I remember the day each was born...vividly.
Ben told me the other night that I need to start treating him a little older. "I'm the man of the house now, after all". Of course, that statement broke a few extra pieces of my heart. Not just because I don't want him to get older so quickly, but also that he thinks he needs to have responsibilities he shouldn't be expected to carry at his age.
And mind you, I'd never ask him to carry these things. Ben has always been a kind, generous soul. He is sensitive to others and has always been a people-pleaser. He wants everyone to be happy. Always has. As such, he wants to help and since I'm "supposed" to treat him older...I have started looking at what I allow him to do.
When I was growing up, the "apartment kids" were always the wild ones. I'm assuming this was the case because their parents were working all the time and not home to watch over them. So, being that we are in an apartment at this point, I haven't been too open to letting the roam around. Yes, it's gated, but that doesn't mean it's "freak-free".
There are just certain things I feel I should control while I can, which brings me to this...
A lot of Ben's friends are getting Facebook pages. Now, I'm no June Cleaver but WHAAAAAAAT? I haven't seen anything inappropriate on the pages, but as Kelley said...just give it time.
Please tell me ... and maybe I'm in the minority on this .,.. but WHY are parents so eager for their kids to grow up so fast? Is it really that 11-12 year olds ARE old enough to have Facebook pages? Is it really that big of a deal to say 'okay' to this one? Or, is it asking for issues he isn't equipped to handle right now?
I think Kelley is probably right. While Ben has a very great group of friends, they are getting at that age where they're changing. Personalities. Interests. Many things. Ben is *great* about ignoring the idiots of this world. I've told him before that I want to be like him when I grow up, when it comes to dealing with others who are mean. If someone is ugly to him, he simply doesn't tolerate it. He isn't ugly back to them. He just doesn't associate with them until they 'act right', as he puts it. Brilliant.
Thankfully, he isn't hounding me about it or anything like that. He asked me last year if he could get on Facebook and I told him he could if he could tell me exactly what it was. The conversation ended there.
But, I'm seeing so many of his friends on it, I'm anticipating it coming up in the near future and I want to have my answer planned. I need to find out a lot of information before then. Are the ads that come up on the kids walls age-appropriate? I already know it would be mandatory for me and his dad to have access to it. For it and everything on it to be private. That he could only add friends and family. In fact, family would be mandatory so everyone could keep an eye on him!
So the research begins...
I'll let you know. Of course, **I** won't be bringing it up to him! I'm just going to try and be prepared, for once!
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