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Comment by MarcScott | Hacker News Reader

My child (now sixteen) has had unfettered access to technology and the internet since he was about four years old. He's had old tablets and laptops, and a mobile phone (since about the age of nine). I don't monitor his use, or use parental controls. He's familiar with macOS, Windows and Linux, and can build his own PC. I fail to see any negative effects with my attitude towards his use of tech.

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It really depends on what actually happens.

I raised my kids on a sailboat. Literal death was just a matter of standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, or falling off when no one would notice for 5 minutes.

They all survived.

They survived because they had a deep understanding of the dangers involved and how to avoid them, not because raising 6 towards old children on a sailboat is perfectly safe.

Was it worth it? Sure. They are all amazing people with a global culture, strong risk taking and management skills, and a broad range of skills.

If one of them had died, my answer would probably be no, not worth it.

With screens at a young age, There is a risk of dopamine-short loops and damage to attention mechanisms in brain development. If they don’t do the thing’s that are damaging, they won’t be damaged.

To be perfectly clear, I am not criticizing your choice. Sounds to me like it was the right one. But it’s definitely a YMMV situation, like sailing the ocean with young children.

> Literal death was just a matter of standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, or falling off when no one would notice for 5 minutes.

Danger can be a good thing if it's visible and apprehensible https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/24/why-germany-is...

Open and unfettered access to the internet since age 4 has probably given him a warped sense of reality.

Not necessary true, it all depends on how much time the parents have for their children and how well they educate them. But I would say that letting your child to be exposed to porn at early ages can be mentally damaging and the same applies to trolling communities that can plant unhealthy ideas into your child's mind

I kinda wonder if you could find out when they first encountered the worst parts of the Internet. That's basically the main thing I worry about (my 5 year and 3 year old current have laptops, but we have eyes on the screens all the time so far)

Aren't there quite good DNS filters (like what OpenDNS provides) for the worst parts of the internet? You don't want them looking at porn, gore, extreme politics, social media, self-destructive behaviours, drugs, and at particular sites -- that kind of stuff, right? A DNS filter sounds like a better tool for this than time restrictions with all that content available for 1 hour a day or whatever.

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