Thanks. I had no problem with using the Mini as a computer. Its a great machine. Since I have only one TV which is the Mini's monitor, it doesn't allow me to use TV while she's using the Mini. I guess I'll have to continue reading books.
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Childs first Computer - iMac or Macbook?
- Thread starter md63
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Thanks. I had no problem with using the Mini as a computer. Its a great machine. Since I have only one TV which is the Mini's monitor, it doesn't allow me to use TV while she's using the Mini. I guess I'll have to continue reading books.
accidental damage
since apple does not have accidental damage. i would go with the imac. If something gets spilled on the keyboard would likely need to be replaced. If a macbook got spilled on that is more than likely a new computer. Since your child is 5 a spill is likely to happen. i dont know how many adults here have spilled on their macbook.
since apple does not have accidental damage. i would go with the imac. If something gets spilled on the keyboard would likely need to be replaced. If a macbook got spilled on that is more than likely a new computer. Since your child is 5 a spill is likely to happen. i dont know how many adults here have spilled on their macbook.
I should have added that, thanks for that.
If that is the route that you do take, just create a separate user account for her, and restrict her access to your media files.
No I'm not talking out of both sides of my mouth. Kids should be afforded some level of privacy, but they shouldn't have completely unrestricted access. As to the cable box, you can go in and restrict shows based on their rating level, if you feel that it is necessary.
It's just the fact that shows that you trust your children. Parents should trust their children, and give them a chance. If you find that your child has been chatting with someone they shouldn't or watching pron, or doing other things that they shouldn't, then move the computer back into a public area, and keep it out there until you have rebuilt the trust between you and your child.
Teens shouldn't have free run, but they should be trusted, and given some privacy. As I said earlier, young kids should be supervised when using a computer, but there is absolutely no reason to watch everything a teen does on the computer. I'm fine with weekly or monthly internet history checks etc. even though my parents don't preform them. They no longer check in on me, because they trust me, and because I haven't violated that trust.
Don
Yeah, and spying on your kids is just great for them too! It's not like they couldn't develop a persecution complex because of that. Nothing makes a teen feel better then when Mommy and Daddy, search their room, and spy on them.
Don
The idea is to head these things off before they happen, not correct them after they happen.
It's the same reason you don't let your kids experiment with drugs, tobacco and alcohol if they are responsible.
It's pretty hard to undo damage once it occurs.
We are a nation of spoiled brats, and only getting more so.
there are other avenues of trust
a computer, which could legally get me into trouble by a kids actions for say downloading music is not an avenue of trust i will let them have at that age. period
why is having a private computer essential for a parent to start forming a trust relationship with their kid? it isnt
the potential consequences of them having a private computer outweighs the potential benefits greatly than by just limiting access to the computer in the family room
didnt you just say you have no issue with parents doing this from time to time
you keep contradicting yourself
That is why I said that kids should be monitored until they reach 10/11. I said that preteens and teens should have some privacy, and that they should be taught what is safe and appropriate when they first start using the computer.
Don
Considering that I didn't know a 10 or 11 year old who wouldn't break into fort knox to look at a Playboy calendar I'm just going to have to call ******** on your whole argument.
10 and 11 year olds, regardless how responsible people THINK they are, aren't ready to have a PC in their room with unfettered Internet access.
For those that disagree, I wish you and your spawn all the best, you'll need it.
the only reason you have this view is because you are in that age demographic
i hope you realize this
didnt you just say you have no issue with parents doing this from time to time
you keep contradicting yourself
No, I said that it is okay for parents to ask their kids to show them their internet history, and to do it with their kids. I'm against random searches without your kids knowing about them. If you're going to search your kids computer, you should do it at regular intervals and with your kids there with you. And after awhile that shouldn't even be necessary.
Don
Ultimately it's because parents don't want to parent, they want to be buddies with their kids and then wonder why the odds of the kid becoming a basket case shoot up dramatically.
It's fine to be friendly with your kid, but you are the PARENT not their BUDDY.
Guards search prison cells on a schedule too, you are in fact contradicting yourself about the whole trust/privacy thing.
Guess what. I've had unfettered internet access since I was 11. And I'm not a problem kid. I have no issues. I'm not a druggie, and I'm a straight A student. I'm going to be a failure in life because I have had unfettered internet access since I was 11. Get real.
You're wrong. Because my parents share the same view.
Don
It's better then Mommy or Daddy watching you every time you use the computer.
If you and Duke want to be this way go ahead. Who am I to say anything. I'm only a dumb uneducated 14 year old who doesn't know what's good for me.
Don
14 year olds dont really know whats good for them, much less 10-11 year olds
once your 18 and can be legally accountable for most actions as an adult, do you really start to feel the consequences of poor decisions, be it credit issues, contracts, what have you
so i agree with your statement for once
Kids, and many adults, certainly need guidance on recognising and handling trolls. The average shock comment on a site with anonymous posting seems to be written because it winds protective adults up. These types and other sorts are just online variants of the stranger in the street that makes you feel uncomfortable and you (as a child) are rightly taught to identify and ignore, or report if persistent.
It is easy to read graphic descriptions of sex, gambling, violence, suffering, death etc in your local library or religious text. Information - and pictures are just information - is itself nothing to be scared of: it doesn't actively try to harm you. Of course children may not be ready to absorb many types of information, and those not sufficiently mature should not be on the Internet without human supervision. Either way, that's nowhere near the same problem as a predator actually targeting your child.wfoster said:
(Lack of maturity in this case might be defined as objectively predicted long term psychological or physical damage caused by reaction to likely encountered information. For example, if your kid tortures frogs, you might examine whether research suggests that exposure to animal abuse online contributes toward abuse of animals by children. If you find this, it might be time to supervise and potentially restrict your child's usage of the 'net. But if you're trying to pre-empt some behaviour without objective evidence that it helps, or you're assuming that some problem with your child is caused by the Internet (perhaps confusing correlation with causation), you're reacting emotionally and not helping your child.)
I've been on the Internet since mid-'90s and I've had child porn pop up precisely zero times, no matter what I've been doing. I am not prudish and employ no filtering. I shudder to think what devious combination of search terms Channel 4 recommended to "accidentally" achieve this.
Oh and your so smart and always right because you're over 18. Ever do anything stupid in college Duke? If so, you don't know what's best for you either.
Don
All I said is once your over 18, you are the one responsible for your actions soley
I just merely agreed with your self assessment
Maybe next time dont post it huh?
What we're saying is that you might be the bestest, greatest, smartest 14 year old out there, but you still don't know what's in your own best interest, that's what your parents are for.
And for every kid like you whose parents give them free reign that turn out okay, there are probably two other ones that get into trouble with that extra freedom.
I'm not a fan of "helicopter" parenting and hovering over everything your kid does, but I also think that the nut jobs who say just let the kids go and do whatever they want and "be free" are idiots. These are the same geniuses that think their 5 year old should have their own cell phone.
You have to strike a balance, but in my mind unfettered internet access is just as big of a risk as giving a kid a gun.
Agreed. Some of the comments I see are ludicrous, but even scarier is that sometimes you see the kids responding! I ran across a video once where the kids took off their shirts and socks, and specifically said "this video is to get us lots of views and subscribers". It's common knowledge now: show skin, get hits.
That's not the kind of lesson I want my kid learning online.
Not as sinister, but my most memorable related experience came when I was trying to find the website of a photographic retail chain here in Canada called Black's Photography. Their website is www.blackphoto.com. I mistyped the URL from memory, with unfortunate results...
These are ridiculous statements because you are expressing them as absolutes and there is *nothing* you can say that is absolute about 14-year-olds.
There are certainly 14-year-olds that can use the internet privately without problems and there are certainly ones that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the internet.
Also, it's illogical to attempt to invalidate the other poster's comments because of age. You're basically saying: you don't know anything about how a 14-year-old should be raised because you are 14 years old. Huh? Obviously that poster has a very direct, first-hand perspective on this. 14-year-olds can't be dictating how they are raised, obviously, but it's not like you can ignore their perspective if you are trying to come up with a stragegy that could actually be successful.
Anyway, by 14 most kids should be well on their way to learning how to stay safe in the real world, including on the internet. I'd guess that most should be able to handle it. The other way kids that age can get into trouble is by picking up bad habits. From that perspective I'd guess that the unsupervied internet is probably too much for most 14-year-olds.
they aren't ridiculous at all
14 year olds do not know whats best for them. if they did, they why live at home? why have laws saying you are a minor until 18? there is a reason they live at home with parents
also, people always want the max benefits for them at any given time so of course a 14 year old saying unsupervised internet and private computers at 14 is good or them
less of a clue than a 14 year old? hardly
there are some stupid adults sure but they definitely feel the consequences of their actions more than a 14 year old would
14 year olds do not know whats best for them. if they did, they why live at home? why have laws saying you are a minor until 18? there is a reason they live at home with parents
also, people always want the max benefits for them at any given time so of course a 14 year old saying unsupervised internet and private computers at 14 is good or them
less of a clue than a 14 year old? hardly
there are some stupid adults sure but they definitely feel the consequences of their actions more than a 14 year old would