So, Moogle wants to start a Youtube channel…
She’s been saying this for a very long time now, possibly almost as long as she’s been watching YouTube videos herself. She started off watching Still Moments Nursery Reborn doll packing videos and then began packing her dolls up is cardboard boxes so she could “unbox” them for an unseen audience. Then she moved on to surprise eggs and toy reviews. Now she is desperate to emulate her favourite content creators and film her own toy unboxing and reviews.
There is a part of me that thinks this is really cute. I’ll often find her sitting talking to an imaginary camera, giving tutorials or reviews to her “viewers”. Even better is when I catch her wandering around the house, ipad in hand, filming a vlog about her daily life. She even ropes me and her dad in to help sometimes ( I currently have a very naff “how to make chocolate lollipops” tutorial in my camera roll which will NEVER see the light of day. It’s pretty adorable).
The trouble only starts when you realise that she’s deadly serious. She sees families and young children making videos and sharing them with the world and she wants to join in. She can’t understand why Mummy and Daddy are being so “boring” and won’t let her have any fun.
Don’t get me wrong – I certainly see the appeal. Although at the moment I only write this blog, I often watch my favourite bloggers with a hint of envy and wonder what if I started my own channel. I love the chatty, informal feel of YouTube vlogs. Plus there’s the fact that I can talk for England so I wouldn’t have any problem coming up with fresh material.
I’ve never actually got around to starting a YouTube channel as I don’t have the time, equipment, setup, or patience for editing. On top of all that, it would feel a bit weird putting myself out there like that. There’s a little more anonymity in blogging. On video you have nowhere to hide and we all know the commenters on Youtube can be REALLY mean.
But Moogle is only 6 years old. She has no idea of the implications of putting yourself out there on the internet. She doesn’t really know about the dangers and concerns that come with internet security warnings. She’s innocent and thinks everyone would be kind and supportive. (We recently left an iPhone in a public toilet and she couldn’t believe someone would take it – that kind of behaviour is still alien to her while it’s all to commonplace for us).
I’m always really careful what I post of the girls on my blog. I very rarely post pictures of them where they are recognisable. I’m probably being over-paranoid but there are horrible people out there and I don’t want to draw attention to my girls.
So now we’re not sure what we should do. Moogle keeps raising the subject which has led to many discussions between myself and Mr Mess. We’ve discussed a number of options to try and protect her while still allowing her to explore her creativity. The only options we’ve come up with so far as videos where she acts out stories with her dolls, but doesn’t appear herself, or videos that are shared on a private channel and we only share the link with close family.
So, what would you do? It would be really interesting to hear from people who share their family adventures on the internet. Have you had any good or bad experiences? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your suggestions…
P.S. All the photos in this post are taken from a photoshoot that Moogle recently did with her Aunty Kim. I thought I’d share some of the pictures with you. She’s currently ordered a Shopkins 12 pack and Barbie swimsuit collection so she can film another fashion show over the summer holidays…
