My teen wants a computer in his room

I realize this does not apply to the problems with teenagers.

My six-year-old grandson does not have free rein, but he has his own Apple laptop and checks the weather on-line every morning. He also has a digital camera. Last Christmas, grandson declared: "No more toy tools." So, we buy him the real thing for his real tool box. I assume that my three-year-old granddaughter will be getting a laptop before long. The kids probably want to be like Mom and Dad who are computer programmers working at home. Their family spends lots of time out-of-doors in the parks or with the soccer team.

 

I trust my kids
But they are still learning about life and how to handle it
So we keep our one computer in the living room where I reside

 

I met a woman on another forum. Her son, 25, was looking at prison time. She wanted to know about how much a televison would cost him there. As a proud Felon, I just happened to know that information. I asked her what her sons crime was and she did not wish to tell me. Well one thing lead to another and I find out he had chatted with a 14 year gal who turned out to be a cop. He drove to Joplin, Missouri to meet the gal and was arrested. His computer contained child porn. Now this guy, I have since met, turns out not to be a child predator but is a geek. He found a website, I wont post it but your kids know of it, where you can download and share many things. Movies that are still in theaters and such. There are lots of porn movies available. He began downloading this and they have child porn mixed in with it. He would delete the Child porn when he found it but he had over 900 porn films downloaded and missed 12 Child porn things. He is looking at 25 years in Federal prison for Jacking off and failing to delete. The Jasper County charges of talking to the cop were all dismissed because the cop really did wrong things. Had his parents known or in this case his wife, now exwife, been aware of what he was doing they could have stopped it. Keep the computer out in the open. There is nothing going on that Parents or spouses dont need to know about. Except my poker losses.

 

There are way to many ways for kids to get into trouble on the net, so my computer is in the livingroom. My kids are grown but my nephew practically lives here, I dont stand over anyones shoulder but I do check up on them and I also have rules about where they can go/what they can post etc and I do check the history and I have set the computer so no mature subjects can be accessed with out my password. Kids are too trusting, they think everyone they play an on line game with is their friend etc......it is my job to protect them and educate them to the not so good facts of life without scareing them to death. My nephew who is 12 almost 13 wants a laptop and I refuse to get him one! Why does he need one? If he cant use his moms or mine then he doesent need to be on the darn thing.....its portable trouble as I see it.

 

Yea, I don't have kids, but if I did, they sure wouldn't have a computer in their room. That is asking for trouble and has been seen many, many times. I would strongly suggest the computer be put in a living room or open office, etc., and STILL track their every move on the net...GL!

 

Both of my kids want their own computers in their rooms..
We told them this will happen only when they get get their own place.
One pc,in the living room at our house..

 

I'm probably going against the grain here a bit, but my youngest does have his computer in his room - now. I don't use any of the tracking stuff to see where he's been, but I know all of the sites he goes to anyway. I even borrow his computer at times. We do talk about his online activity. He pretty much sticks with one or two game sites (Runescape being the one he's at the most), He does have a my space page, but the only people he is in contact with there are a couple of the other boys from the scout troop and a couple of his friends from Florida. He even has mom and dad both in his contacts on my space!

He is very aware of what sort of people to watch out for online, does not share personal information, and follows the rest of the common sense rules about being online. We have gone over the rules and things to watch for many times over the years, and he has proven that I can trust him, otherwise he would not have that thing in his room. Through our discussions, I also know a lot about the games that he plays online, the music that he listens to, and what his friends are up to.

 

Looks like it's (mostly) unanimous! I agree.

If they do their homework in their bedroom, have their desk in the room, the most I would allow is a computer (if a laptop, set up the controls to fit your rules- no sneaking wifi ) with printer access, but no internet.

There's one issue with this. What about the cell phones with internet access. It seems more kids are able to have these nowadays. I've heard of kids "checking out" stuff from their phone that is just as bad as having the laptop. Does your child have internet accesss on his/her phone?

 

I have simple advice for anyone who wants a child to have a computer.

1 - Expect it to be damaged in some way, hardware (stuff in the box) or software (Windows and the files an other programs that can be used or viewed)
2 - Use CyberNanny or a similar service to filter his internet surfing.
3 - Treat the computer like a slightly creepy 40 year old man taking an inappropriate interest in your child. If you would not leave your kid alone in a room with the guy, don't do it with the computer
4 - Many teenagers are guilty of making or possessing child porn. Mainly pictures of themselves or friends that they take themselves. It's still illegal. I've seen several stories about this lately. If it's on his computer, that means trouble for him and you, since he was in possession of it, but probably used your account to get to it.
5 - It does not matter how responsible you think he is, he is still a teenager, and can be counted on to act as one.
6 - He will at least be tempted to download music or videos, potentially from an illegal source. This can compromise the computer itself, or your child's safety by unknowingly sharing personal info with someone they don't know. There are many corrupt or dangerous files masquerading as music or video.
7 - In Windows, there are two type of user types - Administrator and Guest. Administrators can do whatever he or she pleases. Guests are required to get permission (by putting in the administrator password) from an administrator to make changes like installing or uninstalling programs, deleting or changing system files, or seeing other user's personal data. Set him up as a guest account type, and put a hard to guess password on the administrator account.

There are ways to connect that computer to your TV, if it is a recent TV with the right kind of video card and TV. You can let him have the computer, but he should know that you could pull up what is on his screen at any time without looking over his shoulder.

There are ways to make it safer, but not to make it bulletproof.