My son is 14. The Vodacom people said you can block the internet through them.

Mxit is just a form of communication, and you should be able to trust your children on it, you should not treat them like prisoners, if you fell your child at 16 should have a certain time he needs to go to bed, then that's fine, personally, I feel it's kinda strange at that age...I fell asleep on mxit often when I was still in my teens, and it never affected me...

the probelm with mxit is that your child(daughter) could be chatting to some weirdo and fall in love with him over the phone, and would want to meet him, or send him pics...inappropriate pics....but if you teach your child the dangers of mxit, and the dangers of chatting to strangers...you'll leave them with guidance and trust...that should be enough...if you treat your teen like a toddler...you won't achieve anything...children who aren't allowed to do certain things will do them behind your back, I'm all for rules, but don't over power them, don't strangle them...most teen girls ,who's parents won't allow them to go out with their friends(clubbing or whatever) , who's parents just come across to up tight, (that the teens aren't brave enough to ask , scared of the reaction they might get) or those who believe their 16yr old daughter is still 12 and treats her that way, will at the first opportunity lie about their plans, go and "sleep at a friend's house" the friend will probably spin her parents the same story...and they'll end up going out anyway, they'll get drunk, knowing they won't have to come home, some guy will probably take advantage of them, they'll wake up in some older guy's bed...and you'll be the only one to blame...

all situations can be managed, if you personally pick up your child when they go out, when you give them a curfew, and make sure you know the people they go out with...every situation can be managed

I honestly think that it all comes down to parents teaching their kids about self-control and decipline. If you control your child too much, they will do exactly what you dont want them to do

Don't blame the tool, honestly. Blaming mxit is like blaming a car for a car accident. Rather than being concerned about the fact that your son is on mxit late, you should be concerned about what he is doing on mxit, and to be honest, at 16 it's not really your business. You should be respecting his privacy, and let him make his own choices as a human being.

When I was 16 I spent a lot of time at night on chat sites, and the funny thing was, I was mostly chatting to people around the world about their culture and politics, since that was what interested me. I also talked a friend out of killing herself late at night, and if I didn't have mxit she would be dead.

To all the parents who babels on about rules and discipline, you need to realize that your children are human beings and have needs for privacy and respect. They should be able to live freely and make their own choices. If a child chooses to use a cellphone for porn and other illegal activity, it's not the phone's fault but indicate that there might be deeper issues, and needs counseling. IE the problem is with the child and taking away the phone isn't going to stop him/her from thinking that way.

Please don't do stupid things like blocking their internet access you are really doing more harm. A person that can't use the internet today is considered illiterate.

To the mother who started this thread. It sounds like you trust your son, so I wouldn't worry if I where you, he is probably just chating with some friends. If you are worried that he is not getting enough sleep, he is the only one who can change that. And he probably will change it if he feels he can't stay awake. The fact that he struggles to wake up in the morning can be caused by a variety of things, like his diet for example. Or maybe he is just not a morning person.

Now Im just going to say one last thing. The world is a screwed up place, not because of things like mxit, but because of parents who think they own their children.