Parents of older teens, what age for Snapchat?

[Anonymous]

If you can hold off I would but in reality most kids do use it on middle school. All 3 of my kids got it around then and we never had any bullying or drama with it.

My 16 year old still uses it just to check where his friends are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And TiK Tok? I also have a young teen begging for these saying they feel socially left out … which I think is true but also their way of trying to build their case for why we should say yes. We’ve held firm at no but are curious like the OP how others are handling this.

Just ssy no.

[Anonymous]

Never. Or 18 when they can do what they want. DD 17 had it freshman year in high school and has since deleted it. It’s how kids buy drugs and bully each other.

[Anonymous]

My kid got it going into 8th grade and it hasn't been a big deal. I think it depends on your kid. My older teen is a boy and just really not prone to drama at all. I did require he can't share his location. He is not the type to care though if "everyone else" is somewhere and he isn't.

My experience in middle school was kids get on snapchat without telling their parents. Burner phones, accounts on their friends' phones, etc. This was not infrequent I heard this. I had parents telling me their kid wasn't on it and then my kid would show me the kid had an active account. Our thinking was we would rather have him have it and us talk about it and us be able to provide some guidance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid got it going into 8th grade and it hasn't been a big deal. I think it depends on your kid. My older teen is a boy and just really not prone to drama at all. I did require he can't share his location. He is not the type to care though if "everyone else" is somewhere and he isn't.

My experience in middle school was kids get on snapchat without telling their parents. Burner phones, accounts on their friends' phones, etc. This was not infrequent I heard this. I had parents telling me their kid wasn't on it and then my kid would show me the kid had an active account. Our thinking was we would rather have him have it and us talk about it and us be able to provide some guidance.

To add to this and I do think it's easier for a boy.

We allowed tik tok and instagram starting in high school but he's not allowed to post. He doesn't care. I do have a girl coming behind him and plan to do the same and she might object more.

[Anonymous]

My DD who is 16 has an account and so does my son who is 19. They have had the for a while now and we haven't had any issues.

There are time limits on the apps for our DD and we do have access to their accounts.

[Anonymous]

These posters who are saying 18, your kids are driving at 16 but you won’t let them have Snapchat? Have you ever been on it? It’s basically just a way to text each other. Instead of banning things, teach them to set controls. You don’t want them getting these things when they first go to college. We all knew the kids who went wild. Our kids all have friends with strict parents who have secret accounts in HS. Don’t be that parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These responses are not typical IRL. My kids are 14 and 17. 14 yo uses Snapchat. 17 yo doesn’t by choice. My youngest got it a couple of years ago with restrictions with encouragement from my oldest after he showed me it’s just another form of texting and how you can turn off a lot of features parents are so scared about. I’ve always told my kids to keep their locations off and set setting to private or contacts only (or whatever it’s called on snap). It is truly how they communicate with others in middle school.

+1. These responses are atypical. More interesting to me than random strangers was asking my kids who had it. Lots of parents who I respect let their kids use it by 8th grade, definitely by 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These responses are not typical IRL. My kids are 14 and 17. 14 yo uses Snapchat. 17 yo doesn’t by choice. My youngest got it a couple of years ago with restrictions with encouragement from my oldest after he showed me it’s just another form of texting and how you can turn off a lot of features parents are so scared about. I’ve always told my kids to keep their locations off and set setting to private or contacts only (or whatever it’s called on snap). It is truly how they communicate with others in middle school.

Agree with this completely. My DD got it at 13 with restrictions. They use it to communicate with each other in middle and high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And TiK Tok? I also have a young teen begging for these saying they feel socially left out … which I think is true but also their way of trying to build their case for why we should say yes. We’ve held firm at no but are curious like the OP how others are handling this.

I responded that these responses are not typical IRL. Also, my youngest is 14. I can’t think of anyone she knows who hasn’t had TikTok for years. Say no if you want but yes, your kid is socially left out. The strictest parents I know allow it with limits and have for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a no here too. If enough parents had a spine all of our jobs would be easier.

This

[Anonymous]

18.

It’s used to share intimate pictures. Don’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And TiK Tok? I also have a young teen begging for these saying they feel socially left out … which I think is true but also their way of trying to build their case for why we should say yes. We’ve held firm at no but are curious like the OP how others are handling this.

I responded that these responses are not typical IRL. Also, my youngest is 14. I can’t think of anyone she knows who hasn’t had TikTok for years. Say no if you want but yes, your kid is socially left out. The strictest parents I know allow it with limits and have for years.

Also if they can access You Tube on any device (like school device) all the Tik Tok content shows up on You Tube.

[Anonymous]

It’s used to say hurtful things to someone and then the messages disappear so it’s harder to prove to the principal.

[Anonymous]

Snapchat? Yes, I would agree to it at 13. It IS how kids communicate unfortunately. Some kids get super obsessed with it and track others locations. It really depends on their personalities. Have guardrails up.