Kids forum board?

[KezT]

Is there any chance that you can set up a special children's forum board?

 

i am a member on another forum were they have an u/18 section and it is sooooo useful. Obviously adults still have to be aware that all boards are family friendly;-) But some of the stuff on these boards are fairly unintresting to kids and, frankly, rather off-putting (just take a look in the education one and think of it from a 8 yar olds perspective!)

 

the u/18 section would be for kids only, to talk about kid stuff - school, friends, exams, relationship, medication, diets - the whole lot, but without adults getting all technical at them (although adult moderation is needed, obviously).

 

My son is 8, and I would love him to be able to talk to other Aspies safely and freely, but can't find anything online that seems to fulfil this for him.

[something_different]

 

I think that would be a good idea, a safe place where they can make friends and interact with eachother.

 

Not that i have any kids! but hopefully other parents wld like their children to post.

 

Only one problem....they may take over your PCs ha ha

 

[KezT]

Only one problem....they may take over your PCs ha ha

 

That's OK - we bought E his own laptop so we could have time on ours He thinks I'm being unfair when i tell him to stop playing after five hours or so......

[joybed]

I think this would be a good idea someone who understands who isn,t an adult.

[NickyB]

Sounds like a good idea to me. I can see it being useful to siblings of ASD kids, too. My DS1 has a lot to put up with having a brother with ASD, and I'm sure he'd welcome a chance to find other kids in the same situation.

[Canopus]

I believe that this forum has COPPA activated although COPPA does not apply in the UK.

[KezT]

I believe that this forum has COPPA activated although COPPA does not apply in the UK.

 

I don't see how that is relevant to the need for kids to have their own topic board?

 

The whole website is fine - but not child "friendly". Where can they go to just talk about their ASD? To discuss their feelings/thoughts/opions with the peers? To ask questions of people who can understand rather than instruct?

 

I may be old & a parent, but I can remember knowing that anyone over the age of 21 couldn't POSSIBLY understand

Edited October 23, 2008 by KezT

[Canopus]

I don't see how that is relevant to the need for kids to have their own topic board?

 

Very relevant. Activating COPPA allows the kids to be contained in a separate group from the adults and moved into the adult group automatically once they reach the right age. It's then possible to set up a topic board accessible only to the kids and the forum admin, but inaccessible by adult users. The forum software can easily be tweaked to change the age from 13 to 16 or 18.

 

[KezT]

Activating COPPA allows the kids to be contained in a separate group from the adults and moved into the adult group automatically once they reach the right age.

 

But there isn't a kids board. Is there?

 

I assume it would be moderated by adults anyway?

[baddad]

There are a few forums that operate solely for children, or that include children's areas...

There are links to some scattered around the boards (I think a member here started one in the past?) so you could try a 'search' using 'sites+children' or something like that.

I can think of all sorts of problems arising from running a child's forum - or even a separate area - monitoring and moderating being just two; but there would be plenty of others. From personal experience I can tell you that mods get enough stick from trying to sort out adult disagreements, let alone those between ten year olds, and also from personal experience I can vouch that when kids fall out (or overstep boundaries) the responses of the respective parents can be anything but supportive of those trying to negotiate peace or intervene...

If you have a look around the boards they're full of posts from parents disagreeing with sanctions that have been placed on their children by schools etc, or that have been suggested by professionals advising on behavioural management strategies. If kids 'breaking rules' are overlooked in those circumstances it seems unlikely that responses to a child being sanctioned online by a relative stranger would be viewed as acceptable.

 

[hev]

ive often thought of this but i would be horrified if steve logged on to this site and found my posts,he would be hurt but its just me venting my feelings at that particular moment

 

i think a kids forum would be brilliant though,theres got too bwe one out there somewhere

 

[Kathryn]

This has been suggested before I think.

 

Speaking purely for myself, I wouldn't like to moderate a "kids only" board - that's not what I signed up to do. If I have to spend time with kids - I'd rather they were my own rather than someone else's.

 

"Children only" boards raise all sorts of issues around child protection, and I'm not prepared to take the responsibility for other people's children's safety and welfare - personally.

 

This is mainly an adult forum and I think it should remain so - parents need a safe place to vent away from their children. I don't think children should be encouraged to post here, where they might read the distressing stuff that is sometimes posted by adults.

 

There are some children here whose parents are active members - I think that's fine, because those parents are taking responsibility for their own children while they are posting here.

 

Purely my own views, I have to stress!

 

K x

 

 

[Aginoth]

Just as an example here's a forum that has a mature and fully utilised and functioning Chuldren's bpard

 

http://www.psoriasis-help.org.uk/forum/index.php

 

I've been a member of this particular forum for years. The forum allows adults to read the childrens forums but adult members are only permitted to post to give advice to the children if it is asked for.

 

Perhaps a Mod Here could contact a Mod there for a discussion on the practicalities of it...

Edited October 24, 2008 by Aginoth

[jb1964]

Hi,

 

I think the epilepsy forum also has a young people's board and it works well - although personally I think it depends what kind of forum it is to start with.

 

For instance if the topics are based on epilepsy or psoriasis they are not going to include posts regarding their childrens behaviour, personal info etc - I agree with Kathryn there are a lot of distressing posts on this forum.

 

When I first joined it didn't seem too bad and occasionally I would ask my daughter to have a read of things that I thought she could relate to etc - however now I would not like her to peruse the boards as I know she would find lots of things upsetting. Now and again she will come and sit next to me when she knows I'm reading on here and I have to be very selective of the posts I choose to read - I know she's asked me several times do I write bad things about her.

 

Take care,

Jb

 

 

 

 

[Flora]

My own opinion, either as a participating member or as a mod, is that I would not be interested in extending the boards to include a forum for kids/teenagers. I think it would bring with it a whole set of problems that we couldn't even begin to envisage! Definately not something I'm interested in.

 

Flora