He should be fine. There a lot worse things he could find on the internet.

Be sure to tell him pinsiders are not real people but weird freaks he'll be fine
Be sure to give him links to vids guides and Ltg tell him about HEP etc. Great info there!
Just drop in to look at his activity once in a while.

Heck he's thirteen and from all you say a great kid, let him sign up. So far as a minimum age for an account, I don't know that you can assign a definite age. Kids all mature and develop differently and at different rates; while your 13 yr. old appears to be mature enough not all kids his age would ready to have an account. I guess the bottom line is, it will have to be determined by every parent individually.

Theres nothing on here that kids at school havent already exposed him to. Unless hes home schooled...then your wife must be really messed up for showing him all that. LOL

He will certainly need a pinside account to access the basement.

My opinion is to sit down with him and tell him to listen to the positive things that go on here. Lots of good information here and he should focus on that.

Now as for the rest of the Internet...

If you want him to have access to the technical and game-specific posts, you could probably adjust the settings on his account to only display those. Then as he gets a bit older you could take off the blinkers.

His age should be fine. Just remind him to keep his post positive and not fall for trolls. Sometimes I wish there was a way to lock me out when I’m drinking.

Too young to be living any extension of life through an internet persona. Also this place goes from zero to toxic often. Some goon will no doubt lay into him if he has an opinion on anything. This is no place to build youthful confidence. IMHO

I wouldn't want my kid being influenced by or thinking the world revolves around a bunch of old nerds stuck in the 1980s. But she does get a kick out of that.

I remember being 13...

That's all I can say about that hahaha

Pinside is fine.

Pinside is rather tame compared to the rest of the web...

If he's old enough to ask. He's old enough to have his own Pinside account.

Internet moderation is still up to you.

LTG : )

By 13 I had found my dad's old playboy magazines. I wouldn't worry about pinside compared to the other places he may find on the net. It your job as a parent is to prepare your kid to become an adult, then this is a good stepping stone. Just moderate it best you can. You can always follow him and watch his posts.

We need the next generations to take over for us. I quit often let my ten year old read the restoration threads and we go over the different pin club threads for games we own or would like too someday.

Novel idea.

Perhaps pinball machines should be looking like something they are interested in instead of what their grandparents are into.

Give him a little guidance, tell him to watch out for the likes of o-din, and to always knock before he barges into his own house if Vid is visiting. As long as he remembers that, he'll be fine.

The only difference being a member vs. being a non member is access to the basement and being able to make up to 100 posts a day.

Sometimes I wonder what I signed up for.

It’s the answer to her question

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Replace the word “could “ with the word “has” and you’d be correct. Pinside is a decent site , lots of good info here just ignore the bs .

He is 13 and you are worried about him signing up for a forum account? He probably has a Pornhub account LOL!

At 12 or 13, in spite of me introducing my son to cfh (at the predecessor to Tilt Town) after bringing him to several ExPO's and playing & repairing pins, he's turned out greta.

His employer will have him at G2E next week from Reno.

At 10 years old I would watch the 16 year old chain smokers telling stories and playing Sea Ray, waiting for them to finish up and hope they leave me some games.

This is about as close as you are going to get to that.

I made my Pinside account when I was 16, but had been using forums online since I was 8. By age 13 I was foruming regularly and it was one of my favorite pass times, learned a lot and made some good friends from engaging in online communities!

I think your son could have a great time on Pinside.

As long as you explain to him that we are idiot's, he will be fine.

Keep in mind that mama Kulek proclaims that this is an "adult website"....

I don't feel language or more complex concepts would be an issue for him to process, but generational gaps and the nuance in interpreting those gaps aren't possibly conducive to a younger, more innocent mind.

Naivety and the ignorance it brings is the most valuable gift we have in life. I always felt content letting the world of adults remain where they were, and drifting into that world, years, years later than 13.

Ultimately it's his will, and your choice that will guide that decision, but the framing and exposure of a young mind to a world of older people's dilemmas, personal issues, life experience and scars they bring with them, belief systems, etc, will not be within your control or his, to some extent.

Good luck to ya both!

Now there's a thread title that could have gone in a completely different direction.
For a minute I thought some Pinsider was going to be on To Catch a Predator.

Haven't you heard? None of us here on Pinside ever grew up. We are all 13.

Yep, first thought that came to mind was 14 will get you 20.

Whatever you do, don’t be a

Helicopter parent,
a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children.
"some college officials see all this as the behavior of an overindulged generation, raised by helicopter parents and lacking in resilience"

Or worse a
Bulldozer parent,
Lawnmower parents (also known as snowplow or bulldozer parents) are easily willing to drop everything to fulfill their child's wants and demands no matter how small. These parents often have good intentions and are motivated by not wanting their children to experience struggle.

Let him have some experience to build resilience

I wish the internet and this site had been around when I was 13. Might have kept me out of a lot of trouble.