youtube/children

[annie0000]

My son and his friend (both age 11) have their own youtube channel and have posted some videos (all about minecraft) they have over 3000 views and a handfull of subscribers - it's mainly his friend that talks in the videos with my son joining in in some of them. Is there anything in particular that us parents should be doing other than just monitoring what they are posting and looking at any comments. I don't want to stop them unless it is dangerous - they don't use their real names.

[boxtops]

Are you certain that they haven't posted any contact details, or personal information, in the text alongside the videos?

[boxtops]

annie,you and your son might find this site helpful, from the CEOPs website http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ - there is a page for 11-16 year-olds and one for parents, to help keep them alert to dangers http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

[annie0000]

not that I can see boxy - they have an account name and it says they are age 20 and in the UK - (they were both 10 when they started the channel, so 2 x 10!!) They both use their user name for minecraft when talking to each other but that does contain part of their real first name but no surname. I've watched as much of them as I can take, which includes at least part of each one and all of the shorter ones.

[annie0000]

thanks boxy - i'll have read of that and make sure that they do too.

[trt]

Stop it NOW!!!!!

[annie0000]

why trt?

[annie0000]

by the way, it is their game that appears on the screen, the kids faces are not on, just their voices under their pseudonyms.

[boxtops]

annie, there's a risk if anyone finds out they say they are 20, surely - if people start making comments - as happens on here sometimes - the comments could be inappropriate for 11-year-olds. You can't win, sometimes...... The CEOP site is really good, it's in language the youngsters can understand.

[annie0000]

yeah boxy, I see what you mean - you can tell by their voices that they are obviously not 20. I don't want to stop them really as they are both having a hard time at school, they are bright kids but have absolutely nothing in common with their classmates - they are both obsessed with this game and computers and it's great to see them so happy and motivated. One of their videos has 999 hits and they are desperate to see it go over 1000.

[boxtops]

have a look at the parent page on that site, annie - it'll help you, and you can always contact them with queries. There's more here https://www.thinkukno...uk/parents/Secondary/

[annie0000]

thanks boxy - i've looked at the parents page and the the primary and secondary age pages - they are at primary at the moment but high school after the summer and I guess the CEOPS is an english based site and if we were in England they would be in high school now. I don't see anywhere that they are not following the guidelines but I will sit down with them and make sure that they check what they have so far and ensure that they don't go any further. Thanks for your help.

[tinkerbell23]

Honestly annie i think they will be absolutley fine. You check comments etc. if you really want to you can disable comments xxx

[boxtops]

sorry annie - I forgot you are in Scotland. I think the English page will still apply in terms of information, but the Scottish govt does have its own CEOPs pages

http://www.scotland.g...families/17834/10255/

http://www.youngscot....health-relationships/

[NOX]

Annie my daughter is 14 and has had social networking, youtube, now answerbank and whatever else since she was about 11. Again she cites her age as higher than it is. I have absolutely NO WORRIES about her safety because she's an intelligent girl who understands the concept of social networking predators and is quite savvy enough to suss and deal with anything that comes up online. She also knows that she can come to her mother, me, her step father, her bothers, step sisters etc if there is a problem. Even if someone does make an inappropriate comment to one of the boys because they think they are older, it's really not a big deal, they just need to ignore it. They're growing up and need a little space and freedom imho in order to learn how to be safe and how to have fun in a way that doesn't jeopardise them. They seem to be doing this, so just support them in it and let them enjoy themselves.

[annie0000]

Thanks all - i'll make sure they go through the CEOPs stuff and the other links - thanks boxy and then just stay interested in what they are doing without interfering unless there is a problem.

They are both bright kids with hands on parents so I think they'll be fine - they have to have some independence as this will help their self confidence and hopefully get them ready for high school after the summer.

[bravejordy]

annie, I can fully understand your concerns but I'm sure they'll be just fine. If it's any consolation it was a 10 year old boy on YouTube who told me how to fix my Dyson! Apparently he knows everything there is to know about Dysons and I'm eternally grateful because he saved me forking out a big repair bill. I think kids are a lot more "street wise" when it comes to the Internet (and Dysons) than we give them credit for.

[annie0000]

lol jordy - that's how I find out how to do stuff too :) - that's when my own 11 and 10 years don't already know....