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For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

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For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Parenting

What age would you let your child have a facebook account?

34 replies

Guardianto2 · 15/03/2014 20:28

What's the general age for this?

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FiveHoursSleep · 15/03/2014 20:30

13 years.

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Nocomet · 15/03/2014 20:38

13, it's the one thing in uneasy about, don't know why as DD2 has had a lap top from 6 and KIK and Instagram from 10 and 11/12.

I don't have FB, and I don't get the appeal. I like being able to close my door and forget the gossipy clique of school gate mums.

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Alibabaandthe40nappies · 15/03/2014 20:39

13, which is the age they are legally allowed one.

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ilovepowerhoop · 15/03/2014 20:41

my two have accounts so that they can play the games and keep in contact with the in-laws who stay 300 miles away - they are both younger than 13.

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SmashleyHop · 15/03/2014 20:42

I'm hoping Facebook will become unpopular soon so DS won't want to go on it anyways. If not, 15-16. DS is pretty immature for his age so I don't think he could handle it well.

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MrsPresley · 15/03/2014 20:48

I let DD set hers up at 11, on the understanding that I knew the password and would have the occasional look. If I saw something I didn't like I would close her account.

Then I set up mine and all the rubbish she posts, I get to see!

I've checked it a few times and don't have a problem with her or her friends, which is all family and school friends anyway, so I know everyone except 1 or 2 school friends, and I've never seen anything to worry about.

I love facebook, seeing all the jokes etc and keeping in touch with people I don't see often.

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MeMySonAndI · 15/03/2014 20:50

13 at the earliest. Later if I can.

And yes, I live in Facebook but that doesn't make me oblivious to the fact my child is not yet mature enough to switch himself and the computer off when things get a bit nasty.

When he is good enough to deal with bullying in real life, to know where the line is when dealing with sexual matters and is a little more street wise, he can have a Facebook account.

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Guardianto2 · 15/03/2014 20:57

I'm asking as my daughter is 13 and she wants one, I'm a bit of a technophobe when it comes to things like this. i have one and I’ve seen the type of spam I get in the “other” messages box.

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neversleepagain · 15/03/2014 20:59

Ideally never. 15 at a push.

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Oldandcobwebby · 15/03/2014 21:03

13 at a push. But I would actively discourage her. It can so easily turn nasty, with cyber-bulling, general bitchiness, etc.

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shebird · 15/03/2014 21:48

13 at a push or when she shows enough maturity to use it. I think they have to be old enough to be able to filter what information they share with others and understand the potential consequences of posting things online.

Also while constant contact with friends is great it is also important to be able to come home, shut the door and forget about all the dramas for a while. If you've had a row with friends at school the last thing you need is to come home and read bitchy comments.

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ThreeBeeOneGee · 15/03/2014 21:49

13 in our family.

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BackforGood · 15/03/2014 22:00

13 in our family too.
Why don't you get a friend to help you check the security and personal settings ?
Like you, I have little idea about Facebook indeed, it's my older teens I have to ask for help but whatever settings I've got mean I've never had anything appear on there which would make me uncomfortable, and never had any spam stuff. It would only take a couple of minutes for someone who knows what they are doing.

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MysticPeg · 15/03/2014 22:03

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bruffin · 15/03/2014 22:08

Mine had it from 11 and they are 16 and 18 now. They have had very few problems, but they know when to walk away and never get drawn into any nonsense.

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Guardianto2 · 16/03/2014 07:35

neversleepagain: i don't think never is an option here, eventually she will get one, even if one of her friends sets it up behind my back.

I suppose i should take the plunge and set one up, then get someone who knows what they are doing to check it then at the first sign of trouble get rid of it.

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Eastpoint · 16/03/2014 07:42

13 but my teens don't use it in the way adults do, they use it for group communications. Eg there is a geography group on which they post homework so if someone has missed a lesson they can catch up. They also use it for birthday parties & outings, setting up private, invitation only groups. My DS doesn't use it at all, he is very self-contained.

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17leftfeet · 16/03/2014 07:57

I let dd at 12 1/2 on the condition that I have her password and she knows I check it occasionally

Only ever had a couple of issues

One of her 'friends' posted on her wall which then turned into a battle between 3 boys which got nasty

I told her that her wall was her responsibility and she should have deleted it and to be more choosy about her FB friends

The other time she tagged someone in a 'funny' picture, he messaged her to say he didn't think it was funny and she replied it was only a joke and didn't remove it until I told her to

Other than that she mainly uses it for following the bands she likes

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17leftfeet · 16/03/2014 07:59

And it takes about 5 minutes to set up a Facebook account so it's much better she does it under my control with me setting the security settings, than her do it behind my back like some of her friends have done

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cece · 16/03/2014 08:08

none of mine have one yet. dd is 13 soon and thinks she is getting an account then. I'd rather she didn't and have told her that. my other 2 dc are still in primary school so not an issue yet.

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cory · 16/03/2014 13:38

13 is minimum age here, but only after long and serious talks. Haven't had any concerns here: big sister keeps an eye on little brother.

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Mintyy · 16/03/2014 13:42

I think 13 is too young, personally, but I know that is the minimum age recommended by Fb.

There are plenty of children who are just not bothered about it. Dd is 13 and hasn't even asked. Some of her friends have had accounts since they were 10 but the girls she really likes do not.

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bruffin · 16/03/2014 14:17

The minimum age is nothing to do with age suitability
Its to do with US laws about storing information about children under 12 and under And completely irrelevant to uk.

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secretscwirrels · 16/03/2014 16:49

Mine had them at 13. I set up tight privacy and I had their passwords.

I think it's had it's day actually, they are older now and use FB only as a messaging thing. This seems common among DS1's group who are all 18 now. They all use twitter though.

Lots of worse things I suspect. Watch out for AskFM in particular.

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Takver · 16/03/2014 17:09

Interesting, the norm is obviously very different on here compared to RL in this area. The vast majority of dd's classmates had an FB a/c before leaving primary, dd didn't it not being her sort of thing.

She asked if it would be OK to start one just recently in yr 7 (so she's 11 nearly 12) as her friendship group use FB messaging for out of school communication.

As per above, we have the password & log into her account to check from time to time (though to be honest, the main problem is having to look at and admire 50000 pictures of silly cats an hour when trying to relax after tea . . .).