How to Help Your Child Start a Blog and Make It Safe
Blogging is not just for adults. Even children can benefit from it immensely when they have a passion for writing and reading. So, if your child wants to start a blog of their own, it makes every sense to encourage them to pursue their dreams.
Many blogging platforms, however, have age restrictions to safeguard kids. Therefore, for children under 13 years old, parents should get involved.
But how can you help set up a blog and guide your child in their blogging journey with safety in mind? You will learn all the answers in this article.
Before we get to that, let’s find out why blogging could be the perfect pastime for children.
How Can Your Kids Benefit From Blogging?
For any child who enjoys writing, a blog is a valuable tool to enhance their skills. A daily practice of writing, whether on paper or online, can help them immeasurably improve their vocabulary and learn new techniques.
A blog can be an outlet to demonstrate creativity, share interests with others, and connect with like-minded kids. It provides children with a voice to express their opinions, ideas, and suggestions, which could help boost confidence and build character.
Starting and developing a blog from a young age will also look good on a resume and can open doors to countless opportunities. Besides, it can be lots of fun and serve as an excellent hobby, especially for kids interested in writing.
5 Steps to Help Your Child Start a Blog
Here is how you can help your young one fulfill their blogging dreams in a few simple steps.
1. Identify a Topic
Interests, passions, and even hobbies can become the subject of your child’s blog. If they have several interests, work together with them to identify an area that could work best for a blog in the long term.
A topic that appeals to lots of kids will have the potential to attract a larger audience. However, a niche will have less competition and enable the blog to stand out among the digital clutter.
2. Select a Blog Name
The name you select should relate to the blogging topic to make it easier for the audience to understand what the content is about. It must also be short and catchy to grab attention and become memorable.
Before finalizing the name, check online to confirm that it is not already trademarked or used by another website, product, or service.
3. Set Up the Blog
There are two main options to set up your child’s blog—self-hosting and using a third-party hosting website.
The latter is more cost-effective, involves less work, and can get you access to a captive audience. However, it will only allow you to claim a subdomain and will provide fewer options to customize the blog’s appearance and features.
Self-hosting, on the other hand, is more costly but gives you complete control of the site with the freedom to modify and customize it as you like. When your child intends to pursue blogging in the long term, this is naturally your best option.
If you take this route, you must select a hosting platform and purchase a domain before setting up the site. You can opt for a popular website builder with easy-to-use functionality, such as WordPress.org and Wix, to customize the site with a chosen theme.
4. Get Writing
Once the blog is set up, your child can start writing. You might need to help them create the About Me and Contact sections. As for the blog posts, let them follow their instinct.
After they publish their first few articles, work together with them to develop a content plan by identifying article topics and creating a pipeline of blog posts they can work on each week.
5. Spread the Word
If you have opted for a self-hosted blog for your child, you will need to do some preliminary work to attract an initial audience.
Talking about the site and sharing links on social media is one option to quickly gain some footfall.
Another useful technique is creating an email list. Start by noting down the names of friends, family, and other contacts. You can find or verify their email addresses using Leadar. Next, design an email with the blog link and send it out.
After that, use a monthly or biweekly email to send a friendly reminder when new content is published.
Ensuring Your Child’s Safety While Blogging
Safety should be a priority during any type of digital interaction your child may have. Blogging is no different.
Here’s what to keep in mind:
Build awareness about possible risks
For a parent to take adequate safety measures to protect their children, they must first understand the threats involved.
Today, plenty of online resources provide information about various scams and crimes targeting kids. Spend some time on them to enhance your knowledge and learn how you could proactively take steps to bolster safety and minimize any blogging-related risks children could face.
Have an open discussion about safety with your child
Kids need to understand the importance of digital safety at a young age so they know why taking precautions matters.
Create an environment where kids don’t feel judged when they raise concerns and encourage them to ask questions and clarify ambiguities.
Set ground rules
For instance, define what type of information, photos, or videos kids can post on the blog to prevent your child’s personal or identifiable data from circulating on public domains. Also, ensure your child keeps you informed of any new friendships they develop online.
Rules and guidelines such as these can go a long way in instilling a safety-first mindset in young ones so they are able to identify threats and escalate them to you before things get out of hand.
Adopt and implement safety tools
From anti-virus software to two-factor authentication and spam comment filters, there is a range of advanced tools and techniques to keep children safe in cyberspace. Identify what works best for you and your child and integrate them into your tech stack.
To Conclude
Blogging can be an excellent pastime for kids who love reading and writing. If your child is keen to start their own blog, use the tips we have provided in this article to help them get started and pursue their passion for writing in a safe environment.