Moms Talk: When Should Kids Join the World of Social Networking?

Last week in Union City, family members reported a 14-year-old boy missing. Relatives were worried after they hadn't heard from him in two days.

Meanwhile, as relatives feared for the worst, the boy was posting messages on a Facebook account he'd kept hidden that he'd run away and wasn't coming back home. The boy's online profile, which referenced marijuana use, likely gave away other secrets about him that his family had no idea about. 

It got us thinking: When is it OK to allow a child to explore the world through online networking? Should you monitor their use? What limitations should be set?

We had our Patch Moms Council from the Tri-Cities area take a closer look at this topic. Here's what they had to say about social networking.

, Union City, mom of three sons: You are supposed to be 13 to be on Facebook, but I know tons of kids are on it who are way younger. Aside from the safety issue of a child being on a social networking site, it is a huge waste of time. I just recently had to force myself to limit my time on Facebook because I found myself being consumed with silly things like wondering why no one commented on my post, what someone's cryptic comment really meant and reading about other people's drama. There is no need for a child to spend time getting involved in this, so I think probably the teen-age years are more appropriate. Nowadays parents can and should have access to everything their children do online, so everything they do or say is transparent.

Jennifer Hill, Editor of Fremont Macaroni Kid, mom of four (2 teens and 2 toddlers): We allowed our kids to join Facebook at age 13 with ME setting their password and being "friends" on there as well. And we monitor them regularly. Some things have happened - we've not allowed our child to spend time at certain kid's homes based on the posts from those kids. I cannot believe what some kids put out there for the world to see. My kids have had email accounts from about fifth grade or so. This is when they are doing group projects and often emailing due to homework and such. Email isn't such a big deal to me. However, we also set the passwords for these. We limit their online involvement and monitor and control passwords. Something I suggest to all parents!