My daughter has a YouTube channel – something I never thought I’d say and why my opinion has changed

I’ve allowed my seven-year-old daughter to have a YouTube channel. Just typing it and saying it out loud still feels strange to me. My daughter has been asking for a YouTube channel for over three years and we have always, always said no. As she has got older, she has started to question us more. Not in an argumentative/challenging way, but in an understanding (and somewhat challenging way), which I have to respect. Previously, she had simply accepted our ‘no’ and, while she continued to ask, she never really asked why not and didn’t really explain much behind her desire to have one. Things have really changed in the past year which has ultimately led to us saying yes.

**If you would like to check out her channel, you can find her by searching ‘WatchMariaRose’, or simply clicking this link. We have actually just shared her latest video: ‘A Day Of Home Ed With Me’.**

A Little Background

First, a little background. I am personally not a fan of having my photo taken or being in front of a camera. I don’t like speaking on the phone because I don’t like the sound of my own voice and I have struggled with social anxiety for most of my life. Having a YouTube channel for myself really would be my worst nightmare. My daughter is similar to me in some ways but very different in all the ways I have listed above. She loves to perform; she loves to be on stage and in front of the camera. She absolutely loves to socialise, loves chatting to people and often tells people she meets in shops or otherwise to ‘have a nice day’, and she also loves chatting on the phone and FaceTime. She loves it and always has. In those kinds of situations we are very, very different. Therefore, when my daughter asked for a YouTube channel, my immediate reaction was always no because it was my own personal, worst nightmare. However, for her, it was very much a dream.

I very rarely share my own face on social media and I have nearly always made an effort to do the same for my children. Even on my own personal Instagram which only has close family and friends, you won’t find a picture of my children’s faces. I don’t post much but if I do, when it is a post with my two children, it is of an angle that doesn’t show their faces, or it is a photo with them in the distance. If I am honest, this was a stance I took when I became quite overwhelmed with the ‘digital footprint’ discussion. I was quite active on my personal Facebook when my two were babies and I would often post pictures of them to family and friends. Looking back one day, while reading up on yet another article about ‘digital footprint’, I realised I was probably oversharing. So, in a rash decision, I removed all friends on Facebook with the exception of my husband and stopped posting on there. I kept my Instagram and would occasionally post on there but then my son, who was just a toddler at the time, starting to reveal more of his character to us. Even at a young age, he didn’t like to have his photo taken and, like me, he was very shy. We started to ask his permission to take his photo out and about and if he didn’t want to, we respected that. Therefore, it didn’t feel right to post pictures of him online without his permission. So, I deleted any pictures on my Instagram that showed his face and decided not to post any until he was old enough to understand and give me permission himself. We took the same stance with our daughter.

Fast forward a few years and we have kept to this. We still ask permission to take their photo, and if I want to post something on my Instagram story for friends or family to see, I check they are happy with that. Whatever they decide, we respect that. As part of our home education we have taught them about the world wide web, social media and staying safe online. We have explained in depth about what happens when you post online whether it be a message, a photo or a video.

Now, going back to the first line of this blog…my daughter now has a YouTube channel. As you might imagine, from my own background and character, this was not an easy decision to make. I wanted to say no…no questions asked. But she did ask questions. Very sensible questions and she made some very persuasive points. So, we agreed. With our support and guidance, she is allowed a YouTube channel.

Changing Our Minds

Now, we have only recently started a YouTube channel but I have to admit, I have already changed my opinion (for the most part). I’ll explain why:

Firstly, I wanted to know why my daughter wanted a YouTube channel. I’m not going to lie; I was expecting her to say it was so she could be rich. My daughter loves to watch YouTube and she sees these kids with all these cool things, living in giant mansions and living an extremely luxurious lifestyle. She’s only seven but already she loves to shop, so I assumed it was for money and I was prepared to explain why this would certainly not be the case**. However, making money wasn’t even on her radar. Number 1…she told me it would be fun to make videos together and do fun days out and challenges. Also, being home ed, she wanted a big focus on ‘how to’. She wanted to teach things she’s confident in and learn things along the way, turning them into videos for others to learn from. In fact, if you head over to her channel you will see a great video on ‘How to skateboard’ and some great recipe/cook along videos for healthy snacks! Number 2…she wanted to raise money for charity and she thought having a YouTube channel would be a good way for people to learn about the charities and other ways they might be able to help. Her next video to be posted is called ‘A million steps for mental health!’. She has made it her mission to walk a million steps this year while raising money for a children’s mental health charity. In order to achieve this step target, she also has plans to climb a mountain or two! Number 3…she wanted to help other children ‘be brave, be honest and be kind’ – yes this is her tagline and something she had come up with all by herself (proud!). I’ll be honest, I loved her reasons.

**Lots of people criticise parents of children on YouTube and claim they are doing it to make money off them. However, it is actually very hard to make money when you have a YouTube channel for kids. Not only is there lots of strict criteria with views and number of subscribers, but new legislation was passed in 2020 to make YouTube a safer place for children. This is only for channels aimed at children and, in my opinion, was a very good thing. I know that for those who already had YouTube channels it was actually quite damaging as far as monetisation is concerned. However, for us when we were looking into starting a channel (this year), I was actually happy to see these things in place. For example, if you have a channel for kids, comments are automatically off. There were other changes too which basically prevent data from being collected when dealing with children under the age of 13. So no personalised adverts either which of course affects income revenue from a YouTube channel.

Some other really positive things to have come from this experience so far which is actually very specific to our home educating journey:

• My daughter is greatly improving her public speaking skills. She has always spoken very fast. Too fast. It can make it hard for people to understand what she is saying sometimes. However, making these videos is helping her learn the importance of slowing down and speaking loudly and clearly. It is still something we need to work on, but she has already improved massively.

• It has actually been really fun as a family. There are quite a few videos we have made together but haven’t shared in the end but we have had some fun times together doing silly challenges and activities that my daughter has come up with.

• My daughter is so focused. She plans videos she would like to make and explains why and how we should film them. Both my daughter, my son and I, are learning to edit the videos which is completely new to us all, but again, a great skill to learn.

• Prior to starting the channel, I made us all research starting a YouTube channel and online safety – the second of which is vital for the world we live in.

• She has become quite the business woman and wants to have her own merchandise. Again, I was hesitant at first but her reasoning makes sense. She loves watching YouTube herself and so she is aware that merchandise is a big part of it. Again, for her, money is not really on her radar. When I asked her why she wanted merchandise, she said it was because that’s how people will find out about her channel. She also wants to be a fashion designer one day (as well as many other things), so she said it just ‘made sense’. We are learning to sew this year and design clothes for her dolls, so if I am honest, I can understand why designing her own merchandise was something she wanted to do. While we are certainly not at the stage of making merchandise for others, I did let her make a hoody for herself (as seen in her home ed video). We had great fun designing it and seeing her face when it arrived in the post was unforgettable. Like I said, we aren’t actually selling merchandise yet, but it made for a fantastic home ed lesson to discuss the cost of making it compared to the cost she would charge her subscribers. She was keen to keep the cost as low as possible because she knows how hard it is to save pocket money. However, we had to consider the high cost involved in making the hoody while factoring in a small profit for her work, and it was certainly an interesting and hard lesson to learn – she is definitely learning more about the cost of things!

• She would also like to develop a website and have her own blog so she can chat with her subscribers. She described it to me as like pen pals. This idea stemmed from the fact that comments are turned off on her channel. We explained why and she was a little bit gutted because she wanted to be able to interact with her subscribers. A couple of days later she suggested the blog idea. While I am not sure how this will work yet, or if this will be possible, I love this idea and my home ed head loves how I can incorporate writing into this little venture!

• Every part of this channel has been a chance for my daughter to take the lead, while being guided and supported by us. She has decided her name; her logo; her colour scheme; she designs all of the thumbnails with me using a graphic design tool online; she plans the videos and helps me edit them. She is involved every step of the way and is so proud of her accomplishments. That leads me to the next point which I definitely do have reservations about….

Likes and Subscribers

My daughter is very keen to grow subscribers and gain likes. This does make me wary. I really don’t like this social media culture which is driven by likes or comments. I have addressed this with her somewhat, and again, she was able to help me see a different perspective. I told her that it doesn’t matter how many likes or subscribers she has, all that matters is that she is having fun and enjoys making the videos. She was brutally honest with her reply. She told me she isn’t just making the videos for herself; she is making them for her subscribers too. I have to accept that this isn’t just for her, a big part of this, for her, is doing it for other people. This is her project and she is working hard at it, so why not get recognition for that? She spends ages planning, filming and editing videos and for her, she gets recognition of her hard work in the form of likes and subscribers. While I’m not over the moon about this, I feel it does make sense. With some reflection, she has (and is) very much reward driven. She absolutely loves a sticker chart and always has. Also, it of course makes sense that you should get recognition for hard work because in the ‘real world’, in life and in our jobs we can feel unappreciated or demoralised when our hard work isn’t recognised. So again, while a little hard for me to accept, when considering all of this, I think her desire for likes and subscribers does make some sense. Of course, I will need to monitor this closely.

Final Thoughts

The purpose of this blog post is not to try and persuade you to allow your child to have a YouTube channel. We are all different, our children are all different. I am just sharing my own personal experience and thought processes. Allowing your child to have a YouTube channel is a big deal. It is not a decision to be made lightly and it is a very personal decision which is unique to each family and each individual. My daughter may only be seven, but she has big dreams and big plans. Who am I to stand in her way? Instead, I am choosing to be by her side, where I’ll stay, listening, guiding and supporting.