I am this mom. (Well, maybe not with the pink boa and countertop dancing, but I’m solidly on board with minors and social media.) It’s remarkably hard to be the mom who says no when so many parents around me are saying yes. To hold my own against request after request, seeing the disappointment in the kids’ eyes each time, knowing they think I’m a shrew.
Parenting. Sheesh.
“Sorry, Charlie, but I don’t believe any child under 13 has any business on social media.
There. I said it…
As much as I know I can lock down my kids’ accounts and keep their internet sharing private, here’s the thing: I know what I post on my social media accounts, and I don’t want them seeing what I do in my grown-up space on the internet. And I don’t want your 11-year-old to see what I post either, thank you very much.”
Why I’m Not Accepting Your Kid’s Social Media Request – Scary Mommy
Riddle from the Middle 
When I used to work at a camp, there were 10 year olds with phones and Instagram and Twitter accounts. It was the weirdest, saddest thing I’ve ever seen. They were spending their childhood years on social media. I wonder if they’ll grow up to regret it.
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I wonder, too. My kids went to sleep away camp for the first time last year and their very first rule was absolutely no technology. There were kids at the drop off handing over phones, looking like they were cutting off their arms — my boy was one of them (with an iPod). But he had SO MUCH FUN that week without tech to distract him. I wish more afterschool programs and camps would consider this…
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We had a no technology rule too but parents insisted their kids needs a phone in case something happened. I even had one parents act surprised that we didn’t allow handheld games at camp for the times “they had nothing to do”. I couldn’t believe it.
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Oh, for Pete’s sake.
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Yes!
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I tend to agree. I didn’t let Sassy have FB until she was 13 and she doesn’t much use it. I have to approve her friends and I’m plenty picky. She does enjoy the games from time to time.
Moo has IG and I have given her some followers, who are adults I’ve been following for a long, long time, who are excellent photographers. She’s seriously interested in photography, so there are no selfies. If you’re ever followed by a mysterious goat, it’s Moo 😉
The big one for my girls is the Hangouts on Google. They practically live there chatting with the squad off and on all day. I make them put the phones on the chargers (public space) at bedtime.
I myself do not friend minors or follow kids, the exception being the daughter of my friend who passed. She’s of age now, but I friended her when she was not quite 16.
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Yep, T’s 12 and we let him have text & e-mail this school year (though he told me e-mail was for “old people” — HA!), but he keeps pestering me for Instagram. It doesn’t help when he goes to a basketball camp at the local university and the head coach and players say he can follow them there. School’s ratcheted up the stakes on this one…
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Ooh. Yeah. That’s a tough call.
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My children were not connected to any social media until age 14. The irony is they joined FB not because they wanted to, but so that they could access notices for the clubs they joined at school. I am happy to see that they are not too concerned about social media accounts.
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That makes a lot of sense. I get all kinds of info about Bear’s afterschool STEM club through a private FB group. Neither are interested in that right now — Bear wants to text, T-man has text & e-mail (he’s 12) so naturally he wants instagram. Sheesh.
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