To not "friend" dn on fb?

[PeppaLump]

First time posting so please be gentle. SIL has allowed her 6yo son to have a fb account and has asked the family to " friend" him to boost his confidence. Dh and I only use fb to share photos, catch up with friends etc, and aren't particularly enamoured with giving a littlun access our fb pages, tbh i just don't think someone so young is ready for the world of social networking. We've said no to other friends dcs for the same reason in the past and had no issue.

SIL says we're hurting dn by saying no, but I want to stand my ground on this one. AIBU?

well you have the moral high ground in the first place because there's a minimum age restriction of I think 13 for Facebook.

FWIW, I am 'friends' with my own kids and neices and nephews - and the older they get, the more we both regret it!

Well apart from the fact he shouldn't be on facebook as he's only 6, but you can put him on a restricted list which will allow him to only access what you want him to see :)

No way!

If they want to 'boost his confidence' there are better ways than teaching him 300 virtual friends are better than 3 in RL.

Stand your ground and tell your SIL not to be so silly, your DN is only getting hurt if she tells him he should be.

Six??!

YANBU! What next? Twitter to help with spelling?

Thanks for the reassurance, I thought there might be an age restriction but wasn't sure. In any case I agree that at that age to RL friendships are far more important, and that you can't explain to a 6yo the differnence between online and real life. Will find a way to tell SIL to suck it up and interact with dn in RL only.

Thankfully dd is only 9 months I dread the day where I have have this convo with her

Don't dread it Peppa, it's an easy convo to have.

DD - 'Can I go on fb?'

Me - 'HAHAHAHAHA - no'

DD - 'Didn't think so '

(DD's 11)

Had that same conversation today with my DD, also 11.

Awesome. Although I dread to think what will be the next big thing by the time dd is that age!

No. I don't have any kids on my fb.
That's the way it's going to stay.

A friend let her son be on FB with his real name at 10 or 11, all that happened was the school bullies found him and cyber bullied him. 13 is quite young enough. You SIL is misguided.

He is six yah tis like asking my children if htey can read my mad sweary posts on MN- I dont think so!!!
Tell him to go play with lego or dig for worms in the garden ...JeeeeZ

yanbu
I wouldn't have a 6 yr old on my fb
it is your SIL problem not yours.

'Can I have shoes with heels on?'

'HAHAHAHA - No'

'Can I have streaks in my hair?'

'HAHAHAHA - No'

'Can I watch X-factor'

' You've gone too far now'

No kids on my facebook - no adults on DD's facebook. That's my rule. I just that when my cousin's kids want to be my fb friend. Sorry, no.

"Can I have an older brother?"

(hasten to add NOT from the 11yo)

YANBU to think facebook unsuitable for a 6yo (it is!) but I would probably allow him as a friend on a very limited profile just for the sake of his feelings. He only needs to be able to see your name and profile picture, as a bare minimum I think.

I have younger relatives on mine (none under 13 though) but they don't get to see very much.

What blameitonthe caffeine said.

My ds1 knew he had to wait till he was 13 for fb. (he was almost 14 when he actually set one up) My dd1 is 11 and asked recently. My reply 'nope'
But she isn't allowed to dye her hair wear heels or dress inappropriately either. I'm the boss around here lol.
I only have my son and my niece who is the same age on my fb. No other kids.

to Facebook boosting a 6yo's confidence. I boost my 6yo dn's confidence by playing football with him and getting my arse kicked telling him how much better he's getting.

I would report him to FB as underage personally. No more FB account, no more problem. Some parents are spectacularly stupid!