Reply to Grrr...MIL set up FB account for my 7 year old

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Reply to "Grrr...MIL set up FB account for my 7 year old"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Your MIL was way out of line but probably ignorant to the dangers of facebook. If you make the decision, you really have to make sure her profile is completely private. Most people don't realize that their pages are fully searchable and open to the public.  You certainly don't want your daughter stalked or her pictures stolen from the Facebook page.  I would also get her to stop friending every one she knows without your knowledge. That's a clear sign that she isn't old enough to appreciate the risks associated with facebook. [/quote] 
 
Looks like the grandparents (all of them!) need to be educated in internet / social media behavior. Not only opening an account for a minor against the FB rules is a poor choice (illegal, even!), but this would be a good time to have a FRIENDLY discussion about their own accounts, what pictures get posted, how to set up the privacy level, who gets invited, etc. DH could be of great help adding weight to this conversation. Someone who does IT can, however, be still blind to the risks in a public network, since they live in a protected intranet bubble...

Take this less as a slight and more as an opportunity to educate all involved. Otherwise, you'll keep running into the issue in the future.

As for '13', those are the FB rules, which is a minimum. Your rules should be based on observed behavior, responsibility, readiness. Make the guidelines and enforce them. There is no magic age for FB, even if the friends are doing it.

If the GP want to set up something, you could guide them to an age appropriate game, like Club Penguin on the strictest setting (they can see each other's penguin avatar but can only communicate with predefined snippets), or Minecraft. That is something that many 7or 8 year olds are into. If you do that, make sure all the friends share the same server, so that they can find each other. These services have no directory, so physical sharing of a screen name is required to know that "lulu' is in friend your neighbor 'Annie'. Grandma can get an account herself and they can play games even when they are not together.
 
Of course, discussing time limits with DD will still get you the "bad mother" reply... [/quote]

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