Should a kid at 12 make a myspace?

Question

My child says that she wants to make a myspace. Shes a 12 year old girl. she says all of her friends have one. And i wanna be nice about this, but i want her to be safe. What should i say? Yes or No?

Answer 1

absolutely not! a child that age should not be making a myspace. I am 18 and very mature and after having a myspace and deleting it I would not suggest anyone have one especially a child that young!

Answer 2

Let her do it, but create your own Myspace account too and make her add you and keep you as one of her friends or you're unplugging the computer. It's the only way you'll be able to monitor her page to see who she's talking to (you can access other profiles that way, and you'll be surprised at what you can find). You can also force her to hand over her username and password, and if it gets changed before she reaches whatever age you again revoke her computer privileges.

You'd be surprised how many people have Myspace accounts... people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. It's a good way to keep in contact with old classmates and coworkers. And kids use it for social networking, too, which can be good and bad. But there are dangers involved. You can't shelter her from it forever, so the best thing to do is let her loose but monitor her activity. And be glad she's talking to you about it... she could easily go to a friend's house and set one up anyway. You don't need parental permission, but she's seeking it because your opinion matters to her. And for a 12 year old, you should be EXTREMELY greatful for that.

Answer 3

Not at all. At that age, she probably doesn't understand the dangers of the Internet. Wait until she's a few years older. Even if all of her friends have one, she'll be the one without some creepy older person stalking her through the Internet.

Even though it may seem 'cool' to her, you're the parent and have full control. Show her one of the news stories about MySpace dangers; explain your side of the story, and listen to hers.

If you give in and let her have one, keep the computer in an open room where you can moniter what she does. Be safe! :)

Answer 4

I think 12 is old enough, but it depends on how mature your daughter is. If you do allow her to make a myspace make sure you know her password and check her account frequently. It's not so much spying as it is just making sure she's safe. And if she ever does something you don't approve of you can delete the account.

Answer 5

Check out the rules of MySpace. You have to be 14 to have a MYSpace account on your own. Check out her friends sites. Then start a dialog with other parents. When my oldest son was in 6th grade there was a Parents and Peers group. Once a month we got together in each others homes with cold drinks and snacks. Each month we would have a list of topics with 5 questions. The parents would go in one room and the kids in another and come up with answers to the questions. For instance. Should kids be required to do chores for allowance? Should kids be paid for grades? As we parents got to know each other better the kids learned they couldn't pull that "All my friends get to." I bet you find if ALL HER FRIENDS either don't have sites or their parents don't know they lied about their age to have one.

Answer 6

Ok, first I would talk about the dangers of Myspace then tell her she cannot have a Myspace unless it was set to Private. You can set it to Private where only people that Parents look over can view it. So i'd say no unless it is set to private.

Answer 7

I would say NO if it were my child. Unless I could supervise all computer activity, I would not feel safe letting my child surf the web at sites like that. Plus, the minimum age for myspace is 14 I think?

Answer 8

I have 4 kids, ages 14, 12, 8 & 6. We went through this with my 14 yr old last year. We decided that it was impossible to forbid her to have a my-space because she can go on-line anyways at any of her friends homes. We allowed her to have it under certain conditions. We (Mom & Dad) were allowed to visit her my-space at any time and make sure all of the contents and pictures were decent and appropriate. Also, we made sure that she understood anyone can view her webiste ie: teachers, counselors, prospective employers etc. We have specific rules about who she is allowed to communicate with on my-space. Also, we have our computer out in the open, where we can watch her as she is on the webiste. My -space has become a social phenonmenon and to forbide it, is simply going to force her to sneak around and be dishonest. Trust me, her friends will make her a page for her. She'll find a way to get around without you knowing, better to have strict rules but allow her to use it under your supervision. So far it's worked very well for us.

Answer 9

I would not allow it! It makes it hard for us parents who know what myspace will get you when other parents of similar aged children are allowed to do it. There are so many people soliciting these children through my space. Hopefully when my eight year old is old enough to know about my space, it won't be as popular. Good Luck!!! Just let her know that you are concerned about her safety. Alot of times, the children think we are just being over bearing.

Answer 10

you can be the judge. tell her you're going to let her have a myspace page on the condition that you know her password. tell her you're going to check if she is being responsible. keep the computer in an area in the house where she can be monitored. if she does this, then she may keep her myspace page. myspace is harmless. its the creeps that are bad. limit the information about herself on the page.