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What to do if a child wants to become a blogger, advice to parents
I don’t want to study, I want to be a YouTube star. Do not rush to faint from such a statement, you can benefit from everything.
“Help. Daughter, 11 years old, wants to become a blogger. And I’m afraid for her, because they will write nasty things to her in the comments. Yes, and it’s not cheap. What to do?” – Marina Z. asks on the forum.
This mom is not the only one who fell into a stupor from the unusual wishes of the child. Children, too, can be understood: video bloggers are admired, they send all sorts of interesting things for testing, they have millions of fans, and besides, you can earn a lot of money – one of these kids even got into the Forbes list. But he only unfolds toys for the camera! In general, there is logic.
Our first and most important advice to parents is not to lose the fuse and do not forbid the child to strive for a dream. Even if you are categorically sick of the child’s desire, treat him positively. In the end, he may not become a blogger, but he will acquire a lot of useful skills. And with this you just can help him – that’s how.
Many parents rightly fear that blogging can harm their child. The risk of meeting suspicious people, negative comments, excessive hobby for the Internet to the detriment of the school – all this is really scary. However, these disadvantages should not be taken as inevitable. You can help your child keep away from them. In addition, effective blogging skills can be more useful than the top XNUMX in life safety.
Teach him to be attentive to what he says about himself in the blog: not to give the phone number, the address of the school and home, not to talk about valuable things in the apartment. Forbid him from meeting strangers “from the Internet” without your knowledge.
Explain to your child that comments from stupid and ill-mannered people should not be taken seriously, and in some cases it is better to disable this feature altogether. Control your child’s schedule so that blogging does not interfere with his studies and a healthy lifestyle: limit his time at the computer. But don’t overdo it. Be prepared for the fact that it takes several hours to create one video; give your child this time.
Buy a camera and camcorder
If your child wants to take photos or videos (and “upload” them to YouTube or Instagram), he will need a camera. Image quality is one of the main criteria by which a blogger becomes popular or not. Of course, at first you can get by with a smartphone, but this, as they say, is not serious. Moreover, the purchase of a photo and video camera will be an excellent investment, which will allow the child to take his hobby more seriously and hone his skills in shooting and directing videos. Plus beautiful vacation photos and vivid family photo sessions will be provided for you.
Paying big bucks for a camcorder isn’t necessary – look at budget options with versatile features. It will not be superfluous if the camera captures not only high-quality photos, but also Full HD video. For example, the inexpensive Nikon D5600 differs in this. In addition, pictures and videos from it can be immediately transferred to a computer or smartphone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Send your child to a profile circle
Yes, blogging is already being taught. But it is not necessary to send the child to very narrow-profile courses. Drama, TV journalism, or public speaking courses will be very helpful.
No less than image quality, a blogger’s oratory and camera skills are important to a blogger’s success. How his speech is delivered, whether he knows how to attract and retain the attention of the audience, whether he is not ashamed of the camera – all this plays a big role. If your child is interested in broadcasting to the public, but at the same time it is difficult for him to formulate thoughts or he looks insecure in the frame, it is unlikely that his performances will be interesting to anyone. This is where courses come in handy.
In addition, these skills will be useful to him in the future, regardless of which professional path he chooses. Express yourself beautifully and logically, do not hesitate to present yourself to the audience – these qualities will be in demand in any case. In addition, public speaking classes develop emotional intelligence: children can share and receive responses to their feelings and thoughts.
Being a blogger is a lot of work: you have to constantly learn something new, improve your technical skills and creativity. To shoot photos and videos, you need to know the basics of composition, be able to expose a frame, that is, you need directorial and camera skills. To decorate a background for a video and create a stylish image (clothes, hairstyle), a blogger will need artistic talents, to communicate with subscribers – communication skills, and to “promote” your creativity you will have to understand the basics of Internet marketing.
The latter, of course, is not necessary, but you cannot do without the possession of photo and video editors. Photoshop, Lightroom, Adobe Premiere – these programs that bloggers use are not at all easy to learn. Therefore, your task as a parent of a young talent is to support his desire to learn new things. It is possible that in the process you yourself will be interested in the world of Instagram and Youtube and start a family channel – by the way, they are very popular.