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School-Aged Children
TheBuddha
member
My birthson who came before I was ready. He doesn't call me mom but I love him just the same. ~7/10/99~
2nd grader and the internet. What do you do?
TheBuddha
member
We just got custody of my stepson (on 1/1) and he now lives with us full-time. His mother often asks me to do things because her and DH do not get along very well. Lately she has been texting me and insisting that my SS be using the internet, she is very worried he will "fall behind" if he does not use the internet. He is 7 years old.
What does your 2nd grader do online? How do you moniter it? How often do you allow them to use the internet? Is using the internet at home really something a 7 year old needs to be doing? He has not expressed any interest in doing things online or using the computer at our house.
His mother often had him doing learning things online because she kept him from kindergarten and thinks the internet takes the place of school or a tutor.
Just wondering what other mothers of 2nd graders do. Thank you!
My birthson who came before I was ready. He doesn't call me mom but I love him just the same. ~7/10/99~This discussion has been closed.
Re: 2nd grader and the internet. What do you do?
My 1st and 4th graders have both been assigned online homework -- check their teachers' blogs, take online quizzes, post homework to their wiki pages, etc.
I'd check with his teacher to see if she has any suggestions or expecations.
A good site for multiplication is https://www.teachingtables.co.uk/tm/tmgame/tgame2.html A good one for social studies is https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm A good reading one is starfall.com.
I just sit near them so I can keep an eye on what they're doing and in case they have any questions. DH has installed child protection software as well and we both frequently check the computer's history.
This is very similar to the way it works with my kids. My kids like Pokemon.com, Lego.com, and Bulbapedia (a pokemon encyclopedia.) My DD -- who is in 5th grade -- likes Poptropica (games and puzzles), and she enjoys watching funny videos on You Tube, and looking at funny stuff on sites like LOLCats, etc. However, she knows that there is a lot of adult stuff on these sites, and that we need to preview stuff or look at it with her.
Our house rules are:
--no computers in the bedrooms
--kids must ask permission and must let mom and dad know what site they'll be visiting. If they want to navigate away from a page, they have to ask first.
For my DS (age 6) the internet is just another way to play video games. DD has her own email account, which we opened last year to make it easier for her to work on group projects with friends. She is aware of the larger world of social networking, but not interested yet.
My 6 y/o (7 in April) daughter uses the internet, but not as a replacement for school or tutoring. Her teacher signed the class up for a site where they can read "books" and take little quizzes and she likes to do that. She plays games sometimes but only after screening. We watch Youtube videos together sometimes.
I do think a child who spends no time online will be at a disadvantage as they move forward in school and socially. However I also think it's important to closely monitor a young child (or any child really) who uses the internet and choose age appropriate and safe activities for them.
All three of my kids use the computer almost daily.
My 3 year old loves Starfall.com and Webkinz.
My 5 year old likes Webkinz and PBSkids.org
and my 6 year old likes Webkinz, and for school she uses spellingcity.com and xtramath.org.
However, my kids have to have their chores done before they can use the computer and its limited....they use it in the living room and tell me what they want to do before they get on.
Both my school aged kids use the computer often at school...my first grade does all her math on the computer and the typing skills and mouse skills are so important.
This is pretty much us. DS is 5 1/2 and just plays "learning" games on the computer. He can type things into the url - but just what he knows - disney, pbskids, starfall,nickjr, etc. One of his specials is computers each week and they do things like draw a picture with the mouse and then write a sentence or two to describe it.
I don't think there's much more need at this point.
Thanks ladies! Your imput helps me tremendously. My SS's mother is a little ridiculous and the court took him away from her and placed him with us. Because of that, I prefer not to take her parenting advice.
I'm sure he uses the computer plenty when he visits her (weekends with her consist of lots of video games and movie watching) so for now that and using the computer occasionally at school is probably enough.
I let Charlotte use the internet for max. 1 hour a day and I let Sophie use it for max. 30 minutes. Whenever they do use it, I am monitoring them and I can see exactly what they're doing. We usually use it for activities or something of the sort.
My cousins are not monitored on the internet and I know exactly what they watch/see and as much as I can try to correct it, I'm not their parent. I don't give the girls that much freedom on the internet and they're learning to use it but they don't get to use it freely.
Welcome to the dark side
Wow I can't imagine not having the internet at home. I use it for everything. That said, my child's use is closely monitored.
I do think a child with no or extremely limited internet experience will be at a major disadvantage the older he/she gets.
I agree.
Welcome to the dark side
Ditto. Granted, it's a private school, but at the school where I teach, it's expected that students have internet access. Teachers are encouraged to post homework online, including worksheets for kids to download. I collect homework using a dropbox feature on the school's website or just have students do their work on Google docs. I grade stuff using "insert comment" and email students their grades.
My DD, who is in 5th grade public school is also expected to have access to computers at home. She is assigned research projects, and is expected to use the teacher's website to access notes, handouts, etc. She uses email to work on group projects with classmates.
Although adults can rely on work for both their business and pleasure internet usage, kids without internet access will be seriously disadvantaged. Maybe not this year, but within 5 years probably for sure.