We asked you what you thought, and you told us! Here is what people from the BCS community have to say about our last Speak Up question: Should kids be allowed online alone and, if so, at what age?
“Well, I think [children] at age 13 at least should be able to go online without parent supervision. Younger children probably don't have the educational needs to be online without parent supervision. They don't know the dangers. They would be at the bottom of the food chain per se.”
- Candace Peterson
BWA 6th grader
“I think my answer is that kids should be about 10 or 11 to be able to scroll around in the Internet, but it also depends on their maturity level. I am 10 years old and I am allowed to not just search something random up because you don't know everything that can show up.”
- Emmery Wells
BWA 4th grader
"I believe that kids should be 13 or older when they get to get to go online by themselves. There are a lot of dangers on the internet and I would still monitor them even if they are 13 or above."
- Sara Gotzman
BWA Junior
"Responsible and mature kids should be allowed at age 9, probably, perhaps even 8!”
- Austin McGinnis
BWA 5th grader
"I think it matters if the kid is mature or not. If their parents feel that their kid isn't mature enough or isn't ready, then they shouldn't go online. A kid can be 14 or 15 but really isn't mature, while a 10 or 11 year old can be mature. I really think it all matters if they are mature or not."
- Afnaan Damrah
BWA 7th grader
“Yes. They should be [allowed online]. There is not an age limit as long as they are mature and responsible enough.”
- Evin Wells
BWA 7th grader
“I think all kids should be allowed online, as long as their parents are with them. But I believe kids shouldn’t be on the Internet without supervision until they are about 14, and even then they should be monitored. It isn’t that kids aren’t responsible: other people on the Internet aren’t responsible and could pose dangers for kids who are completely innocent and unaware that they are in danger.”
- Ruqaiyah Damrah
BEC Sophomore
"I think that kids should be allowed online, they should be responsible with it. The best way to make sure is to put parental locks on the computer. The internet is a dangerous place but it can be used in a very entertaining way, so as long as the kid is responsible, yes, they should be allowed online."
- Caden Wheeler
BWA 7th grader
"I think kids she be allowed online alone at the age of ten, but only if there's certain filters on the device, if not I would suggest waiting to about thirteen [to] fourteen before being allowed online without supervision."
- Moriah Heykamp
BWA 5th grader
“I think that kids should be able to go online for school or educational reasons at a young age but if anything happens they should talk to a trustable adult to help them work out the problem. If they are older (11 and up) maybe [they] can do other things since they are older but if anything happens they should still talk to an adult so they can… help them fix the problem.”
- Desiree Wicks
BWA 6th grader
Photo taken by Shayla Miller, BWA Junior