kids and email

[Sheherezade]

I am interested in setting my 8 year old up with an email account. We are moving soon, and I'm wondering if it will help him stay in touch. Does anyone have any experience with young kids and email? Are there special settings or programs you'd recommend? Or any other tips or personal experiences?

Angie

I'd like to do this for my nearly 7 yr old DD but I am afraid of the stuff she might get or send. She still comes running into the room and tells me she has won a great prize or that she voted that John Kerry would be the next President (Pop-ups) and she is a litlle naive. Any thoughts I would appreciate as well.

[Michele]

We have a firewall set up and we also frequently run Spybot and Adaware to debug our computer....and we downloaded the google pop up blocker and it works pretty darn well. That's about the only suggestions I have...I'm not at all experienced in the children + internet thing.

[mommax3]

My son is fairly computer-savvy and has run into some unsavory websites through totally innocent means. I HIGHLY recommend the program Net Nanny. We have it and it has completely taken care of the problem......many times, I can't even read the news over the internet because the "nanny" filters through it and finds something that doesn't meet its standards. (It is very simple to override......I just right-click on the icon and type in a code word).

We also downloaded (free!) a program called Zone Alarm that has blocked pretty much all pop-ups. We had a huge problem with them once we switched to RoadRunner for our internet service.....since we are always connected to the internet now, pop-ups would happen even if we didn't have our browser open......they would pop up just on our desk top and a lot of them were NASTY.

I think setting your son up with an email account is a great idea, and you may want to check out instant messaging, too.....they are a lot of fun for kids since they don't have to wait so long for a reply. You can fix the settings on those so that only prior-approved people can chat with your computer.

Sally

[Michele]

Zone Alarm is the firewall we have too.

[Sheherezade]

Sally, do you just use a browser or do you have aol or some other service? I am also curious about the interface--we just have a browser and our own email clients. With all the junk we have going on ourselves I think he'd get lost just trying to get his mail. Did you do anything special to set him up? Also, do you use his "real" name or an internet name? I'm a little wary about bad guys picking up my kid's personal info (yes I know I'm paranoid....but that's me....). Thanks for the info on the firewall program--I could use that myself. Now that we are moving, I feel like doing a complete computer system revamp. That should really screw us up

Angie