By Michaela Gordoni
If you’ve got a child who wants to be an influencer or YouTuber, you’re probably weighing whether to encourage them or not — but it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
You might be concerned about their internet time and internet culture if you let them be an influencer, but if you focus on it being a creative outlet — that should be their main motive, not for views, likes and attention — then it could be a healthy outlet, said Bark, a company that helps parents monitor their kids’ screen time.
Also focus on the learning aspects and work ethic. You children are developing skills along the way.
Michele Hermann, head of education solutions at Logitech, emphasized that though your child might not become famous from YouTube, “many career fields are increasingly incorporating audio and visual content in their marketing and customer relations.”
“All the things that we adults are now learning as we live in the Zoom world are actually really critical for kids,” she said.
In YouTube’s case, there are rules and guidelines for child accounts. Accounts for children 13 and under have to have parental permission to operate and cannot post videos on their own accounts.
Bark recommends that parents have sole ownership of accounts. Keep the password private from your child so that you can fully manage access.
Related: Netflix Adds This Kids’ YouTube Creator to Its Library
For YouTube, you might consider making the videos private or unlisted. Private is visible only to you and specific viewers invited via email. Unlisted allows anyone to watch it if they have the direct link. It won’t show up in search results.
Always keep information private. Make sure your child knows to never communicate online with people they don’t know in real life and never give out private information like a real name, address, or phone number.
Always keep clear rules and boundaries. Bark gives some examples:
“The channel will be private, and comments will be turned off.”
“Videos must be appropriate content [insert examples of inappropriate content that are not allowed].”
“You (the child) cannot share videos without my permission.”
“These are the consequences if any rules are broken [list chosen consequences].”
Sarah Gallagher Trombley is a mom who’s son is a YouTuber. She also implements clear consequences if boundaries are crossed. She said:
I will suspend access or delete the account if I find him:
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Making inappropriate content
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Attempting to distribute content without my permission
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Watching YouTube from my account
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Commenting inappropriately on the content of others
All in all, as long as your child is doing it for the right reasons, isn’t prioritizing it over important things and you’re involved, it can be a productive creative avenue.
Read Next: Forget Kids’ TV—Gen Alpha Only Cares About YouTube and Twitch
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