girls write bad things about each other on FB. As long as you can trust her to do the right thing and she knows that you are allowed to look at what she has written on FB and what others are writing to her, it shouldn't be a problem. So, my vote is YES if you stick to your guns and make sure that she is doing the right thing. Hope this helps!!

I would say no and if I remember well, Facebook does accept only people over 13. That is the reason why they ask your date of birth.
If you want to create an account for her, you will have to lie on her age.
This site is intended for adults only. They make it clear when you create an account.
If her friend has an account, she might have lied on her age to begin with.

I signed up my 9 yr old son a few months ago. He never goes on it anymore. He just wanted to play the games, but he got tired of them right away. The computer is locked down with a password so he can only go on with supervision and then only for 1/2 hour. On facebook you have to invite friends, so only allow friends to be people you actually know. Make sure you have her password and check her account to delete any friends she 'accidently' adds. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable and want to say no, then you should!

Wow - I was surprised by the overwhelming no responses, but was interested in all the reasons. My 10 year old got his FB in Jan. I have no regrets, but will probably pull a double standard with his sisters and make them wait longer. This is because of how they would use it and a trust factor. Yes, I'm "friends" with him and look at his activities. He's rarely on it and it seems just for fun. But as others mentioned, it's what he can see/read on other people's pages. It amazes me the things that people will say in their post or the pictures that are put up. My son has older cousins who are his "friends" and a 10 year old really doesn't need to read about those college activities. In hind sight, I would've waited. He is mature, so we talk about the things he sees/reads.

Whether you want her to or not, your child can create online accounts without you knowing. She could do it on a computer at school or at a friend's house and you would probably not find out, especially since you are not very active on Facebook.

It would be better for you to allow her to create an account and teach her about internet safety at the same time. Explain that she is not to talk to strangers, just as if it were in person. Tell her why it is dangerous to share personal information and what is appropriate and inappropriate to post on the internet. Many young people (and old people) do not fully understand that what is posted on the internet is permanently public and out of your control. Add her as a "friend" so that you can see what she is up to. It's better to know what is going on and to have some control over it than to be in the dark.

I would not do it but I am pretty protective. IF you decide to do it I would only do it under the condition that YOU are the one who approves her pics before posting and YOU have her password so you may check it at any time that you want to. Personally I would think 10 is too young. You never know what freaks are out there, not to mention the new online bullying that happens.

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