Starting a family blog could be a good option if you’re looking for a project the whole family can get involved in. Blogging can be a great way for families to stay connected – documenting your children’s activities and achievements, writing about your travels, and generally keeping friends and family updated about your life. Blogging with kids can be educational and a chance for parents to discuss online safety.
Which is better: a family blog or a family website?
There is a difference between a family blog – a public blog chronicling your family life, potentially attracting a wide readership – and a private family website. A private family website allows you to share pictures and other information while maintaining a level of privacy that you are comfortable with. Private blogging sites allow you to “lock down” your family website pages so that only you and your family members have access. Unlike social networking sites where everything is posted in a public forum, a private blog provides security features so only the people you want can access your family site.
Reading: How to create a family blog
Blog with Children – Pros and Cons
If you decide to create a public family blog, there are both pros and cons. These include:
Benefits of a family blog:
Functions as a childhood journal: A family blog can act as a living childhood journal, one that your children will be happy to look back on with nostalgia .
Provides a record of your experiences as a parent: Some parents blog to show the reality of family life – to provide a counterpoint to unrealistic depictions of the “perfect parenting”. Blogging can help you reach other families, share your parenting story, and build a support network.
Provides a creative outlet for your children: Blogging with children can help them improve your child’s writing skills. Your children may not always feel able to express themselves at school, and blogging can be a liberating format for written self-expression.
Provides educational moments: Blogging can be educational and be informative. Some of the topics you might consider covering in a family blog could generate conversation that can help your children understand different perspectives and viewpoints.
Keep in touch with family and friends: A family blog can be a great way for extended families, especially those living far from each other, to stay in touch and fill a gap that might otherwise be growing.
An income generate: It is possible to make money from blogs. Some parents may consider family blogs as a way to generate an extra income.
Disadvantages of a family blog:
Possible invasion of children’s privacy: Some may have it feel that public family blogs invade children’s privacy, especially when they are too young to consent to the sharing of information.
Potentially exploitative: Some may feel that that children’s photos are used to promote their parents’ advertisements. “Branding” in sponsored posts or for some other potentially exploitative monetary gain.
Potential for cyberbullying: As with many forms of online content, blogs could attract the attention of internet bullies and Trolls.
Avoiding face-to-face communication: Blogs could be used as a tool to avoid face-to-face communication. The more we rely on communication via computers, the more we arguably risk interfering with our ability to interact directly with others in person.
Online predators: A family blog might jeopardize the safety of children by putting personal information in the public domain.
Finally, if maximizing online privacy is your primary concern, then a private blogging site that allows you to access Restricting it to your family members via password protection is probably the best takeaway.
Family Blog Ideas
The best advice for blogging is to focus on topics that are most important to you hearts lie. There are numerous family blog ideas and topics, including:
- Family vacations
- Family history
- Hobbies and interests
- Healthy family meals and -recipes
- Favourite family movies
- Family budget
- Family games
- Family sports
- Family pets
- Children’s Podcasts
- Children’s Fashion and Hairstyles
- Children’s Room Decor Ideas
- Children’s Product Reviews
- Pregnancy Health and Exercise
- Preparing for a new baby
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Blogging can be very personal. People often read blogs because they want to know what’s going on in someone’s life and see what they’re really like. Whatever subject or topic you choose to blog about, the best advice is to keep things authentic. Resist the pressure of always making everything sound perfect. People tend to identify with others who have the same problems and quirks as them.
How to create a family blog
If you decide to create a family blog, here are some important steps to keep in mind:
1: Make sure your family is on board:
Before you start a family blog, make sure everyone in your family is interested. A family blog puts your life in the spotlight, which raises privacy concerns. You obviously don’t want to post content that might embarrass or make another family member uncomfortable. So it’s worth discussing and agreeing as a family to start a public family blog.
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2: Decide on hosting:
There are two ways to host your family blog – on your own domain or with a blogging platform. Registering your own domain is easy and inexpensive through sites like Register.com, GoDaddy.com, and others. However, if a custom URL isn’t important to you and you’re looking for the easiest option, most blogging platforms will host your new website for free. While your URL is something like “familyblog.wordpress.com,” the blogging platform takes care of most of the back-end technical details for you. However, note that if you want to customize your blog beyond the strict parameters of the blogging platform, you will have to pay a monthly fee.
3. Choose your blog platform:
WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms, but there are many alternatives to consider, so it’s worth searching for the best option for to look for you. WordPress is popular because it is considered easy to modify and has an intuitive interface. For a small fee it is possible to customize the layout, colors and header. Regardless of which blogging platform you choose, there are usually guides on YouTube and forums to help you if you get stuck. Here is a helpful comparison of the leading blogging platforms.
4. Choose an Appropriate Blog Name:
Some family bloggers like to include their last names on their blogs so readers can identify them, but of course this raises online privacy concerns . To get around this, you could use an alias or nickname instead. Brainstorm blog name ideas with family members. Pick something memorable – consider using alliteration and get inspiration from the dictionary or thesaurus. Whatever name you decide on, do a thorough internet search to make sure it hasn’t already been used.
5. Customize with Plugins:
Plugins allow you to customize your blog, even if you’re not necessarily very technical. Familiarize yourself with the plugins offered by your blogging platform – for example, features that allow you to create photo galleries, add videos, subscribe users via email, track your stats, and more. This makes your website more attractive to visitors. You can quickly install plugins that can make your posting easier.
6. Identify your niche and audience:
What is your niche? Who is your audience? If you can answer these questions clearly, your blog is more likely to be successful. If you simply create a private blog to share with your family and close friends, you don’t have to worry too much about these questions. But if you’re looking to reach a larger audience, you should probably be a little more concerned.
7. Decide who will write the posts:
Will you be the main author of the blog? Do your partner and children also contribute? You can set everyone up with their own username and login, and everyone can post however they want.
8 Start posting:
Although it may seem intimidating The more posts you write, the easier it will seem at first. Remember that a blogger’s role is not to impress anyone. A blogger simply has to write about what he feels like and people will follow. Also, remember that written posts aren’t the only type of content you can publish. You can also share slideshows, videos, audio, etc.
9. Tell your friends and family:
The people who will initially be most interested in your family blog are your friends and family. Show them your blog and—assuming you don’t want the blog to remain private and password-protected—encourage them to tell others they know and through social media. For many bloggers, knowing that people are reading their content is what inspires them to keep writing.
Suppose you decide to make your blog private. In this case, to make it password protected and only accessible to certain followers, you can usually do this in your blogging platform’s privacy settings.For example, WordPress includes a guide to private blogging here.
Family Blogging – Online Safety Tips
Blogging as a family is not only fun — it can also give parents an opportunity to speak She with her children about online safety. Online safety tips to keep in mind when blogging with kids include:
Use strong passwords:
Keep this in mind when creating your blogger -Accounts Talk to your kids about the importance of strong passwords and help them create one. A strong password is:
- At least 12 characters or longer, using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers.
- Avoid the obvious – such as sequential numbers (“1234”) or personal information that someone who knows you might guess, such as For example, your date of birth or a pet’s name.
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You could make your passwords more complex. Consider creating a “passphrase” instead. Passphrases involve choosing a meaningful phrase that’s easy to remember and using the first letter of each word as a password.
Understand security settings:
Take it the time to familiarize yourself with and understand the security settings of the blogging website you are using. Many blogging platform sites allow you to keep your blogs private and add readers. This is a good option for those who want to create a private blog.
Use two-factor authentication:
Two-factor authentication (TFA or 2FA) is an additional security measure that you can implement. Two-factor authentication requires two separate, distinct forms of identification to access something. The first factor is a password, and the second typically involves text with a code sent to your smartphone, or biometrics using your fingerprint, face, or retina. If possible, enable multi-factor authentication for your accounts.
Take care of online reputation:
If your blog is public, consider this the potential impact of what you post. Are you wondering if this photo, status update, or blog post will build a positive reputation for my child? Does this information reveal physical or mental challenges that might resurface years later when my child applies to a job or college? Everything we post online – and everything others post about us – contributes to our enduring digital reputation.
Post vacation photos later:
You don’t want anyone and everyone to know where you are at all times. When people know you’re not home, they also know your home may be empty and vulnerable. Instead of sharing real-time travel photos, create a vacation album when you get home and make sure it’s clearly labeled as “After Trip”.
Restrict identifiers in photos or posts about yours Children:
Consider using nicknames or aliases for your children online. Pay attention to what is shown in photos with your children. Don’t post pictures of your house that might show the house number or mention what neighborhood you live in. Specific details like a school sign in the background can give people an idea of where your children are.
Avoid sharing information about your child’s school:
There are many fun things going on at your child’s school – concerts, open days, sporting events and so on. However, it is not a good idea to share the name of your child’s school on social media or your blog – it could endanger your child’s safety. If your child wears a distinctive school uniform with a recognizable logo or emblem, think twice before sharing pictures of them.
Avoid sharing dates of birth:
You may want to share photos of your child on their birthday, but be careful when including the actual date of birth. If you share pictures of her birthday, you can give the date vaguely and imprecisely. A date of birth is the kind of information that could be useful to a cybercriminal.
Check the content:
If your kids are writing family blog posts, Ask them to show you what they’re going to post before you post it. Discuss potential issues and explain why certain content may or may not be appropriate for posting online.
Use a parental control app:
Parents Keeping kids safe online might consider using a parental control app like Kaspersky Safe Kids – it lets you block adult content, manage access to inappropriate games and apps, and manage screen time by device.
In addition, having a quality antivirus program will also help keep you and your family safe online. Kaspersky Total Security protects your devices and data 24/7, blocking threats like viruses, malware, ransomware, spy apps and the latest hacking tricks.
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