Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First time poster here so I am not sure if this has been asked yet, but my almost 17 year old son is tired of having to use the only family computer which is in our bedroom. Too many distractions with my husband talking, set on, dog barking....he has the money to buy his own laptop, has a girlfriend, trying hard at school (a junior) and would really like some privacy so what do I do?
There are a variety of reasons for a minor living in his parent's home to not have their own computers - but only you can answer that question for your family..It sounds as if you are not crazy about the idea....what about moving the family computer to a different area? We have 2 family computers - a desktop in a study and a laptop (which is technically mine but is available to all). Between the two, there is always a computer available.... DD purchased a laptop herself when she went off to college. I imagine DS will do the same.
My dd is 11 and she has her own laptop. She does alot of homework with it and she talks to her friend through her own myspace page. She knows I can and will get on it whenever I want to check her history and look around on her myspace page. She is a good kid, honor roll student in the gifted program. I don't see the problem with her having her own computer. Most of the time she is in the same room I am when she is using it.
Why would you not want him to have his own computer??? I'm just asking because I don't know why you wouldn't.
The reason I am asking is because I am not sure what the right thing to do is. I feel a certain level of trust needs to be there but at the same time I want to be sure he isn't spending more time than he should on other things besides school work. Maybe it's giving up control that is also an issue for me. I offered to put our computer in his room but he really would like a laptop which 99% of his friends have. The computer is only a few feet from my bed so I can see whatever he is doing, but he has the same resources using his IPod so what is the big deal? P.S. He is not allowed to be in his room with his gf but out in our living room. Let me add that he will be getting his drivers license in a few months and already has his own car. We have a very small place so there is no other area to put a computer.
Both of my children have laptops. I am the Administrator on both the Laptops and our desktop computer, and I have set it up so that they can't load any programs or go to any sites without my permission. If they try to get into a site they are not supposed to go to I get notified via e-mail, and the laptops are set to shut down automatically, and they can't be rebooted without a special password known only to me.
My son has his own computer. Mostly becuase I do not want him downloading his junk onto one of the other computers. He uses hs computer int eh dining room where we can heep an eye on what he is doing. I do nto see a lot of difference between that and him going to the library and using the computers there. They do nto even reallyu cheeck on what he is doing at the library.
If he can go anywhere he wants with the IPOD and you are fine with that I dont see the difference.
With that being said, everyone in my family (myself, dh, ds 8 and dd 14) have our own computers. My dh is the admin. and has software on it that keeps them from going to certain sites. It also has time limits that need a password to over ride. They are not allowed in the bedrooms and there is no sense of "full privacy" in our home. I check the history, email, and myspace account. Now of course with your son being 17, if he is a good kid you would want to give him a little more space but I dont think the computer has to be in his room to be his. But if you allow him to get online with other sources I dont see a difference, it might as well be in his room.
just my 2 cents.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
