Should an 8 yr old be on the internet?

Question

I let my 8 yr old daughter on the inernet. She only goes to approved sites, Nick jr., her school, cartoon net, and I carley. Her father is totally against this, saying I am putting her at risk. Our computer is in a main room in my house and I constantly check up on her. I dont allow her to use email or chats. He says she shouldnt be online till she is 16. What do you readers think? Her father is a good dad he is verry active in her life. I have tried to compromise and tell him I will limit her to 2 sites but he is not seeing my point at all. I do limit her computer time to 2 hours every week. Please keep answers nice to both of us as I might be using them to make my point if you agree with me. Or maybe I AM wrong. Sorry for any and all typos.

Answer 1

I think maybe only if you are with her during the time she is on, or at least in the room. Maybe when she is ten or twelve, she could have some more freedom? I think what you are doing right now is probably ok, just make sure she knows never to click on the little links on the side bars as they could lead to bad websites or ok websites with other bad links. They do have that child e-safety program you can install....  Hope you work it out!

:-) Lilyana

Answer 2

I been online scince 9 and theres alot of good sites block all the sites and make some accesible and heres another good one clubpenguin.com

Answer 3

i agree with you because the future is practicly moved by computers so the faster she can learn about computers the better it will be for her future and since shes 8 she really wouldn't know any bad websites

Answer 4

My daughter is 8 as well and  my computer is in the living room and I only allow a few sites as well.  While I agree that your hubby sounds like a good father in trying to protect his child; she has to use the computer/net for school work later on and eventually college then in her carrer.  I think that she needs to be"internet freindly".  Just do what you've been doing as far as watching over her.

Answer 5

I think that's fine. But if her dad is scared about her safety, you might want to stay in the room while she's on the computer. I think she should be able to go to certain sites, but telling her NOT to use the computer will make her want to more. I think that you are doing everything right!

Answer 6

if it is only the approved sites she is visiting then yes ... i would say its okay ...

Answer 7

I think you are doing a good thing by letting her use the internet, but safely. If you don't let her use it until she is 16, she might feel oppressed and sneak around when you guys aren't around. By letting her use a few websites shows that you trust her and that the internet isn't something she should be curious about. There are plenty of good websites for young kids. I sure enjoyed searching those sites when I was young!

Answer 8

Yes she should. I have been having things on the computer since I was 8 and I have gotten into some trouble so don't let her get on anyting that is for older kids or adults. Also some other fun kid friendly sites she might like are:

Club Penguin

Webkinz

Girls Go Games.

I hope this helped.

-Tara

Answer 9

My daughters are 7 and 9 and we have the same policy as you. Only sites I approve like ones you stated everythinggirl.com is one of their favorites, it is Barbie, Polly Pocket etc.  I log on to the sites and if anything pops up she ask me, we have a pop up blocker so generally it is only things like Flashplayer required etc.

I think it is fine and kids need to learn how to use the Internet as well. My husband and I are pretty conservative with our kids, more so than any of their friends parents and I see nothing wrong with it and neither does he, if it is approved sites and is monitored closely like you and I both do.

You can also set parental controls on the computer. These sites are free and are by major companies that would not put kids at risk, kids are their main demographic.

I wanted to add that my kids have actually been on the Internet since they were probably 4 or 5, old enough to manipulate the mouse at nickjr. and noggin, they are great sites for young kids.

Answer 10

I think its fine if you feel shes responsible. I always had to keep an eagle eye on my son when he went on the kids joke sites etc because of the pop ups, he would just click whatever to get it off the screen so I had to limit his sites. Now we have no issues.

Answer 11

It is absolutely ok for her to be online as long as you are keeping a firm hand on what sites she visits.

I've had my kids online since they were old enough to work a mouse.  (They are now 9,6, and 3)  My youngest has a website http://www.poissonrouge.com/ that he plays and loves.  

What I did, to make sure they don't go to other sites, was to create a homepage on geocities that had the icons of the sites linked to that site.  I then made the kids their own account on the computer (we have a mac) and their internet browser has that geocities page as a home page and the browser is locked for any site that is not listed on that geocities page.  If they want to go to an outside site, a warning pops up saying they don't have permission.  If I approve of the new site, I'll add it to the permitted sites on their browser.

It sounds like a lot of work but it really only took me maybe an hour to set it up.

I think that banning children from the internet only breeds a fear of something that can be a great learning tool when used properly and also inhibits their growth mentally, cognitively (hand/eye coordination with the mouse) and keeps them from keeping up with technology that most likely will change quite a bit by the time they are 16, you know?

Answer 12

its fine just keep checking in on her and check all the websites you go too...

Answer 13

ok this is a very large social problem in the world and

the father thinks this cuz

when i was a kid

i looked up stuff that wasnt so good

nad every time my parents came i would quickley change

it.

and i was like seven

i think you should sit with her while she is on and your husband is wierd 16 is way to old to be on the computer what about book reports

hope iu heloed

Answer 14

as long she stays on the approved sites and you check up on her and she stays in the time limit. its OKAY! her father is just overprotective. you're right. so don't go back on your word. btw, try letting her use disneychannel.com. it's a safe kid site and has tons of cool games and activities. :) it's also parent-friendly.

Answer 15

why dont you just let her how she is and buy some computer games so she wont want to go that much on.

Answer 16

I think it is good that your daughter is on the Internet! I teach ,and children go onto controlled sights in gr. 1! As long as it is controlled, they can learn so much more than we can teach them. Even when your daughter is 16 you must control the sites she is on, maybe more so then than now. Teach your daughter how to use it properly and for the right reasons. Put blocks on the sites you don't want her on. Let her father do this so he feels secure in what your daughter is looking up. It is a great teaching tool and will be used from gr. 1 to University.  Computer fluency is the way of the world.

Answer 17

Personally the rule in our house is going to be no internet at all until they are at the point in school they need it to help research for projects and other work. At this point my son is only allowed on the Fisher Price toddler site and the Veggie Tales site and ONLY when myself or husband can do it with him.   Even then it will be in a central part of the home and with controls on it.  Kids spend way to much time these days on computers, in front of the TV or video games.  

If she is using it to send a picture and note to grandma or a family member she doesn't get to see often using your email address once in awhile, that is perfectly understandable and should be allowed.   I think 16 is a little extreme to say they can't be online until then though.  There are ways with software to block sites you don't want kids getting access to (like chat rooms and myspace for example).

It could be your husband doesn't understand the sites she's on and maybe showing them to him will help ease his anxiety about it.  It doesn't sound like she's allowed endless hours either, which is good.   I would make sure objectionable sites are blocked though with something like Net Nanny (which will allow you as parents to look up all her internet activity unknown to her to make sure she really is on the sites she says she is if you ever have doubts).

Answer 18

I think that children need to be taught how to be safe on the internet in the same way that we teach them to be safe in the world.  It needs to be done slowly, carefully, building freedom over time, as they show more mastery in keeping themselves safe.  I think that you're fine letting her go onto carefully selected sites & checking on her frequently, to make sure that she's being safe & polite.  

Then, the next step will be to add another level of internet use - maybe Instant Messenger with an approved buddy list, beginning with her only using it when you're sitting beside her & building up to more freedom as you know that she understands the danger.  

You're doing fine.

Answer 19

of course! why not! the internet lets you explore things and in a why you kind of learn things to. also for some schools you need to do research and need to use the internet. Also as a student myself, some kids will pick on you just beacuse your parents wont let you go on the internet because it is not safe!

Answer 20

I think on those sites she is fine. But I don't have any kids. I would definitely monitor closely. At that young though, there probably isn't much she would be interested in. Not like a 13 year old that may want to look for boys or something.

Answer 21

its fine shes just playing a few games thats all

Answer 22

ok what if she has a school project that she needs to do research on   you kinda need the internet as long as she is supervised she will be fine

Answer 23

I feel the same way you do. We let our 7½ yr. old son on approved sites, as well. Our computer, too, is in a main room, often times one of us sits and plays on the sites with him. I think as long as you are attentative to the content she's looking at, it shouldn't be a big deal. Maybe have her dad spend some time with her on the computer, so he can see, firsthand, the types of sites she's allowed on, and what she does on them. It'd give him an opportunity to see her enjoyment of going to those sites, and see for himself that there's nothing objectionable on those ones.

Answer 24

Wow. Why can't she go on the Internet? waiting until she is 16 is rediculas. As long as she knows not to put out personal information she can go on the Internet all she wants and will not have a problem.

Answer 25

My daughter is almost 8  and she uses the Internet..You are doing all the right things...She should be safe.

Answer 26

Well I think you are doing really great! She should be allowed on the computer as long as she is doing what she is told, and you are checking up on her a lot. You are training her on how to use it right.

When kids are in school, most schools let the kids in computer class go to approved sites. Like funbrain pbskids things like that.

Even when she is 11 12 and 13 she is going to HAVE to use the computer for research for school assignments. I had to do a HUGE research project once in seventh grade, almost the entire thing was by internet.

Your husband might want to talk to a school teacher or something to find out about internet safety and how he can keep his daughter safe on the internet while still allowing her on it.

Good luck and I hope I helped =]

Answer 27

My son is 7 and we have the same agreement as you . He can go to Nick jr. Cartoon Network, Boomerang, There are some other sites he enjoys that he can log on too. I think as long as your diligent and they are not on there for hours by themselves, with out parental supervision, it should be fine. I think is one of those fine lines where that daddys girl fear comes into play, and hes afraid something anything could happen to her. I think he may not be looking at the fact your there hes thinking OMG ..PERVS.. this is where you sit down and initiate a conversation with the 2 of them, have her repeat the rules out loud and giver her make up scenarios to comfort him in that she has the ability and knowledge to handle potential situations and see if he eases up a bit.