to be shocked that under 10s are on facebook.

[Northernlurker]

I barely allow myself on there but have just seen a friend's grandchildren posting on their pages - which are open to view as well! I know these dcs are younger than my oldest and she isn't old enough. It's really worrying - I am as unhelicopter a parent as you can get but I think this is very undesirable and potentially unsafe.

I know there's a lot of pressure on parents from kids, and it is hard sometimes to say No when 95% of classmates have it - you don't want kids to be the odd one out.
I seriously think that FB(with all the financial resources they have...) should have a side/sub program that Parents can use, whereby the kids account can be opened through the parents account (with parents acc locked to kids of course) and all friend requests/account changes to kids account can only be authorised by parent . (Bit like administrator settings on a home pc)

Beertricks - Personally I think FB should be 16+. Just trying to consider there are some parents that do cave in, just mulling over a semi-solution for those that do.
I'm the the worlds biggest culprit for going against peer pressure. (say no to party bags, no mobiles for primary school kids, under 16's phones left downstairs at night to avoid all night texting...(Big meanie :-)

Actually I can understand where IThinkTooMuch is coming from BTP.

DS1 knows that most of his school friends have FB accounts. He's asked for a FB account several times over the last year or so - I've told him no.

Last year he took an opportune moment while I had (what turned out to be) a lengthy phone call in the other room to get onto my laptop and register (or try too - of course the lack of an actual email address to confirm from stopped him). Of course that was a foolish tactic as I got back to my computer, when to "my" home page to find that I was my DS1...... (he was suitably chastised punished for that one). (my laptop now locks after only 3 minutes in activity)

This week I've had to take his new phone off him, as, being unable to totally disable any internet access on it, it was my only choice - as he once again attempted to register on FB - this time using his phone. (again another silly tactic as I watch him like a hawk with his phone and anything more than a couple of minutes of him "writing a text" or "playing a game" I'm looking to see what what he's up to). Not to mention I can see all his phone useage/times/internet access via my laptop by logging into "his" (in my name) mobile account online.

Recently - he went to a friends house, and accessed the internet, via a Wii. The Wii was upstairs in a bedroom, the mother was downstairs for an extended period of time.

This friend I'm certain isn't the only one that has "unmonitored" internet access at home - and there is the very real risk of him signing up while at a friends house...

Thankfully (!?) he's not quite smart enough to make himself unsearchable (I found him both times he tried it via the search before deactivating the accounts......I also reported the profiles to facebook to have them deleted........whether that happens or not I don't know ) so if he tried at a friends house I would probably find him (I search periodically for him just in case).

I hope want to hold out another 1 1/2yrs before I let him have one, but at the same time it is tempting to allow him, and set it up for him so I can monitor it properly........and more importantly know that it exists.

The scary thing is IThink, that our kids are likely to be far more tech savvy than we will ever be. There are programs they can download that will allow them to switch between pages with one keystroke, should a parent come within 2 feet of the screen, and everything they had been looking at (including tabs) will be hidden in a millisecond.
My DN (12) had a blackberry for Christmas. SIL was blissfully unaware that she could log on to the net using public/friends wifi with it, as BB Acc had been opened by an over 18yo.
She can't any more. oops.