My children don’t know what Facebook is; they have no idea. They are currently ages three and six. I’m elated that this is the case. They have no reason to know about Facebook.

They are children. I want them to do the things that children do, like draw pictures with crayons, go to the playground, have play dates with friends, sing songs, and dance in the rain, weather-permitting.

Facebook is not for children. It is a place where adults can keep in touch with one another. It is a place to share relevant news articles.

Facebook is a centralized location on the Internet where we can discuss current events. It is not a place where children should be spending time browsing.

This is my personal opinion as a parent. Many people will disagree with me on this. I’ve seen parents create Facebook profiles for their children. That is their personal preference.

I will not do this for my kids, because I do not want them spending time on the Internet when they do not fully comprehend what they are looking at and the implications of it.

I do share photographs of my children on Facebook when they do cute things. I share videos of my children when they say something funny. I share these things because I want my friends and family to see them.

Some of my loved ones don’t live in New York and don’t see my kids on a regular basis.

Sharing pictures and videos of my kids is appropriate since I am their mother and I know what I am sharing.

Children do not need to spend excess time on the computer. They are already bombarded with screens in our technologically obsessed
society.

My kids watch TV, the play on the IPad occasionally and we own a WII. They will be just fine without Facebook.

Some time in the future, my kids will not be oblivious to the
existence of Facebook.

The day will come when one of my kids will ask me:
“What’s Facebook?”

When that day arrives, I will tell them what it is.

“Facebook is a place where adults can share information with each other. Sometimes we share pictures and other times we share articles about what’s going on in the world.”

Until my children ask me, I am not going to introduce Facebook to
them. They can go paint a watercolor picture and eat a cupcake instead.