social network sites for 11 year old?

[jjawm]

My stepson Aidan was excited to get a facebook account (with us making sure he was safe and everything), but we discovered that you're not allowed to use it until you're 13. He says his friends at school have accounts. We're not willing to lie about it, and he agrees, but is upset that he can't be a part of it for two years.

Are there any other options? Do some parents lie about their kid's age?

[THANKFULFORFIVE]

Yep, they just type in a different birthday....we just let both the 14 & 11 year old get on a few weeks ago. Myself and dad got one too so we can see everyone and everything going on. I could be wrong, but I think it is pretty harmless and I see how much more "social" my daughter is online. I guess I really didn't think of it as "lying"....? We've all been having a blast reconnecting with old friends and family that we don't see much. My girls get to chat with cousins, aunts and uncles as well as friends from their old schools. I've always been so strict with my kids in the past about the use of internet and cell phones, now I'm trying to "lighten up" just a bit and let them join the ranks in our "techy" world.

[Breathless Wonder]

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/02/top_...king_sites.php

[amynbebes]

There's one by Disney I think. Dd had it a year or so ago but mostly uses myspace now.

[jjawm]

Thanks for the links! We're just not comfortable having him fudge his age. I'm hoping some of his friends from school are on some of the alternative ones. He's just discovered chatting and email and is having a blast.

[schmee33]

I don't know too much about it my my 10 year old nephew really likes "Club Penguin"

I know my sister-in-law is very happy with it as a site for him to use. Alot of it is games and stuff, but there is some social stuff as well.

[Jyotsna]

I set one up for my son who is 12. He chats with my brother, his cousins, and some of my friends as well as his friends. We have the agreement that I can log in at anytime to check out his emails ect, and if I don't think things are going well, I'll pull the plug.

At my house he has no unsupervised computer time. I don't know about what goes on at his dad's house though.

[onelilguysmommy]

i know club penguin is a big one...a lot of stuff on there costs though. my 4yo loves the games, he obviously doesnt bother with the chat stuff right now though. he had a girl ask him to be her b/f one day though

[Bright point]

Hello everyone, we are a group called “ bright point " and we are working on a topic that " Is it good for teenagers to use social network". Could you give us some arguments ? Thank you !

[whatsnextmom]

My DS is 11, his friends range from 11-13 and only one of his buddies is on facebook (and it's not the 13-year-olds.) Instead, they generally interact by texting (those that have phones or using an ipod texting app,) email for those who don't have access or through minecraft (one friend has a server for which they are the only kids on.) They all seem pretty satisfied.

I think your DS would be surprised to know how few of friends his age are actually using facebook even though it may seem that "everyone" at school has it.

[Linda on the move]

This is a 3 year old thread