legal age to surf

WHat is the right time when kids should be allowed to surf indepentantly,

THis forum says to sighup 13 and above, but often we see kids here who claim to be 11 or 12 yrs old, 6th /7th graders etc. Are they doing the right thing by spending their time surfing net in chat forums?? Are they really ready. i know it is individual criteria, but what do you all feel. For me a 6th or 7th grader need to be more active in activities.

Now kids may not like it, but seeing these kids till late night someimes till 2 in the morning (They claim it) makes me wonder if the parents are also aware of this.

WHat is the right time when kids should be allowed to surf indepentantly,
When kids are allowed go out on their own, when kids' public out-hanging doesn't concern parents anymore than I think they should be allowed to surf independently. Otherwise a supervised surfing or at least parents keeping a tab on the hits their router's getting is probably not a bad idea.
For me a 6th or 7th grader need to be more active in activities.
The onus lies on parents, when kids from very beginning observe their own parents glued to TV or laptops rather than spending time in family and participating passively in family activities then they are most likely to follow it.

i don't know wat is the right time when the kids should be allowed to surf.i am 14 n i joined this forum when i was 13. my mom is concerned abt me being on the net for hours n hours. i actually stay at IF upto 2 or 3 am on weekends. my mom is aware of that n she tells me not to. she like sees me happy every time i am on IF chatting n laughing n sumtimes she doesn't even tell me to stop. she is happy with my school work n she thinks i work hard n i do enough activities in school every week n i need a break. but she NEVER supports me in staying late but at the same time she sumtimes doesn't feel like stopping. i think it depends on the parents. if parents want n they r very concerned they can put a limit for using net n its up to them to tell their kids what they r supposed to do.
( i think i am off the topic. my apologies 😆 )

Originally posted by: abhijit shukla

Let us just take it upon ourselves to -when we encounter one of those kids- go ahead just start with one of 'when I was your age....' stories and they will understand that they are really not among their peers here.

Abhijit ji!!!

Who is a kid wrt you? Me a kid before you.Almost 20 years younger to you .

Coming back to the topic.I don't about legal age but ideal age might be some 14.It does'nt mean below that age ,children should'nt browse ,they can but only for projects not for anyother purpose.

Cheers,

Myth

I know from where the topic is coming 😉 😆

Well staying up late night is not good for either the elders or the kids..... when the elders are doing the mistake I dont think they have any right to tell the kids to do this and do that...... and for the kids whose parents sleep early even they sleep early.... they just follow elder's footsteps.... its for the elders in their life and not on the forum to take care of them.....

There is nothing wrong in making friends but I can understand that they can reveal the info that they should not have because of their age....

but then most of the kids who are seen here are good at studies.... they also get help in genereal knowledge over on the forum.... so there are some benefits and flaws of them being on the forum at young age.... it depends how they utilise it.....

Source -->http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/pare ntsguide.mspx

A parent's guide to online safety: Ages and stages
Published: September 20, 2006
Ages 2 to 4: Starting out
During this stage, online activity is most likely to involve parents.

Parents can hold children in their laps while they look at family photographs, use a Web cam to communicate with relatives, or visit kid-friendly sites such as the PBS Kids site.

• Get online safety tips for kids ages 2-4.


Top of page
Ages 5 to 6: Doing it themselves
By the time they reach age five, children will probably want to explore the Web by themselves.

It's important for parents to guide their children on safer Internet surfing as the children start to use the Internet themselves.


• Get online safety tips for kids ages 5-6.


Top of page
Ages 7 to 8: Interest growing
Part of normal behavior for children in this age group is seeing what they can get away with. While online, this might include going to sites or talking in chat rooms to which parents wouldn't give them permission.

Online activity reports from MSN Premium or other services can be especially helpful during this stage. Kids won't feel that their parents are looking over their shoulders, but the report still shows where they've been.


• Get online safety tips for kids ages 7-8.


Top of page
Ages 9 to 12: Online savvy
Preteens want to know everything, and they've heard what's available on the Web. It's normal for them to try to see what's there.

For subject matters parents find objectionable (for example, sexually explicit adult content or bomb-making instructions), parents can use MSN Parental Controls to help block the objectionable content.



• Get online safety tips for kids ages 9-12.


Ages 13 to 17: Technically sophisticated
Helping teenagers with online safety is especially tricky, because they often know more than their parents about Internet software.

Even with older kids, it's important for parents to take an active role in guiding their children's Internet use. Strict adherence to online safety rules agreed upon by parent and child, and frequent reviews of children's online activity reports are especially important.

Parents should remember to keep their own passwords secure, so that teens cannot sign in as parents.

• Get online safety tips for kids ages 13-17.

The Key always is

1. Setting up ground rules at home for internet usage, regards content/timing

2. Setting seperate ID's for each member of the family on the computer

3. Computer staying away from the Kid's room and

4. Offcourse setting up a trust between a child and a parent. (I know, I know easier said than done, this is the time of the Generation Gap's posts to pop-up😉)

There is no age bar according to me.....The parents should knoe wat there child is doing on the net....Bas isse zyada if u keep a child behind bars...I gues woh zyaada bigdega let him be independent...and to visit a forum like this the child can be almost 10+ It doesnt make a difference..coz nothign stupid is here....But working till late at night is not right

The Best age for this is Adult(16) , Bcoz they know everything. Well , there is nothing bad in this forum, but sleeping at late nights, its depend on Parents. They dont have to allow their Childs to Sleep late

Well frankly, I joined tihs forum when I was twelve but did nothing other than read updates. I started borwsing the net at around age 9 but only stuck to school-related websites or neopets.

At around age 12 I started exploring more but I knew my limits. I usually went to wikipedia to learn something eg. phrases in Bahasa Malaysia. At around 12 1/2 I became active on IF.

I am 13 1/2 now. I think I am mature enough to handle this. I know my limits and stick to them. I have a few friends on IF but I have never told them more than my age and city. Not even my real name. So I think it is ok.

As for late nights, well, the only time I browse late on IF is when I am jetlagged. I have nothing better to do at that time. Otherwise I switch off early. So no problem there either. I think 13 is the right age.

Internet is inevitable in today's life. Children use it for gathering information for their school work. A kid below age 10 could also need it and it is not possible for parents to keep tab all the time. I don't endorse a fixed timing for surfing but a timeframe would be ideal, say 6 to 8 depending on the age. A 10 year old shouldn't need it for more than an hour. Parents should be well aware of the dangers of this 'unknown world' and I think it is a must to have parental control till 15-16 years. After that they anyways move out or surf in the university.