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Messenger Kids: Providing a Fun and Safer Environment

December 20, 2019

This blog post is sponsored by Messenger Kids. All opinions and experiences using the platform are the author’s.

Like it or not, San Antonio mamas, our children are part of the digital age. It’s at once exciting and terrifying. They have incredible power at their fingertips. Our job as parents is to help them learn to navigate it safely.

Enter Messenger Kids, a free messaging and video chat app.

It’s like Facebook Messenger, but it’s designed specifically for kids, and parents control the contact list.

My sons are off school for three weeks over the holidays. We’ll hit our traditional events like the Saga at the Plaza and the Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias. When we need some downtime, however, I can count on Messenger Kids to connect the boys with friends and family while I am working, decorating, and cooking for crowds.

Modern Day Phone Cord

In our house, we have two upper-elementary-aged kids. Some of their friends have cell phones. My husband and I don’t believe our kids need that much responsibility quite yet. But we do think they are old enough to visit with close friends and loved ones under controlled conditions.

In years past, a coiled phone cord kept kids tethered to the family room or kitchen. Mom and Dad knew who their kids were talking with and could hear at least one side of the conversation.

I liken the Messenger Kids app to a modern-day phone cord. It has opened the discussion with our kids about digital boundaries and etiquette and allows us, as parents, to:

control our children’s contact list.
monitor our kids’ messaging threads (kids cannot delete or hide content).
manage our kiddos’ screen time through “Sleep Mode.”
rest easy, knowing all stickers, GIFs, and filters are kid-appropriate.

Messenger Kids is free, has no advertisements, and has no in-app purchases. In short, it’s a great intermediate step between giving up our own cell phones every time our children want to make a call and buying them phones of their own. (If your child already has a smartphone, the app works on that device, too.)

Fun Features for Kids

Messenger Kids is also just plain fun! It gives our children the freedom to connect, learn, and explore with friends and family on their kid-friendly tablets in a kid-friendly space.

The filters and GIFs prompt something really cool: laughter! Heaps and bunches of laughter! And mama, if you’re anything like me, that’s your favorite sound in the world.

Our boys learn from each other, teach each other, and chat with each other. I love that it allows them to be silly—to be kids! They love to take pictures of our dog, add party hats and text, then send to their friends. New filters and masks are added weekly, and games are integrated into several.

And this time of year, holiday-specific masks, filters, and stickers are rolling out every couple of days: Christmas trees, menorahs, a Kwanzaa frame, reindeer, and even a dancing Santa.

Speaking of Santa, Messenger Kids now allows parents to message their kids as Saint Nicholas. Just opt in to activate the ability.

Before allowing our children to use the app, we sat down and walked through it together. My husband and I appreciated the Messenger Kids Pledge, the gist of which is: Be Kind. Be Respectful. Be Safe. Have Fun.

Staying in Touch

Over the summer, our boys kept in touch with neighborhood friends as we traveled. And year-round, the app allows them to correspond with their friends in other states, some whom have moved away, others who always have been long-distance family friends.

Sometimes they use one-on-one or group video chat. If we have had a busy week and my house is a wreck, I ask them to message instead. It helps with their typing skills and prevents video evidence of the to-be-folded laundry pile in our loft. Anyone with me?

The tween son of one of our friends keeps his Messenger Kids app on during NFL games, so he and his cousin can celebrate touchdowns and commiserate sacks together in real time. It’s brought the cousins closer and gives the parents a laugh as they scroll through the messages.

Perhaps the best use for this app? Having our kids want to spend more time with Grandma and Grandpa, especially when they don’t live in San Antonio. Hand kids a phone and they might talk for one minute. Put a video camera and masks in front of them and suddenly, Grandma is a zebra and her grandson is an Eskimo!

Priceless!

There is no way for us to be with everyone over the holidays, but Messenger Kids brings us a step closer to the ones we love.

Five Minutes to Set It Up

The app is free and available through Apple, Amazon Fire Tablet, and Android app stores.

Download the Messenger Kids app to your child’s phone or tablet.
Authenticate your child’s device, using your Facebook login (this will NOT create a Facebook account for your child).
Create an account for your child by adding his or her name.
Through the Parent Dashboard, you can add contacts and set on and off times through the Sleep Mode feature.