What age should child get email access?

[raindogg]

The idea of a child having an e-mail is intrinsically linked to safety…or else a kid having an e-mail wouldn’t be a issue at all, since I’m sure they have acess to pen, paper and a regular mail box.

Perhaps it is. But my question was about what age have people allowed their kids to have their own email account. Not about kidnappings and the moral degredation of society in general which is what some of the arguements on here were turning too. Was just looking for what other parents have done. Why should I have to read through someone’s rant about society turning into sodom and gomorrah when I am just curious about how old you kids where when you set up an email address for them. It’s selfish. If people want to argue about that, then they should set up a new thread to argue it and not hijack mine.

But yes, I can ignore them. And I will starting now. Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[Mommyof02green]

Both of my kids, who are almost 8 and 9, have email accounts through Zilladog They are FREE email accounts WITH parental control!

*  Parents have their own password to set up the "buddy list" in the address book (**yes, you get to pick their friends**).
* **Parents can be copied on all outgoing messages**.
* Kids can **only** receive email from their approved “buddy list”, so there is no spam.

I love it! I get automatic copies off all their OUTgoing mail. (I also SOMETIMES get automatic copies of their INcoming mail). The only people they can email are those on their buddy list. They can NOT add people to their body list only I can. If a NON approved person emails them then it goes to a special parental control email box. The kids can see on the screen that they have messages in that parental control box, but they CAN NOT access them. Only I have access to it. When that happens they just tell me that and I go in and see who the message is from, what it is, and if I want to I can approve the person (add them to the buddy list) and it will move that message and all future messages to the KIDS inbox.

Do the kids “need” the emails No, they do not need them, but they enjoy being able to write to their Mommy, Daddy, and Grandparent via email. Do I need to at this point monitor their emails, no because they mainly email me or my husband. However I DO because I want too. As they get older they will want to email their friends and when that happens I’m already going to be one step ahead of them. I do NOT tell them I get a copy of their email and I never would tell them!

They don’t know either because the email is at zilladog.net and that looks different the the .com site you use to register them with zilladog. The .net site is just an email login screen. They can NOT access zilladog.com, yahoo, hotmail, aol, etc. So they can not get email address anywhere else. We use littleye to block certain websites.

 

[raindogg]

Both of my kids, who are almost 8 and 9, have email accounts through Zilladog They are FREE email accounts WITH parental control!

*  Parents have their own password to set up the "buddy list" in the address book (**yes, you get to pick their friends**).
* **Parents can be copied on all outgoing messages**.
* Kids can **only** receive email from their approved “buddy list”, so there is no spam.

I love it! I get automatic copies off all their OUTgoing mail. (I also SOMETIMES get automatic copies of their INcoming mail). The only people they can email are those on their buddy list. They can NOT add people to their body list only I can. If a NON approved person emails them then it goes to a special parental control email box. The kids can see on the screen that they have messages in that parental control box, but they CAN NOT access them. Only I have access to it. When that happens they just tell me that and I go in and see who the message is from, what it is, and if I want to I can approve the person (add them to the buddy list) and it will move that message and all future messages to the KIDS inbox.

Do the kids “need” the emails No, they do not need them, but they enjoy being able to write to their Mommy, Daddy, and Grandparent via email. Do I need to at this point monitor their emails, no because they mainly email me or my husband. However I DO because I want too. As they get older they will want to email their friends and when that happens I’m already going to be one step ahead of them. I do NOT tell them I get a copy of their email and I never would tell them!

They don’t know either because the email is at zilladog.net and that looks different the the .com site you use to register them with zilladog. The .net site is just an email login screen. They can NOT access zilladog.com, yahoo, hotmail, aol, etc. So they can not get email address anywhere else. We use littleye to block certain websites.

We set zilladog up for last night. Its perfect and she is so happy. I definitely recommend it as well.

Thanks everyone for you (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[pnewton]

We set zilladog up for last night. Its perfect and she is so happy. I definitely recommend it as well.

Thanks everyone for you (name removed by moderator)ut.

I just found this thread and will take it to heart. I do not care how early my son gets an email address, with the understanding that there is no presumption of privacy in my house. The age for a private email account is the age at which one moves out on their own.

 

[Flamingo]

Great choice using zilladog, OP. I know you’ve already decided but I just want to give you my two cents.

When I was about the age of 9 or 10 my dad set up an email account for me. I had a “buddy list” and I was only allowed to email/receive email from certain people. He also had control of the account so he could easily read all the emails that I was sending/receiving. It was like that for a while, until I was maybe 13 or so? At that point I could send/receive emails from anyone I wanted. It made it a lot nicer because the library would send me reminders about overdue items and I could email my teachers without having them added to my “buddy list”. I did use email to email my friends but really it wasn’t often. I don’t really remember when my dad stopped having access to my emails but I know that at some point he disconnected my account from his, which means that he can no longer read what I send/receive. I honestly don’t email very often at this point, usually just for school with teachers and kids that I’m working on projects. It’s never been a huge deal that he’s no longer connected to my account because my parents both taught me the value and trust that goes into to having your own email account. They both laid out the expectations of what I could and could not do on the internet and I’ve never really had an interest to stray away from those.

Am I saying that parents shouldn’t monitor their children closely on the internet? No! But I am a firm believer that every situation is different depending on computer access, child’s maturity, trust, and other various factors.

 

[Babushka]

I think you can allow your child to use internet but with parental controls. I prefer to use ActyMac DutyWatch.