Peanut: Please one mother to another, read my post on 'thoughts about IMVU'. Go on Tools, and block IMVU if you don't want your children on it! It's not that hard. You can control it!! Just take contol of the computer, even if it's thier computer. Your thier mother, protect them, and if they freak out. Well, sometimes they do that, but I remember when I was thier age. I freaked out about not being able to go to a Jimmie Hendrix concert. Not quite the same thing, but my parents had to deal with me. Trust me I was not easy to deal with. I climbed out my bedroom window and went anyway. Trust me you'll live through the teen tamtrums. And, they'll still love you!!

As an educator and someone who is very concerned about our children's safety, I want to THANK YOU for the information.

Check out Jitter Fingers http://www.jitterfingers.com/. Because they site is for girls and their BFFS, they can hangout without a) parents having to monitor their actions; and b) w/o having to worry about predators, bullying. Here's the iVillage review http://parenting.ivillage.com/familyentertainment_csm/web/0,,cf400c2v,00.html

Dwhsix, there are many, many sites that provide log-ins and accounts for people under 18 - kids' sites by Disney, Nickelodeon and many smaller companies, and sites aimed at teens (13 and up) in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Thanks for posting, --Anne --
Anne Collier
ConnectSafely co-director

I was satting watching Eli prepare to go on a website for a game. I have the computer in the livingroom for the purpose of parental comtrol, so to speak. Anyway, as I was watching him, it ask for his age. He proceeded to put in his age. However, when it came to the year he casually put in a year that would have made him 21. I stopped him in his tracks. I politely asked him why he would do this. He said "If I don't I won't get to play the game. You can only play it if your an adult, so I just put in the right age. We do it all the time. There's nothing wrong with it." I proceeded to explain to him if the game is meant for adults than a 12yr old shouldn't be playing it. And, putting in a false year is plagiarism, and agaisnt the law. If he was caught he could go to court, and be in big trouble. And, since the computer was in my name, I would be in bigger trouble. And, I would be tried as an adult. Now I know this might be all false but it scared the crap out of him. But, I said all of this just to show you how easy it is for a young person to get on ANY adult site. Just put in the right year and bingo your in. They don't really check! The game, it was REALLY crude! If I weren't a parent who cared my child would be playing a game right now that I would be a little embarrassed to play. Just thought I'ld put that out there.
Woodstock out

Determining which sites are safe for children has a lot of variables. The age of the child is one key factor. There's a big difference between what's appropriate for a 6 year old (75% are online) and what will be relevant an 11 year old. Other variables are parental subjectivity and even the definition of what's safe online.

There are some sites 'lock-in' kids more strictly, such as Club Penguin or Imbee. These are great if you have a more cautious approach to child safety online.

That said, Gaia Online should be recognised for making some attempt to shield children. Allowing them to log in with their real ages gives Gaia Online the ability to track and (to some extend) protect them.

A more serious danger is posed by mainstream Social Networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, where children will make up their age so they can post a profile.

Mark, it's really our job to stay agnostic and not recommend specific products or services. The forum is here for parents and young people - the users themselves - to do the recommending. Thanks for participating,
Anne
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Anne Collier
ConnectSafely co-director

No problemo