love of local in Utah
Sunday: Entertinment Review—Social Networks for Kids
No not Facebook and MySpace, did you know there are Social Networks for children as young as three?
“Whyville is a virtual world where boys and girls from all over the real world come to chat, play, learn, and have fun together. You design your face, earn clams by playing games, hang out at the beach, and go to town events at the Greek Theater. You can start your own business, buy a car and give your friends a ride, or write for the town newspaper.”
Club Penguin is a snow-covered, virtual world where children play games and interact with friends in the guise of colourful penguin avatars.
Imbee.com
imbee is the first free social network designed for young people!
imbeeis your personal spot on the internet. It’s full of fun things to do like
- Create a blog
- Upload pictures
- Make trading cards
- Create and join groups
My take on this…coming for a probably to overprotective mother of two little girls….NO. I am going to go with the old fashioned building social relationships face to face with my children. I am also going to follow my Aunts and Uncles rules they have in their home with social networks. My “tween” (ages 12-14) cousins just barley were allowed to have Facebook but have their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins AND friends as Facebook friends. That way we can all keep tabs on each other and it is very visible to everyone what we are all saying and who we are adding as “friends.” They also have strict rules in their home about where the computer is located, at what hours of the day it is to be used and have rules for how long their children can use the computer per day.
If you do allow your children to use social networks, use these guidelines:
Quick Facts
While social networking sites can increase a person’s circle of friends, they also can increase exposure to people with less than friendly intentions.
Here are tips for helping your kids use social networking sites safely:
- Help your kids understand what information should be private.
- Explain that kids should post only information that you – and they – are comfortable with others seeing.
- Use privacy settings to restrict who can access and post on your child’s website.
- Remind your kids that once they post information online, they can’t take it back.
- Talk to your kids about avoiding sex talk online.
- Tell your kids to trust their gut if they have suspicions. If they ever feel uncomfortable or threatened by anything online, encourage them to tell you.
Taken from the website http://www.onguardonline.gov.
Share your opinion. What do you think of social networks for young children?
