Education · Advice & Questions · Oct 20

What should I ask when my twelve-year-old's homework tool will not let him create an account at his real age?

Education

The sign-up screen rejected my son's date of birth. He turned the laptop towards me and said, "It works if I make myself thirteen."

He's twelve, attending school in the US. The teacher's homework message linked to the tool and said to create an account using an email address. I can't see instructions for a school-managed account, and I don't know whether the school has approved this particular sign-up route.

I don't want him to learn that a date-of-birth question is something to get around whenever an adult wants a task finished. I also don't want an account problem to turn into an argument about refusing homework. What should I send the teacher before the deadline? The exercise itself seems manageable; getting through the registration screen is the part we haven't agreed to.

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2 community replies

@JulesAfterDark

Send the age message and the homework instructions, with your son's personal details obscured. Ask which approved account route the class is meant to use. Don't enter a false birthday to discover what happens after the block.

@MorganSays

The FTC's [COPPA guidance for schools](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-coppa-frequently-asked-questions) recommends school or district review of a service's privacy practices rather than leaving that decision to individual teachers. Ask who has reviewed this tool and how pupils of his age are supposed to access it. A homework link doesn't answer those questions.

What should I ask when my twelve-year-old's homework tool will not let him create an account at his real age?

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