Help for my teen?

There's no such thing as a safe site for teens on the internet.,,unless it's just one where they only chat with their parents.

LOL Rob! Unfortunately, I think I have to agree with him.

Me too, they see things differently at their age.

I have to agree with Rob, there's no safe site...gather has been the safest I've seen

I don't have teens so no I can't help you'

Rob,
You just quoted my husband, but she so wants to be on a site.

Truthfully I really can't help you here, all sights online, social networking, there are huge risks,......the best I could say is to let her have an account on here, and really monitor her, with you knowing the password, and signing her in, and if she changes the password, have it go to your email so that you know she changed it.
mooch

When my children were teens the internet wasn't around. I am not sure if any of the teen sites that I have heard about are "Safe". I do think that a solid family and their support are very important. Do you live where there is an organized teen program? Often churches have a good youth program. It seems to be important to teens to be able to do IM with one another. Perhaps you can broach the subject of a teen room on Gather with the powers to by. Write directly to Tom Gerace.

How old is she? She can get a teen account on Myspace where no one can send her x rated material and no one under 18 can talk to her and no one can see her profile unless she okays them first. Of course people still lie about their age. You could also install spy ware on the computer she uses so you know what's being said. It's a little extreme but it sounds like you have reason to be that way.

I meant to say no one over 18...

Just Club Penguin....and owned by Disney....

My teenage son is on GAther, as are a few other teens....they just need their own group I guess.

I really think Rob is right tho:(

I think facebook is pretty safe. Not as random as myspace.

I'd say if she makes a profile make her keep it private and she only approves people she knows who are already her friends. Approve her friends before she approves them and tell her to block anyone she sees on there that makes her uncomfortable(or people she's already had a problem with). Tell her if someone sends her a rude message not to respond just to block them.

I would not encourage my teen to get involved. I don't see it as something tangible as a relationship or friendship in real life would be.
elaine d.

Safe, Internet, Teens???? Are you confused, the best thing to do is teach rite from wrong and monitor her internet activity, any were there are teens there will be nasty perverted old men seeking them out.

sorry, but I don't have any suggestions.

Rob wins. I love Gather and get the best advice here. She, herself, is not the most trustworthy, so no Internet.

i had tight control on son,, he had limited access and never alone in a room with a computer,, I let him have face book and myspace, he was totally honest with me if someone got rude or crude on here,, because I would find out. I TRUST my son

I don't have any suggestions and I'm glad my girls are adults. Best of luck with this.

I have to agree with Rob. In fact I'd feel less trusting of sites geared toward tweens/teens. I would think if a perv was looking for a target, they would specifically seek out these types of sites and perhaps pose as a teen themselves, or not...

We have a keylogging program on our computers. It records all keystrokes, all websites visited, all programs ran, all chat programs running and we can set it up to take screen shots also, so we know at all times what our children are doing on the internet.

I've had friends tell me that they think it's an invasion of privacy. Sure it is! Sorry, my computer, my internet fee, and my children. They have no right to privacy on the computer. Once they are 18 years old, pay for a computer, pay for their connection, then they can have privacy!

Only my daughter is allowed chat programs, and she is only allowed to chat with family and select friends. I am also present for 98% of her chat time.

I can't be like my in-laws who allow their daughter complete freedom with cell and computer.... I was pretty concerned when my niece added her cell phone number and address publicly to her Myspace! DUH!

I was going to suggest what Melanie S did - get a keylogging program. That Way you know what sites and what you teen is doing. I had one for awhile and wish to get another one.

Even Gather is not that safe. There are teens here who are undercover pretending to be adults and they cause problems. Just kkep a close eye on her. Internet and teen seems like an evil pairing but responsible teens and parents shoulf be able to overcome the pitfalls and make it enjoyable.