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The Realities of Online Chat Rooms for Kids

Online chat rooms are not just popular among adults looking for love or careers; many teens and preteens are finding friends and maintaining contact with friends who have moved away, getting help with school work, and discovering the world through the use of online chat rooms for kids under 13.

What the Critics Say

The critics of online chat rooms for kids under 13 feel that they are detrimental to kids and often expose them to information at early ages that they would normally not be exposed to. Though this and other perceived disadvantages seem to steer parents away from online chat rooms for kids under 13, the advantages may make the risks worth taking.

Positive Reasons to Let Kids Chat Online

Improve Social Skills
The first and most common way online chat rooms for kids under 13 are beneficial is their ability to create an environment where kids are free to be who they are. In these rooms kids can explore and improve upon their social skills through various methods including writing, text-chatting, playing games, and finding connection points. Many adults do not understand the text “lingo” but for kids, this is a vital means of communication.

Increase Communication Skills
By engaging in chat room conversations, preteens learn how to carry on a conversation, listen and make contributions that they might not make otherwise. Through this process, preteens find friends they may never have found in person. For some teens, they find themselves to be socially awkward in person but thrive in an online setting. Many times, the online chat rooms are a way to give them courage to be more social.

Online chat rooms for kids under 13 years of age provide a quiet way for preteens to talk with their friends. Because of these sites, preteens can have people over without having to leave the room. Many sites allow for video chat and group chats that transcend rooms, cities, states, and even countries. Preteens can talk with their friends in the safety of their own home without the worries of getting their friends together for a party or parents having to make time in their schedule to take them somewhere for a get together.

Address Academics
For parents, one of the main advantages of online chat rooms for kids under 13 is their ability to provide sources of help with schoolwork. Many parents are not capable or do not have the time to help their students get schoolwork done. Fortunately, there are hundreds of websites designed to guide students to find the help they need to be successful in school.

There are sites dedicated to every subject imaginable and target children and teens of all grade levels. Some sites even provide actual teacher assistance or submission sites to get feedback on the work they have produced. School curriculum consists of an increasing number of technology requirements that stump most adults. Online chat rooms provide informational and technological help for these problems.

If these reasons are not enough for allowing your preteen to spend some monitored time on the Internet, then consider what they can learn from people who live in places around the world. Many online chat rooms for kids under 13 are available to kids in the United States and around the world. Preteens can have a virtual pen pal and learn history, culture, and geography of a part of the world they have never been to. Preteens with a broad worldview often are more successful in school and have a healthy sense of adventure.

For critics of online chat rooms for kids under 13, these advantages may not be convincing enough to outweigh the risk; however, if you as a parent are responsible and willing to monitor your child’s online use, these chat rooms can be an invaluable source of information and social experience.