to think a 10 year old wouldn't be able to set a Facebook account up and bully someone on it?

[Scratty]

DS isn’t particularly smart with technology, he does have an iPad that has parental controls, etc.

We also have a downstairs computer.

DS (at the age of 10 - not amazing at technology) couldn’t do that, right? I don’t know many 10 year olds. He says he hasn’t, but someone is saying he has.

Thanks.

Can you go onto Facebook and search for this account?

Yes I'm sure my 10 year old could. Hes a big fan of coding and hes always showing me the stuff he can do online. I can barely use a pc but he is completely self taught. Facebook is easy if you have an email. Its just filling in a form, it gives you instructions throughout the joining process.

You need to find out if your ds has an email account and go through his messages.

I’ve looked at the account. There’s nothing to see. It’s just his name no photos or details of anything

Of course they could.

Very very easily. My 8 year old can code now too! It's crazy how tech savvy kids are today!

Open Facebook in the browser on his iPad. If it’s him, I bet he hasn’t logged out (they make it almost impossible)...

Op you are a rather naive to think that ten year olds can't/don't set up Facebook accounts.

I guess it's not beyond the capability of 10/11 year olds to set up an account in the name of someone else either? Do you think DS is the subject of this? Can Facebook trace the email address for you?

Sorry for random "a".

Not that tech savvy? What on earth do you think he’s learning in school?

It’s very easy to set up a hotmail account and setting up Fb is hardly difficult.

I have two 10 yos. They don’t have Fb but yes, they’d both be technically capable. It doesn’t take particular skill.

If it’s his name and picture but not him, report to FB.

Check your history first though.

You don’t need to be tech savvy to set up a Facebook you need an email address and to lie about your age (I think)! Id like to pretend that I set it up really young but I’m too old 😢. However most of my younger family members had it by 12-15 and given how much bigger Facebook is now I would say totally possible! And while I don’t know your son or his friends I would think more likely than another child setting up an account in your ds name so he would get the blame if found out! Have you checked his iPad dose he have the apps? Are they logged into an account?

Are you on Facebook? Find the person using your son’s name. You might get some hints about who it is. (Many primary school kids with illicit accounts will not have high privacy)

At school they are exposed to much filthier language than they let on. At home they might giggle at the word bum but at school many will be using swear words out of hearing of adults. (I’m assuming that this is what you mean by sounding older)

Yes at 10 yo most children could.

It's more whether you think he'd do it without asking you or against direct instruction about signing up for things.

The email address thing is also difficult because he could have created an email address to do this iyswim?

Have you followed the advice here and checked browsing history and trash mail box yet?

Scratty my kids were in a tiny village school for a while. Mixed class age 7-10. All of them set up Facebook using school computers and lying about their age using school computers before school found out and blocked Facebook and informed parents.

My dd was 7 and although she had help with the birth date year from one of older kids she did the rest herself.

By the time she was year five at a different Bob standard large primary I would say 70% had Facebook. I know as I have seen their friends lists!

My kids are older than yours and have grown up using computers and white boards and programming games since reception.
I'm afraid you are being very niave if you don't think a year five can do this.

What’s his explanation? Is he just denying everything?

If there is evidence then either it is him or someone has set up an account using his name and is using it to send the messages.

Both my 7 and 9 year olds could do it.

A few months ago, Ds2 set up his own email address then his own YouTube account and casually dropped in that his dob wouldn't work so he'd make himself 18 to do it. He did all of that within 5 minutes when I answered the phone.

Of course he could.

Doesnt mean he has though.

Check your history. He will have needdd an email address to do it though.

He could easily do it.

He almost certainly wouldn't have destroyed the evidence - check browser history and login as if he did it, it should all be there.

Sorry but my ds set up his own Gmail account and then other socil media accounts at age 10. Its really easy, you just follow the on screen instructions.

My five year old probably could if i gave him a suitable DOB to input.

Doesn't mean he did, but he definitely could.

Does he have his own email address? It's a level of deviousness if he has set up a second email address just to do so.

I’ll have a look in a bit then.

My 5 year old genuinely couldn’t do it. She is great at using the iPad for games but likes some help if she needs to type a lot of stuff.

He’s denying it all. The account doesn’t have his picture no. Just his name

By sounding older I mean the way it’s written, not the language. It has used correct spelling and punctuation

Of course a 10 year old could. My 4 year old nephew can work his iPad.
However that in no means your ds is guilty

But it's really simple?

God yeah, my son could easily,

He has a group chat with his friends on another site, that is only for friends. I monitor it on occasion and was so surprised by the tone of them all. They seem like lovely little boys of 10/11, so nice and polite and there they were talking like teenagers and cursing away! Opened my eyes!

Dont dismiss the fact that he has done it. I would recommend looking at the browser history etc. The good thing is the young kids think us adults dont know about the internet and rarely hide stuff.