Email & Kids/Teens - Inspired by the Myspace.com thread

[Chereya]

I got to thinking about email communications after reading the MySpace.com thread.

Do any of you parents monitor your children's email? How do you go about doing it? Do you have their user ID and PW to access it yourself? Do you read it all or just skim the subject headers? What do your kids think about it? Is this too much of an invasion of privacy?

My two kids are both under 3 years but I like to think ahead.

Chereya

 

[georgina]

All our e-mail comes into one account - I can see everyone's (including DH's), although I can choose not to open them, I can see the sender and subject. He is happy for me to delete his junk mail. There are no secrets in this house!

They do have IM as well, which I do not monitor, but we have never had any problems with it.

 

[debabe723]

DS15 got rid of his email account and just uses IM now. The computer is in the family room, right behind where I sit watching TV, and I read whatever is on it when he's IMing his friends. He has no problem with it (I even IM them if he is out of the room and he gets a message or he tells me to 'talk' to them if he is doing his homework).

Deb

 

[DVCLiz]

DD17 has had her own laptop since 9th grade (she's a senior now.) I've never monitored any of her email - or her IM if she uses her own computer. Anything she does on my computer downstairs is fair game, though - she usually leaves her last screen open and I always tell her I really enjoyed reading, "hey - sup?" "nm, u?" "nuttin'" "k, see ya later" "bye" "bye".

Having said that, she's never given me any reason to snoop or be suspicious. She only chats with her friends - she's never been allowed to go into a chat room, and although I'm sure she's done it a few times anyway, she agreed it was dangerous (actually, her word was "lame" ) and only IMs or emails.

DD12 still uses my computer and so far, she and her friends have used IM about three times this school year. I don't think it really gets to be a big thing around here until 7th or 8th grade.

If I had any feeling that something needed a mother's eye, both girls know I have access 24/7 should I so choose - that was part of the deal from the beginning.

 

[DVCLiz]

DS15 got rid of his email account and just uses IM now. The computer is in the family room, right behind where I sit watching TV, and I read whatever is on it when he's IMing his friends. He has no problem with it (I even IM them if he is out of the room and he gets a message or he tells me to 'talk' to them if he is doing his homework).

Deb

I've done this, too!!!! Usually I'll have to type, "Hi, it's Mrs. ourlastname, DD17 will be back in a minute!"

Sometimes her friends will chat with me for a minute - I guess they think they are humoring an old lady. None of us could have imagined all of this when we were in grade school, could we??