Being stuck at home during long holidays (or in lockdown, as now) can be quite troublesome for children, and parents too. There’s a lot of activities to do and games to play outdoors in the holidays, but what will your kids do at home? Watching TV the whole day definitely isn’t an option, and there are few other things for kids to do without getting bored and restless.
An amazing activity for your child is blogging. It’s fun, easy and an engaging activity for children aged 10 or older. Not only will they be able to productively utilise all their free time, they will also gain a great deal of technical knowledge. Of course, writing will sharpen their creativity and help them to express themselves much more fluently, too.
The best part? You, as a parent, can help your child make their blog even without a lot of technical skills. Here’s a quick guide to help you do just that!
1. How can you help your child make a blog?
There are quite a few options when it comes to blogging platforms. Some of the more popular ones are WordPress, Blogger and Wix. They offer a range of plans, including free plans, and a wide variety of themes you can choose from to give the blog personality. Each of these platforms have clear instructions and steps to help your child create their very own blog!
2. What is your child’s blog about?
This is the most important question you should ask your child. What do they want to write about? In order to get more people to read their blog, it must have a specific topic. Blogs with content geared towards a particular subject get much more traffic than blogs with inconsistent, vague content.
Choose a topic your child likes, something they enjoy writing and talking about. Explore their likes, dislikes and interests with them. After all, writing a blog is all about having fun and expressing your views on what you’re passionate about.
If your kid loves dogs, or is an avid gamer, or is fascinated by science – these may what his/her blog can be about. Discuss the things they are passionate about, and help them decide on the topics.
3. How often can your child write?
Another important thing that must be decided is how often your child can write and update their blog. Choose a posting frequency they will be able to stick to – blogs that are updated consistently get much more traffic than otherwise. If they have a busy schedule between studies and other activities, posting updates once or twice a week will work. If not, feel free to write more frequently!
4. How can your child let other people know about their blog?
After your child has made their blog and written a post, the next step is letting everyone know about it! There are many ways to go about this. The most obvious one is to spread the word to all your family, friends, colleague, contacts and on your social media, encouraging them to read and share the blog. Your child can also tell their friends at school and elsewhere!
If your kid decides to start a blog, congratulations, they’re going to learn a new skill! Have fun blogging!
Nice idea to engage kids in this period.
Great read! Better that kids learn blogging rather than mindless browsing on phone.
Great idea! I would just add one more tip here. It is necessary to have a talk about internet safety with kid if you are trusting the entire process of writing, uploading and managing the blog to kid.
My daughter is little young for blogging. But, I have been giving her create writing assignments this summer that I hope to convert into blogs when she is a little older. I think these tips will be very useful when I introduce her to the blogging world!
Good idea to engage kids this summer!
What a co-incidence that I came across this blog while browsing for tips to teach blogging to kids. My daughter loves creative writing and often asks me whether she can publish her own blog.
Excellent idea! Kids will not only learn to use computers but also discover the world of blogging and penning down their thoughts.