'Being a Parent Involves Being an Adult'

Our post on keeping kids safe on Facebook inspired some interesting discussions on parenting in the comments.

Today's post by Rebecca Greenfield on keeping kids safe on Facebook inspired some interesting discussions on parenting. In light of news that adults have lured and abused children using the social network, Greenfield wrote that it's time the company acknowledged that kids under 13 are using their site and took steps to make them safer. Commenter Small Change also put the responsibility on parents who use Facebook, writing in part:

How can we best protect them? It goes back to the parents, who have to have eagle eyes in keeping watch, but who must also lead by example. If the parents are sharing every last fart of information with the world, why wouldn't their children follow suit? 

User Bovine500 agreed, replying:

Being a parent involves being an adult.  It's unrealistic to say to a child, "It's your job to obey, not to think."  When children are taught only to obey, they're discouraged from becoming responsible adults.  There's also a risk that when they decide to stop obeying their parents they'll just go on to obey someone else.

Placing the onus on parents doesn't let Facebook off the hook, but it's a fresh reminder of where responsibility begins following those terrible news reports.