what do you allow your 8 year old to do??

[Shaunam]

My 8 year old has a phone, but it's prepaid and it's just for calling me, dad, and the grandparents. No texting. I don't think he knows how anyway. Lol It was a $10 tracfone from Walmart. I let him roam the neighborhood a fair bit, but I expect him to tell me which friends house he's going to be at. He has a 3DSXL and I'm pretty lenient with what he's allowed to watch on Netflix. He and his sister share an iPad. He googles stuff (usually video game walk throughs) but doesn't chat with anyone. Kids try to grow up too fast these days.

[Michelle_M]

My 7 1/2 just got a tablet (an inexpensive tablet, certainly not a $500 iPad).
He does not have a cell phone, but honestly doesn't need one right now. When he gets to the point of going to friends houses after school and stuff, then I might get him a cheap pre-paid that he can use to call me when he's ready for a pick up, or if they are going to walk a few blocks to another friend's house etc.

My 5 yr old DOES have a digital camera, but it's a $30 kids camera.

And no, I will not let my daughter (when she turns 8) get into a "no fat pack" with her friends. I plan on teaching her about how important it is to be HEALTHY and how to stay healthy... eating the right foods, limiting unhealthy snacks and staying active.

God bless!

[raymark]

My once upon a time 8 yr olds (who are now 18 & 20) had their own cells at that age. They had them for several reasons...

safety: because one day a week they would walk 8 blocks to their Mom's house after school.

Their mom was always a drunk & it wasn't unusual for my DDs to have to call us for help from odd places - eventually she lost all visitation rights

We rode horses & dirt bikes - if any accident separated any of us we could immediately be in phone contact

We car pooled to their soccer clubs & needed them to be able to let us know they got there safely on days we did not drive.

Cells made more sense than installing a party line like I had when I was a kid so we wouldn't be bothered by them staying on our landline or cells for too long. (2 kids making 15 min calls to 3 friends each takes a while).

My 3 yr olds have iPads - they have learned so much through having them since before they were 2!!! I think ipads are the most user friendly, kid proof, safest from viruses and the like, and free child oriented apple apps don't have advertisements for things like gambling in the background like free android apps aimed at children often do.

All of my children have had cameras at young ages. I love encouraging the arts! Their pictures chronicle their day in their words & it's an amazing learning experience to watch them sequence them. They notice things in the pictures they take at events that they did not notice in person. They take pictures, print them out, & then verbally narrate stories that go along with their pics. I very highly recommend cameras for young children!!!

[raymark]

I don't know what the no getting fat pacts that are being discussed entail....but childhood obesity is a huge problem! If the children are bullying overweight kids or practicing an unhealthy diet then I think there is a problem. If they just don't want to ever get fat, I don't see what the problem is??? Avoiding eating junk & being physically active is great for any age group. Public schools all teach young children about the obesity epidemic - I think its great if young children are hearing the message. Young children are way more likely to schofer in change in the years to come than their parents are.

[raymark]

Originally Posted by Kiliki whoa. OP, I don't have an 8 yr old, but I do know an 8 yr old in a family that is close friends with us. And no, she is not like that at all. She is sweet and innocent, and she seems to feel a little self-conscious and awkward about herself. She makes jokes she thinks are funny, but sometimes aren't. We all laugh anyway because we don't want her to feel bad, but it's like 10 seconds later she realizes it wasn't funny and then is embarrassed.... she also asks strange questions. That's the 8 yr old I know. Seems to be in an awkward phase, but she is totally sweet and loving and innocent. Nothing like what you are describing.... "never get fat" pact is just weird... and actually SAD. to me anyway.

My 8 yr olds were exceptionally confident children & were both on debate teams in elementary school. Many people thought they were 'too grown up' for their ages. They just had parents who loved letting them explore their interest & run with it! They were both class presidents throughout high school. My oldest is now 20 and her college is paid for through athletic & academic scholarships. My 18 yr old is a senior & currently choosing what scholarship offers to accept or decline. Not all permissive parents who dont have akward children are permissive in ways that harm their children - just food for thought

[ulawolf]

Hmmm. Well when my kids were 8 they had some expensive stuff (my dd2 had s great camera) but they saved their$ for it. They were allowed to go on girl scout over night trips without me. No dates. But boy /girl bday parties weren't unheard of. (Rather at 8 then 13) they stayed the night at approved friends. Maybe other things that I can't think of yet

[raymark]

We always took turns with other parents taking our ODDs & their friends to movies throughout elementary & middle school. Boys & girls attended and a couple sets of parents always stayed. The kids thought they were dating...but that was just silly kid talk no different from playing house & pretending to get married.

I had my first boyfriend in preschool & thought I knew who I was going to marry in 3rd grade. Such behavior usually means nothing. We all had play dates at different houses. Some parents knew what little kids were calling eachother boyfriend & girlfriend & some did not. Sometimes your boyfriend didn't even know he was supposed to be your boyfriend LOL!

It was pretty common in my generation & I'm nearing 40. I'm sure someone could have gotten carried away & made it seem like slutty behavior between the kids & like our parents were bad permissive parents who didn't know how to put their foot down....but that would have been misrepresenting everything!!!

[ajane]

DD1 just turned 9. She just got an iPod touch for Xmas. It is set up through dh's Apple account so any time she downloads an app, it pops up on his phone. She knows the rules, and in fact does more than we expect. She won't download anything without asking first and she has only wanted free games so far. She is allowed to text and has 2 friends she texts with. It isn't that often, a few times a week. She actually texts dh a lot more and that is totally fine with me. She knows that I check it and we have a very open communicative relationship.

As for dressing, there are no worries there. She loves pants and jeans and a shirt. She is a swimmer so for practice she has to wear a Speedo and she actually prefers one piece or tankini bathing suits. She doesn't even want a bikini, lol. Although, I have no worries if she does.

She knows about healthy eating and exercise for healthy bodies. We don't take about "being fat", but she know about overweight and obesity.....she can see it.

We are very open and honest with her and talk to her about many things. We teach her how to be a good person, respecting others, etc. We use every day experiences, shows, movies for learning experiences and talking points.

She hasn't reached the stage of being interested in boys more than friends so no worries about her going out on a date, lol. However, she has many friends that are boys and if she wants to do something with a boy then I have no problems with it. I'm surely not going to make a bigger deal out of something than there is.

[leyash]

i don't have an 8 year old currently, but do have an 11 year old. he doesn't go out in the front yard by himself, except to check mail (we don't live in an AWESOME neighborhood). he is not allowed to do anything without asking, really. playing video games, watching tv, etc. he goes to friends houses, if i talk to the parents first. he doesn't have a cell phone, or any other personal electronic, for that matter.

so yeah.. if i'm not going to let him do it when he's 11, he wouldn't have been doing it when he was 8, lol.

[luvsviola]

My daughter is almost 6, and I would have no problem with her having a camera at 8. She has an iPod touch now, and treats it responsibly. Many of the kids at her school have prepaid cell phones in their backpacks for emergencies. Even some of the kindy kids have them. Since they are prepaid, kiddo can't do much damage financially if it gets lost. DH and I have been talking about it, but hadn't bought her one yet.

She has her own computer in her room, but it is a desktop since it was one we already owned. At some point, my laptop will get passed to her when DH or I get a new one. So by 8 or 9, she'd have one. Her school has class sets for k-4th grade, and every kid is required to have their own for 5th grade as a part of their school supplies (public school--if you can't afford to buy one, you can rent one from the school for $200) so she'll for sure have her own by the time she is 10. They use their laptops in most every class every day starting in 5th grade (middle school is 5-8th grade here).