Email access for kids.

[jay_jay]

Hi folks,

I have 9 year old who uses internet that is protected using parental control, the kid has been requesting for an email access ( technically it is accessible), but the kid needs permission from us to use.

Parents, At what age you generally let kids use e-mail addresses so that they could stay connected with their friends.

Thanks,
Jay.

[cocodc]

My child got own e-mail at age 9. It's a secondary account on ours, so I can check it anytime.

I think it really depends on the child... mine is totally trustworthy but I still monitor as judgement is not fully mature.

Some things to watch out for:

1. Who is child giving e-mail address to, who are they getting mail from? We used to have a Rogers Yahoo feature where child's account could only get mail from "approved" senders (people in address book), however when Rogers went proprietary for their internet security this feature was dropped.

2. Child must agree to get permission to sign up for e-mail based things online. My child has an iTunes account, which has been okay, however sending and receiving e-Cards through one particular site resulted in tons (20+/week) of spam that was age-inappropriate.

3. Watch the sending/forwarding of chain-mail. This is a personal pet-peeve, but I don't let child forward any "look at this picture of baby animals" or "You're my best friend" poems. I think it's just annoying!

4. I allow limited text-speak (again, personal pet peeve). I think 9 is too young to be getting into bad spelling habits of "c u l8tr," etc.

The above has worked out for us for approximately one year. I stress, you just have to know your kid...