My son is 10 - grade 5 (11in 4 months). He goes to his dad's every second weekend where he has a step sister who is 9 grade 4. I check his iPad every few days (which I believe is my perogitive as a parent until the time he his old enough to understand the responsibility of having a device) and came across a message conversation with a girl he has saved as "babe". The conversation only started this past weekend he was at his dad's. Most of it is innocent talk like how are you and 'wyd' but what concerns me is she has sent some selfies asking if she is 'cute' and he has asked her if she thinks he is 'sexy'. Upon talking to him about this he completely shuts down on me demanding privacy and it doesn't matter. I explained to him he is 10 and while I have no issue with you having a 'girlfriend' I believe this is beyond what is she appropriate for your age. He did tell me she is 9 and friends with his step sister. So they have never actually met.
Am I wrong to think this is too young? Or is this starting to be the norm at this age??
Is this too young for this behaviour?
Is this too young for this behaviour?
Posted in:
Life Lessons
4 Replies
It all sounds innocent enough to me.
I can remember this all being the norm when I was in grade 5 (going on 11 in age like your son), who was going out with who, boyfriends/girlfriends, crushes etc. The only difference being we didn't have the technology today's kids have so it was all done in person at school or via notes 😂
Just keep monitoring it and having ongoing conversations about appropriate online behavior (which I'm sure you're already doing).
I’d be more concerned he has never met her. That’s a discussion that needs to be had about WhO this person really is.
She could be anyone, it’s time for a conversation about not chatting to someone he has never met in person and verifying they are who they say they are.
You t could be innocent but it could be early grooming from a predator.
Yes. Strangers are anyone on the internet we havent met in real life. Shes a stranger still and cant be his girlfriend and might not even be a 9 year old girl until he knows in real life who hes actually talking to.
It’s kid talk but maybe have a word to his dads to monitor him and speak to him about it. While it’s innocent , it may not come across that way to the girls parents. I also think it’s young to be talking like that but some kids mature quicker. My son would be way to embarrassed. I think it’s normal though but keep checking his messages. Connect it to you device also, so you can read it all if he deletes anything or tell him no devices at his dads and get dad to back you up.