With all of the concern over kids and Internet safety, you may be hesitant to let your child begin a blog. Blogs can be a great way for your child to express themselves and their creativity, however. Blogs encourage writing and digital literacy skills—things your child will need to survive and thrive in our technology-driven society. Before you stifle your child’s inner blogger, consider these tips for helping your child blog safely.
### Develop a privacy policy.
Before your child publishes that first post, let them know that there are rules they will need to abide by before unleashing their thoughts into cyberspace. Among the most important is a privacy policy. Make sure your child knows that the blog is not a private diary and is in fact, very public. Remind them that everything they posts online is permanent and can’t be taken back.
### Offer feedback.
As your child first begins to blog, it may be a good idea to take a look at their posts before they are updated to the blog. They’ll likely be delighted at your interest, and it will give you the chance to ensure that they’re being discreet.
### Follow the blog.
The goal is that your child will learn how to blog safely and independently, so you may not need to read every post after they’ve proven themselves to be responsible. Even so, checking up on the blog every now and then is a good failsafe to shield them from the potentially harmful consequences of blogging gone awry. Plus, reading their posts will give you insight into their life that you may not have otherwise!
Is your child a budding blogger? How do you make sure they practice safe blogging?
