You will only be able to do this if the account creator has added you as an approved contact you will not be able to search for the child’s account to start messaging them. If you’re an adult who has either created or been added to the child’s Messenger Kids account as an approved contact, you will be able to use standalone Messenger (the app or the web version) or Facebook chat to message the kid.
#Kids messenger app full#
(This was the part I couldn’t figure out until we got the kids full set up on their devices, so make sure you finish those steps first.) How Do You Message Kids Who Are On Messenger Kids? There are also prompts along the top for taking a picture or starting a group chat. Their home screen is a dashboard of contact tiles, each showing if the person is online and available for messages or even video chats. (My child opted for one of her stuffed animals, which in light of the concerns I wallow in was just fine with me.) Now you’re ready to hand the device to your kid! They’ll be prompted to take a photo of themselves for their profile image. This lets Facebook know the child hasn’t tried to set up an account without your permission. Once the app is installed on the mobile device or reader, you (the account creator) have one final step: you must authorize the use of the app by logging in using your Facebook username and password.
#Kids messenger app download#
You can download the Messenger Kids app for iOS (Apple), Android, or Kindle (Amazon). Now that the kid’s account has been set up by a parent or guardian (hopefully), the app must be set up on the child’s device(s). Once you add a contact, that person will receive a Facebook message that your kid is now available for chat.
You will be able to add Family Members, Other Kids, Your Friends, and you can also invite others to use Messenger to connect with your kid(s). Your final step is to add approved contacts to your child’s Messenger Kids account. Since my kids don’t have smartphones yet, the Kindle reader is their sole option to use Messenger Kids. The kid being added must use Messenger Kids from a mobile device, which includes a Kindle reader. The final screen is a prompt for you to download the Messenger Kids app onto a mobile device. There is only a message at the bottom of the image provided where Facebook indicates this should be a parent or guardian completing this process. There is no part along this process where the account creator is asked to verify if they are a parent, caregiver, or guardian of the child being added to Messenger Kids. *Notice I didn’t use the word “parent” here. It also tells you what information Facebook will store from use of this app. Next is a screen which reassures you of the control you, as the account creator*, will have over the child’s contacts and content. Facebook, likely realizing this is a big step for parents who rightly realize the power of their data access and reach is causing anxiety, tells you up front that this action will not create a Facebook profile for the child. You can also go to the Messenger Kids dashboard to get started: Once there, you’ll be asked to create an account for a child by entering their first and last name. Go to Messenger Kids to create the account(s).įacebook has (maybe too) conveniently put Messenger Kids in the Explore section on the left sidebar. The gravity of handing over a new part of the internet to our kids is not (in my humble yet strong opinion) meant to be taken lightly. This post will be rife with my own tones of paranoia and hesitation, which I intentionally left in. So it was with no small amount of hesitation that I finally ushered us into the realm of Messenger Kids by Facebook. My intent as a parent is to balance my support of the kids’ use of technology with a healthy dose of trembling awe. We allow them to watch YouTube videos, but we often will play them during common family times so we can ensure the content isn’t too mature for their increasingly aware minds. They have their own email addresses, which I monitor closely. My kids don’t have their own smartphones yet, but they do have their own laptops. A Parental Preamble (or just skip to the how-to part)Īs a mom, and especially one who uses technology on an almost minute-by-minute basis for work and play, I want my kids to appreciate its power as well as its pitfalls. Do you talk to kids? Whether you’re a parent of a kid, or you just know kids in your life and want to stay connected, there’s a relatively new way to use our dear friend technology to chat with them.Ĭommence with the wringing of parental hands.Ĭlick here to jump down to a resource link for how parents can protect kids online.
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