My daughter, a middle schooler, has been blissfully unaware of IM in any format. I have not allowed her to participate in IM or things such as My Space – I have been able to avoid this as she is “underage”. She is literal. If the user agreement says you must be 13, she would never think to lie, she will just say I can’t wait till I am 13 and move on to something else. Well time has caught up with me. So this weekend she and I developed our household agreement about how we use such things, what is okay to say and what is not. She created a Yahoo, flicker, youtube and Gaia account. Together we set up the accounts and got her started on her profile page. We had a great discussion on pseudonyms and pen names. We talked about how not to share personal information or clues that could lead someone find out such information. I showed her how I can search for her on the web, and will do so from time to time as it is my responsibility to keep her safe. I had her write down all her usernames and password (we put them in the locked fire box for safekeeping). I hope she is off to a good start and will learn how to be a responsible member of this digital world.

I live and work in this digital world. I have gained a lot from it and I hope have contribute to it in some small way. I value the conversations I participate in, be they work related or for fun. I want my daughter to become part of this world as well. I hope she becomes a good member of the virtual community as she has already done in the tangible world.

Please feel free to share how you handle these issues with your own children.

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