When she says: "I'll email you"

Previously on urbanMamas, we've talked just a little about internet safety, our kids and mature media, or YouTube as a learning tool.  Not sure what came over us this weekend, but we went ahead and set up our 8-year old with her very own email account: first name [dot] last name [at] gmail [dot] com.  Not too creative, I know.  We let her know she can use the email for communicating with our extended family, who is scattered everywhere, geographically.  We know she has other friends who have had email for a little while, but we know that the majority of her peers don't have email accounts yet.  Our intent is for her to use it strictly for family, and she needs to ask us before getting onto the computer.  We also intend to check her email for her and keep track of her password.

I would love to hear other parents' thoughts about this: when would you/will you let your child have his/her own email account?  What would be some of the parameters you would set for usage?  Have you encountered this in your household yet?

Heading to the restroom, SOLO

If you're a mama with a little boy or if you're a papa with a little girl, how and when would/did you let them go to the bathroom on their own?  When our daughters were brought on a playdate with a friend and his papa, we wondered, "would Jason take them into the men's room?  Or let them potty on their own?"  Shannon emails:

I’m the mama of two kids, ages 7 and 3, and we have just started swim lessons again at our local pool.  Up until now, I have been bringing my son (the 7-year old) in the locker room with me despite the inane sign that tells me children 5 and up must use the same gender locker room or a family changing room.  There was no way my 5-year old was in any way ready to go in the men’s room by himself and it’s virtually impossible to get a family room (plus floor is generally wet and icky).  So now that he is 7, my husband suggested that maybe he is old enough to venture into the men’s room and change by himself while I tend to my daughter in the ladies room.  At first I was really reluctant and worried (there are myriad scenarios that fly through my head), but I thought we’d give it a try.  We designated a spot for him to wait for his sister and me, we talked about strangers and where to go for help (the front desk) if he needed it.

So I was wondering at what age do other mamas let their sons go in the men’s room on their own and how they felt about it?

For what age is Treasure Island?

The urbanMamas community is always such a wealth of support and perspective.  Shari emails:

I'm thinking about taking some or all of my kids to the Oregon Children's Theater/Captain Bogg & Salty showing of Treasure Island. But it has been so long since I read the book, I can't remember for what ages it would be appropriate. Is anyone familiar enough with the book or the show to make a recommendation? My children are ages 5 and 5 (boys) and 8 (girl).

Sunday Comics Ain't Always G Rated

I know that I've talked to many a mamas about no longer listening to NPR after the kids reach a certain age, but do we also have to censor the Sunday comics?  Teresa emailed us recently:

Call me crazy, but now that my 2nd grader can read, I am finding myself concerned with, of all things, the Sunday comics. I know, I know, we all remember french toast and pouring over Charlie Brown and his kite antics and Calvin and Hobbs shooting a cannon through the snowman. But, last fall, after my husband had gotten in the habit of reading the Sunday comics to my 4 yr. old and 7 yr. old sons, I took a look at what is actually in there. Mark Trail is lovely and Dennis the Menace is still up to his old tricks. But I didn't like the strip that showed a teenager in high school class fantasizing about his teacher draped over her desk, half-naked in a darkly lit room with a bright light trained on her curves. That really was in the Oregonian's Sunday comics, I think it was fall 2007. I thought to myself, "You're overreacting. It's just the comics. Let it go."

Until this Sunday's comics, March 2. "Pearls Before Swine" has a son, a zebra no less, plastering "Girls Gone Wacky" videos, with voluptuous bikini clad lasses on the covers, all over the outside of his house and yard. The zebra dad says, "My son's a perv."

I know my young sons absolutely do not need an introduction to strippers and video porn. (Heck, a drive in the car past strip clubs and adult stores can take care of that.) So why the heck does it need to be in our Sunday Oregonian's bastian of Sunday morning entertainment; the Sunday comics? Anyone else take the time to look past Family Circle and see what's in there sometimes? It ain't always Rated G. What do you think about the Sunday comics for your kids who can read or for those even younger? (The comic pictures described here were quite vivid and telling.)