I mean no disrespect, but I feel you got it backward like a lot of parents do.Blocking Internet and cultivating the "keep them from the world" attitude is exactly what the Chinese government do... Where does the "protecting" end?On the other hand, preparing our kids to take the hit when it comes sets them for life.Both serves the same purpose of protecting our kids, they just do it in a different way. Just food for thought...
You are missing a lot of other information I didn't disclose here. I initially gave my son a lot of freedom rather than limit him and instead monitored him just in case. He is only 9 years old, but his brother is only four - content that would be suitable for my 9year old isn't always suitable for my four year old, and that's an issue I have to consider.
I agree that overly protecting a child can cause problems because then they are not prepared for facing the real world, but at the same time I see no need to introduce him to things when there is no need to. If he is happy playing in Disney infinity with his younger brother, why would I buy him something like mortal combat, a game his cousin regularly plays? Even if it caused no harm, what extra life lessons would he learn? I'm sure the blood and Gore wouldn't bother him in the slightest, and he wouldn't go around hitting people etc, but what would be the point in letting him?
I have no problem with people doing what they want with their own kids, I'm not going to lecture anybody or look down on them simply because I choose to be less or more conservative than them. I only have issue when others kids are showing mine content I do not wish them to see.
A nine year old video calling complete strangers on Skype however is not something I want him doing, friends and family perhaps but not strangers. It's an uneccesary risk.
His cousin was looking up rude things on the internet at a sleepover, I don't think pornography is acceptable for a child to see AT ALL. He then showed my son how to search for it, and wipe his history after so I couldn't find out.
Instead of stopping my son from having the internet, because mine does have parental control so he cannot access these sites, I just made him promise me not to add any strangers without checking with me first, and not call anyone on Skype without asking. I asked him not to look at anything inappropriate and trusted him. Afterwards I caught him calling a stranger he had become obsessed with on Skype, and three times I caught him with strangers on his friends list I hadn't been asked about. He searched for videos of sexy ladies on YouTube amongst other things.
It wasn't what he had done, but the fact he promised me not to, and did it anyway. I gave him a second chance, explained why and told him it was his last chance. He did all three AGAIN. No internet for him.
Before his cousin showed him, he never used Skype and didn't know how to use it, had no intention of using it either. He watched cartoons and minecraft videos on YouTube, and had free access to play with all his school friends online on his PS3. I could trust him and he played nicely.
I would argue, that his cousin having no limitations has resulted in more harm, than mine having very little.
I have a four year old younger son too, I don't want him exposed to it.
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