Facebook and Kids

Just this past year I have had kids in class mention that they have a Facebook account. I am not sure if parents know the Facebook Privacy Policy states: "If you are under age 13, please do not attempt to register for Facebook or provide any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible." If you would like your child's account taken off Facebook, click here for the form.

Charlevoix third and fourth grade students sign an Acceptable Use Policy before they can go on the Internet. Safety and appropriate behavior are emphasized throughout the year. In third grade students comment on blog posts and in fourth grade they get their own rayder.org email addresses and get to "chat" with each other. I hope to add more "Web 2.0" activities to the curriculum this year. The plan is that all of this will help them be ready someday for the social parts of the Internet, like Facebook.

Once your child reaches age 13 and if they join Facebook, I highly recommend becoming "Friends." It will let you see their profile and keep track of what they are sharing online. Facebook has more information in their Help Center.