Should a 10 year old girl have her own... web site, web cam,lap top,and cell phone?
Answers:
web site - is she crazy?
web cam - she can earn extra money as a porn star!
lap top - if you have all her passwords and check her history and cookies and read her e-mails - lots of work for you
cell phone - they're great for making drug deals
basically, at 10, you could probably trust her that she wouldn't be doing anything bad. they're just so sweet and naive at that age. but if she gets started playing with these things now, they could very well lead to others as she gets older.
Other answers:
Buy her a laptop with the best possible web parental control program and some educational software. All the rest is useless.
Buy her a laptop with the best possible web parental control program and some educational software. All the rest is useless.
webcam NO
Website NO
Laptop, maybe, just watch her
Cell phone WHY NOT? Thats not unsafe. Its actually the safest thing to give to a ten year old...Get a prepaid phone if your worried about her running up the bill!
None of the above. A ten year old should do her homework and listen to her parents. She needs none of those things for another five years. Then maybe a cell phone if her grades are good and she is responsible.
You are definitely right! The only thing that may be appropriate (and I'm not saying it is) is one of those cell phones designed specifically for kids. You can only program a few numbers on it and it would be so she could contact you or another family member. I'm not saying that's appropriate either necessarily. You'd know better than me. But I definitely think you are right. Stand your ground!
None of the above listed is safe for a 10 year old...... What would a 10 year old want with a cell phone, a web site, a web cam and a lap top?
No. It would give her access, and access her to, lots of people, including some crazies. Safest? Prob phone, with certain numbers and services barred, and you'd have to have strict guidelines, check her bills, etc. I have to say though, I would delay letting her have any of these for as long as you can.
no way in heel my kids would have that,not at ten!
They're all unneccessary. In order from what will do the most harm to what will do the least:
Webcam, laptop, website, cell phone
Webcams are asking for trouble. And don't give you daughter unrestriced internet access anytime soon. And just because I put cell phone last doesn't mean its a good idea. If you really want to give her something safe, get her a hamster.
cell phone would be the safest. Then the lap top but only if it had parental limits on it. There is absolutely no reason for a 10 yr. old to have a web address or web cam. You only have to read the news to understand how dangerous this can be. Personally, I think a 10 yr. old girl should have a barbie!
She's only 10. She doesn't need any of that. True that the cell phone is the safest out of your list, but she doesn't NEED it. It allow her to grow up faster then she needs too. My parents raised me with that philosophy and I truly believe it. I didn't have a cell phone or computer of my own until I graduated high school.
I think she should have all these things at age 15. Don't let her pressure you into buying them for her now. 10 is definitely too young. Maybe one of those children's cell phones that are limited in numbers she can call.....)(
you do not have to come up with excuses you are the parent, maybe she should be giving you reasons why she needs the things. a lap top, get real, a cell phone, she's 10 years old, who is she going to call that's so important that she can't be home?
a web cam, not on the best of days, again it is your job to protect this child. she wants her own web site, only if you have 100% access and the computer is in the living room. and an adult is around to keep an eye on things. even then, she's to young.
If she thinks she needs a webcam, you may have bigger issues than technology! I'm just saying...
You are right about all of them: I'm right now CONSIDERING one of those special kid's cell phones for my 10-yr-old, just for emergency use. The rest can wait!
I read an article about an internet-crime police unit a couple years ago (although I don't recall where.) Someone took an anecdote from that article & turned it into a 'dramatization' that is circling via email; I just got it last week. The basic facts of this story are almost exactly as I remembered them, so what actually happened is very much like what follows:
Shannon could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked toward home. The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster. "You're being silly, she told herself, "no one is following you." To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps kept up with her pace. She was afraid to look back and she was glad she was almost home. Shannon said a quick prayer, "God please get me home safe." She saw the porch light burning and she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be in the safety of her home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was there. The sidewalk was empty.
After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on.
She sent him an instant message:
By Angel213: Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird !
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighbourhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination
cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?
ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL
GoTo123:What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo123: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye
Meanwhile.....GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.
Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1993
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eight grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information to find her now.
Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ball park that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely.
He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the fear she had felt.
After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.
Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.
"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.
"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."
Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!
"Do you know who I am, Shannon?" the man asked.
"No," Shannon answered.
" I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."
Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14 and he lives in Michigan!"
The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to find kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. Your name the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."
Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?"
He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe
to think I was so far away, didn't it?"
She nodded.
"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?"
"It's a promise!"
At 10 she shouldn't have any of those things. What is wrong with you?