With kids having more and faster access to technology comes the added need for safety features. On phones and tablets it’s a move that has made way for kid-friendly folders or passcodes that prove an adult is using the device, and so on. However, such features can be harder to keep in place as kids get older and more tech savvy, even with innocent intentions, and as they gain access to their own tablet or iTouch device. Yet parents still need to contact their kids throughout the day. Especially younger children who are less likely to have their own phone number.
Aside from hosting a pocket-full of activities, however, tablets and smartphones (whether or not they serve as an actual phone) offer educational perks with apps, and they can help keep kids in contact with Mom and Dad. Some parents even use location trackers so they can keep tabs on their kids.
Enter Facebook’s new program, Messenger Kids. With it, kids and parents can safely communicate via messaging or video calls. This can be done without the added threat of the wide-open Internet, without forcing parents to pay monthly phone line fees, and by providing peace of mind of regular communication throughout the day, or whenever kids might be away from home.
Other good news? No Facebook account is required.
How Facebook for Kids Works
Parents can set up a messenger profile for their kids through their own account. Because it runs through Mom or Dad’s profile, everything has to be approved and authenticated by a guardian.
First, download the Messenger Kids app. Next, create them a profile from your own Facebook account and approve it. Then you can add friends or family members that you’d like your kids to keep in touch with. Add Grandma and Grandpa so they can quickly say hi or let them know if they need a ride. The same is true of neighbor Susan or any other adult you’d like your child to be able to contact. Because it all goes through you, they won’t be able to add friends without your approval.
Kids can also chat with their own friends, which also has to be approved. Say your Billy wants to be messenger friends with Marcus; first, you have to be Facebook friends with Marcus’s parents. You’ll request the connection for Billy (you can see his profile under his parents if he has the app), and Marcus’s parents have to approve the request. This way all parents are aware (and agreeable) of who their kids are communicating with.
Messenger Kids is also add free so there’s no need to worry about influences or random clicks to outside pages.
Kids can report or block others, which the parents are notified about. Meanwhile, there are plenty of emojis, frames, and other artwork that has been custom made for kids to add an extra element of fun. The brand said it created an entire art team to put forth appropriate and exciting visual material directly for kids.
Ready to learn more parents? Visit your app store and download Messenger Kids today.
Freelance writer and editor turned SEO specialist with 10 years of professional digital writing experience. She enjoys working with clients and putting their ideas into informative content. She is also a military spouse entrepreneur advocate, volunteering, and writing in MilSpo spaces. When not working, she can be found chasing around two toddler boys.