Techno-Babes
This post was originally posted by Cath at SquiggleMum
I love this photo of my son and I blogging. Well, I’m blogging and he’s giving me material to write about! As children of a software developer and a reasonably tech-savvy mama, my kids are bound to be fairly technically literate and exposed to the online world from a young age. But how young is too young? Or is there no such thing, given that these kids are growing up as “digital natives”?
My son is 8mths old. A laptop is certainly not a foreign item to him. He knows that we touch the keys, but not the screen. He knows that we use gentle fingers on the keys and do not hit them! He is allowed to play with an old keyboard, but knows Mummy’s laptop is not for touching.
My daughter has just turned 3. She regularly emails family and friends, with help from me. She independently types her name and inserts smileys (shift key and all) and knows how to change the size and colour of the font in her text. She knows what Google is. She knows my online name is SquiggleMum (and has asked her father if he is “SquiggleDaddy”). She knows what a blog is. She knows how to get out of a program she has inadvertently opened by pressing esc. She knows how to insert a CD and plug in a USB mouse. She knows we use computers to find information, to communicate with people, to share photos, to watch video and to listen to music. I didn’t know most of these things until I was well into my teens!
I want my kids to be able to function effectively in the world they find themselves growing up in – but as their Mum I also want to protect them. I want to expose them to new technologies without exposing them to danger. And that means I need to make some decisions, sooner rather than later.
Will I let them have their own email addresses? Will I let them post to their own blog? Will I let them claim their own Twitter profile? E-literate parents are already gently leading their little ones into the blogosphere, or the twitterverse, or whatever you want to call it. A prominent Aussie blogger’s son, for example, has his own Twitter profile and almost two hundred followers. He’s two and a half years old. Too young? Maybe, maybe not. He might have a significant following, but the only person he follows online is his Daddy. Obviously his dad is watching out for him.
At the moment, I’m happy with my kids sending and receiving emails via my address, having their faces and stories (selectively chosen) on my blog, and not having a presence on Twitter or Facebook. I guess I’ll have to keep reviewing that though. Technologies change rapidly and children grow fast! What have you decided about the amount you will expose your kids to the online world? I’d love you to share your opinion – but please do it sensitively as we are talking about real people’s kids.
Filed Under: Family
My eldest has only just started his own email account. I think different families will find different levels of access to technology suits them. To me the big thing for me with my kids at this stage of their lives, is having the kids use the computer in a place where I can see what is going on.
@PlanningQueen I agree. I think having the computer in a communal area is a really smart rule to establish early on.
Believe me it only gets harder as your kids get older. It’s hard because we don’t have any example or role models from our own childhood – the net wasn’t around back then! We only allowed our kids on Facebook this year (they are 15 and 13). Funnily enough, now it’s allowed they’re not that interested – I think their original interest was probably because their mum is addicted (whoops!). We have had to deal with some of the bad stuff online and ban the kids from the computer at times, to make sure certain standards are followed. We haven’t even gone looking necessarily to see what the kids have been up to, but sooner or later they get found out … and we discipline where needed. Reminds me of that saying “be sure your sin will find you out”!
Hi Cath! Great post. I have taken a holiday from Facebook and deleted a few other online (and non-Christian) profiles, so this has allowed me to delve back into my blog page and find this one! Wow! My daughter will be 6 in April and knows how to turn the computer on and off, open up web pages from the desktop, red-ex to close windows, etc. She wants to learn how to type, so your idea about sending emails from your address is a good one. I’m certainly not looking forward to when she wants to be on the computer more. And although I have a laptop that I use in my room, she will only be able to use the desktop PC in the dining room…under strict supervision with a net nanny installed!