Here's the thing about Google Docs: it's a legitimately excellent tool that teaches real skills. Your kid needs to know how to use word processing software, and Docs is the modern standard. The collaboration features are genuinely useful for school projects.

But—and this is a big but—it's also become a stealth social network. Kids figured out that they can create a shared doc, invite friends, and use it as a chat room that parents never think to monitor. They're sharing memes, links, videos, and sometimes bullying each other, all in what looks like an innocent homework document.

The fix isn't to ban it (they need it for school), but to treat shared documents the same way you'd treat any social communication. Check in on what they're sharing and with whom. Have the conversation about appropriate use. This is a productivity tool masquerading as harmless—but in kid hands, it's also a communication channel.