myspace and step kids

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Praxis1452

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Looney
He's 17 years old, and you're trying to parent him?

Exactly what are those 'inappropriate things' that are on his myspace?

Man, some of you guys who are in power of responsibility are completely ignorant on how to deal with that responsibility. If it's in his nature to act 'inappropriately', you really think banning him from the internet is going to resolve that problem? It's like trying to stop a drug addict by locking up your medicine cabinet, you really think that's going to solve anything?

After him being told several times to stop what he was doing...yeah. At some point warnings and talkings are meaningless. If he can't act responsibly with a privilege than that privilege gets taken away. Pretty basic.

\Exactly what innapropriate things was he doing? Less he was meeting people OR idk posting naked pics??? I don't really see much as innapropriate. Cursing?

I'm gonna go ahead and 'Spyder' my post and not give any details. Let's just say it caused much drama in the household and my wife's family as a whole.

 

[bennylong]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Divorce is the only solution for step-childern. I tried with two and discourage anyone from
trying to parent someone elses childern. It's twice the job than if they are your own.

My asshat step-son is 25 and he knows I will kick his ass if I ever meet him on the street.
Lieing thief, knocking up girls, ditching school, several arrests=waste of my time.

...Galvanized

That would eliminate a lot of women because it seems like every women have a kid already!

 

[clamum]

The kids need to be taught not to give out personal information on the Internet, or they shouldn't be on there. My parents didn't even have to tell me not to do that... I mean how stupid can you get? If they can't understand that, no Internet.

 

[soydios]

If your wife is giving you trouble about blocking her kids from myspace, just show her some examples the website. Myspace is disgusting/pathetic/dangerous. She'll thank you for doing her kids a favor afterwards.

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: Blazin Trav
I don't know... most kids these days use Myspace, Facebook, Livejournal or some form of those...

I can totally see the family situation too. Honestly I would sit down with your wife and start laying down some ground rules for Myspace use as well as internet use. Agree on rules for the kids. You have 3 girls right? You are going to need some authority and control. You don't want your girls to become the highschool tramps / party girls. Especially in college.

-Trav

Sounds good to me.

And while I'm not a particularly huge fan of myspace, I do actually use it (among other sites such as facebook) to talk to some of my friends. Easier to leave them a message on there many times than to try and catch them on AIM/Google Chat.

 

[MangoTBG]

Isn't myspace supposed to be 18 and up? End of conversation. Tell them they need to wait until they are of age. This should also work with your wife. Should they drink before they are 21? (yes this is more extreme of an arguement but why not use it?)

 

[amicold]

Definitely not your call. Your intentions may be in the right but MySpace is relatively harmless especially for the two older kids. You're just going to come off as the "a-hole" step dad if you try and impose on her kids. Let them use it, it's a standard for kids these days.

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: MangoTBG
Isn't myspace supposed to be 18 and up? End of conversation. Tell them they need to wait until they are of age. This should also work with your wife. Should they drink before they are 21? (yes this is more extreme of an arguement but why not use it?)

Pretty sure it's only something like 13 and up; but anyone under a certain age (who is actually truthful about said age) automatically has their profile set on "private."

 

[IBuyUFO]

Have you ever seen those Dateline: to catch a predator? You don't want one of those guys to show up at your doorstep. It's better to be acting like hitler and have your kids safe than to let them run around getting into trouble. That's part of being a responsible parent.

 

[randay]

Blocking myspace is a good thing, you might also want to block any/all instant messagers, as well as other "social networking" sites.

Just show your wife a few of those Dateline specials about sexual predators on the internet, and she'll be blocking shat so fast... that dateline special where they get 20 guys in a few days to come to a house expecting to have sex with little children.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: DayLaPaul
her kids her rules

when he married her it became their house and their kids. so it should be their rules - not just hers. united they stand or divided they will fall.

OP, blocking myspace is a good thing cause people (kids) are so stupid sometimes that they give out personal info without realizing the repercussions.

Wow, I had to wade through the entire thread before I found someone who finally pointed that out. Newsflash: the world is filled with sexual predators. The odds of your kids having some sort of interaction (conversation, etc.) with one offline is pretty low. The odds are even lower of them developing some sort of trusting relationship with one offline. The odds of them interacting with one and developing a relationship online are significantly higher. Myspace is relatively well known for having a significant number of such individuals. And, there's a simple reason why: because myspace is a place where a large number of teens gather online. I can understand that many parents aren't tech savvy enough to know how to block myspace; and many probably don't realize the seriousness of the problem - despite the billboards that say 1 in 5 children will be sexually solicited online.

However, in the interest of convincing your wife, have her make up a nickname on myspace such as "14yroldblondecutey" and see what happens after chatting with strangers for about 30 minutes. Or, have her watch that segment on tv where they set up a sting operation and arrest guy after guy who think they're showing up to have sex with children. These guys aren't travelling hundreds of miles to show up.

Someone above stated it quite well: myspace isn't a place where kids go and chat with friends... it's a place where they meet new friends. There's no way to know what kind of person is at the other end though. Since your wife apparently enjoys myspace, ask her how many people she chats with who she met online vs. how many she chats with that she already knew.

And lastly, at 12 years old, kids should be chatting with their friends in person while playing in the park, not while sitting at home on a computer.

you're the man. :thumbsup: