Messenger for Kids

You guys.... My kids are getting older.

My oldest just turned 9 and he's been getting phone calls from a friend from school. I probably should let him call that friend back, but well, he uses my cell phone and my battery is almost always at 20% battery life when we think about it, and it's MY phone. Sometimes, I just want to use it.

Back in the day, we had something called a landline. It was  a universal phone for everyone in the house and the base was plugged into the wall. If you had a cordless phone, sometimes you'd have to worry about that phone being charged too, but if it was returned to it's base, and it wasn't lost, it wasn't a problem.

This post is not sponsored, nor was I asked to write this post. This post has been written because this was a program that I liked for my kids. With that being said, this post does contain an Amazon Affiliate link which means that should you purchase from that link, I will receive a small commission. Neither product is being sponsored and all words are my own. 

These were much cheaper than a cellphone, so if it broke, you could replace it easily and a lot cheaper than you could replace a cell phone and if you missed a phone call, the caller could leave a message on the machine. You also didn't have to worry about your child's safety because they couldn't play games or text unknown people on a land line. If your child was talking to someone they shouldn't, you saw the phone call on the phone bill and it was kind of hard to hide from your parents when you were using a landline.

Unfortunately, landlines are being used less and less each year and cell phones are now getting into the hands of grade school aged children.

So what can you do to encourage your children's social interaction with friends without draining your own cell phone battery when you don't want your child to have their own cellphone?

Messenger For Kids

I asked some of my other parent friends and while they all suggested many things, the thing that kept reappearing in their suggestions was Messenger for Kids. 

I was very skeptical at first because I associate Messenger with Facebook and I definitely DID NOT want my kids to be on Facebook. After some research, though, I found out that they don't have to be. 

How Does it Work?

Moms and dads everywhere... Messenger for kids is controlled by YOU! 

You can download this app onto a device that your child uses and then sign them up through your Facebook account. 

You decide who your child can talk to. If your child wants to talk to a friend, your child can send you an invite request and then you can decide whether or not you want your child to talk to that person. 

Strangers can't be added without your consent.

Your kids can add a friend's code, but they won't be able to add that friend until you approve. If they don't have a code for that friend, they can search for them or add them by name, and again, they can't do that without your permission.

This is the message your kids will have sent to you so you can add that person for them.

Your child will be able to have conversations with friends and family. They'll be able to send funny stickers and kid friendly Gifs. 

And my favorite part about Kid's Messenger is that they can video chat their friends. As far as I've been able to tell, they can only chat to one person at a time. I love that my kids are able to talk to their grandparents when they'd like. 

Our Favorite Device to Use Kid's Messenger On

Our kids use their Kid's Messenger on their Kindles. I love this because their Kindles are controlled by me. I can control how much time they use it and also what age friendly apps they can use. 

Their Kindle comes with a 2 year worry free warranty. If the screen cracks or it stops charging, you can get it replaced for free and each Kindle comes with a free year subscription of Free-Time Unlimited which gives them access to hundreds of kid friendly apps, learning tools, and books and like I said, you get to have control over everything.

Your kids won't be able to access the internet to do shady things and can't download apps without your permission.

The Kindle is also great because my children are asked to use some learning apps for school, as well. Sometimes they are assigned homework through those apps over break and I don't have to worry about my kids using my computer or using my own Kindle to do their thing.

Conclusion

I knew that some day, my kids were going to start socializing with their friends outside of school. That day came sooner than I thought it would and I'm not ready for it, but it's here. With so much technology these days, kids are able to talk to their friends in many different ways and it's our job as parents to make sure that our kids are safe when they do.

I know that when I was a kid, chat rooms were a big thing and every once in a while, I'd get a message from someone I didn't know who wanted to do some shady things. I don't want that for my kids, so I'm glad that my kids can use a messenger that I approve of that can be monitored by me, but also allow my child the freedom that he needs to be able to socialize with his friends.

What do you think about Kid's Messenger?
Do you let your kids use technology?
Who still has a landline besides my grandparents?