How would you react if you son or daughter said that they wanted to be a blogger when they grew up? For many parents, it’s unfamiliar territory.
The other day I had a fascinating comment over on my Facebook page from someone who was concerned that their grandchild wanted to become a blogger.
It was an interesting moment for me because, like many of you reading this, my family wasn’t always supportive or understanding of my chosen blogging career path.
I realized that a lot of parents or grandparents might be a bit confused about this issue so I decided to do a post with my own thoughts based on my own experiences, and I’d love you own input in the comments below.
Let’s take a look.
Can blogging really be a legitimate career for my kid?
If you’ve found this article because you’re a parent who is searching Google for some answers about how to deal with this “problem” then I should re-assure you that blogging is now a very legitimate career.
You might want to go back and read this article on what is a blog and blogger is so that we are all using the same terms and definitions.
My own story is that I dropped out of college after I was lucky enough to sell a blog for 5-figures. Since then I’ve had a stable career running a blogging company of various iterations.
I genuinely don’t say this to brag, but to reassure people reading this that blogging can be an extraordinarily good option from a creative and a financial standpoint in an economy where the workforce is changing all the time due to things like artificial intelligence, robotics, and globalization.
In fact, my own story is pretty tame when it comes to results. There’s people like Zoella who have had better book sales than Harry Potter all due to a blog, and then there’s this guy who sold his banking blog for $15 million dollars.
And, more simply, here on Blog Tyrant we’ve written about how stay at home moms can make extra money and how a relative beginner built a fashion blog that now is her full time career. We’ve looked at how parents can build a blog while raising kids, the list goes on and on.
So when then would a parent be concerned about their child wanting to become a blogger given the impressive potential results for their futures?
Why are parents concerned about blogging careers?
I should start this post off by reminding everyone that I don’t have any children so I am writing this post from the point of view of the child.
My decision to drop out of college to pursue a blogging career came as a big shock to my parents. They didn’t understand why I would want to throw away the relative safety of a degree and an office job for something that might just be a trend.
And, to be honest, I get it. But it’s so vital for parents these days to understand how volatile the workforce is, and how quickly jobs are changing.
By one popular estimate, 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. – World Economic Forum
One report suggests that 65% of children who are at primary school today will be working in jobs that don’t exist yet using technologies that haven’t been invented.
That means that, for two thirds of kids at school today, their schooling years are about learning skills and critical thinking patterns and creative abilities and disciplines that they can then apply to a career that they are totally unfamiliar with.
And that is why I think it is fantastic that any child should express some interest in blogging.
Why children should be encouraged to start blogging
If you’re son or daughter has told you that they want to be a blogger I think it is a cause for celebration and encouragement.
Blogging is a very entrepreneurial career and the fact that they are interested in it shows that they appreciate this new medium (whether it’s video blogging, written content, etc.) and have recognized that it has some potential.
If your child grows up to start a blog at whatever age that becomes appropriate, they are going to learn so many incredible skills that can be applied to a multitude of different jobs which they might move on to once they become bored with blogging or recognize a different opportunity.
On any one day a blogger might do the following:
Network with other bloggers or the media, write long-form content that helps people, set up servers and email accounts, install plugins or software, write some code to add a new feature, tinker with design and branding elements, manage social media accounts, experiment with advertising and marketing, solve problems with website down time, deal with intruders and security… the list goes on.
But if you take a careful look at all of those tasks you’ll see how many different careers out in the “real world” can be formed off the basis of those skills. I have so many friends who have gone from “blogger with good social media presence” to “social media manager at X brand” which is an exciting path many would like to follow.
What parents should watch out for
Of course, any post about kids starting blogs as a career choice should come with some warnings.
Blogging is hard work. And it’s a fact of life that a lot of bloggers who want to make sustainable careers and make money from home often never seem to be able to make it work.
There are also all the usual safety issues relating to personal information, identity, and posting some stupid shit that then gets used against them in the future.
But perhaps more importantly, it’s vital that parents instill the types of values in their children that makes them want to create blogs that contribute to the community.
For example, there is a current trend of YouTube bloggers who create pretty destructive, self-involved videos that attract enormous followings and, as far as I can tell, don’t really help anyone except for the person cashing the advertising checks.
Similarly, it has been noted that Instagram can cause some mental health issues as young people are bombarded with hyper-sexual photos of perfectly photo-shopped bodies, ripped abs, luxury holidays, and a plethora of other unrealistic daily activities.
If your daughter or son gets to a blogging-appropriate age (I’m not going to say what age that is as I have no experience), it would be wonderful if they could approach the task from a creative, self-expressive place that also has a view to be as beneficial and helpful as possible to both themselves and their readers.
They can create beautiful online beacons that become safe havens for their visitors, who read fact-checked articles about topics that genuinely have a wonderful impact on the world.
This is truly possible and is already happening.
We want blogs to solve problems because there are real people reading them.
What is your opinion?
I’d really love to hear from as many people as possible on this one. Are you a parent that has a particular view about whether they would like their children to become bloggers? Or are you like me and have been the one who started a blogging career without your parents really understanding? What advice would you give to a parent reading this?
Please leave a comment below as it might really help someone.
Top image © Daniel Villeneuve
Another brilliant blog. Glad to see my facebook comment is on the top. I love supporting your work. Keep it up!!
Best,
Tyler
Thanks mate.
There is nothing wrong in allowing the children and kids and youngsters.in fact it must be welcomed.
But the only snag is The Pornography sites are more than anything else. it is not nice for them to know about and get distracted and go out of the say forgetting their day to day duties as school children
They have to work hard and get good grades to get a job get married and have children,
Under parent guidance it is good. One of the parents who is interested must be with them when you allow them to use laptop or smart phone
Sex knowledge is good to be free HIV(Aids) and not before attaining the standard required and at the right age.
This is my personal opinion
I won’t want my kids to become a blogger because of all the stress. But I will work as hard so that their future will be good and they won’t have to worry about them becoming a blogger.
Do you think it is more stress than any other job?
Yes because you have to blog almost 24/7 with less sleep sometimes. So comparing it to other job, yes it is more stressful..
Yes, I would – IF they wanted to do it.
There are many rewards to blogging that go well beyond just earning a loving or making a little money on the side.
Blogging done well is hard work, but it’s very satisfying as well.
As always, great post.
Thanks Rick!
You’re welcome, Ramsay.
My daughter, in her late teens, has already started blogging and is already doing better than I am even though I had a one year head start.
I will always encourage her to simply be the best she can be at whatever she chooses to do.
Many of her friends do not understand her career choice and can be quite negative to her, while they struggle through their chosen university courses that will probably conclude with them having a degree and few prospects of getting a job they are qualified for.
The world is changing and workforce demands along with it. Let’s encourage all our kids to follow their dreams while they are young and passionate, you can go back to school at any age if you feel the need.
That is a really good summary! Thank you.
My son wants to be a video blogger. For him this would be an extension of his career choice. I feel it is a powerful tool that will aid in his success if he truly puts in the work. I’m excited for him and have been sourcing equipment to help get him going. I believe in him! I think the trouble here is much like anything, those who have negative views on blogging are those basing their views on the whatever they may have heard rather than researching it for themselves. Blogging is an excellent tool and resource.
Good on you Amanda! He sounds lucky to have that support.
Blogging is not only to make money, but acquire more skills of online business.
Now a days, most useful information are gotten from blogs, so I think I will allow my kids to join blogging if they indicate interest in it.
Great!
Really good article. I suggest that parents should encourage children for this.
What makes you say that, sir?
Yes, within guidelines I would let my Son blog; Those guidelines would be his production must serve value to others. Maybe use his interest in blogging to advance his education, for example, once a month he must publish content based in on a non-fictional book to help expand his knowledge. Overall blogging is an excellent avenue to grow, create, and challenge oneself.
That’s a really lovely way to look at it. Thank you, Bridget.
My oldest daughter has autism and I’ve really battled this topic. On one hand, I want her to learn a skill. And with autism, it’s easy to be a shut in. I want her to challenge herself and meet people. Not sure blogging online will get her to that place as she doesn’t naturally want to seek out friendships or relationships. On the other hand, I’m an introvert and I love the atmosphere of online relationships and friendships. Maybe that makes me a bit of a weirdo, but I like that I can respond when things are easier and that I can block people when they are being an utter nuisance. But, I also love that the connection can become more–it doesn’t have to remain online. The only problem I see with this for my daughter is that I don’t think she’d go out and meet someone through an online connection. But then again, she doesn’t do that in real life either.
Rambling aside, I’m open to her working hard at anything she wants to be, but that’s the most important thing. If they can’t work hard at it, then what’s the point? There is no get rich quick or instantaneous success for most of us. We have to work at what we do. And I think teens nowdays think everyone is DanTDM or MirandaSings. They don’t see all the work it takes to get there. That’s my only fear. But I think college degrees and traditional jobs are boring. If your child didn’t do well sitting in a desk in school, they probably won’t do well in a 9 to 5 job sitting in a cubical either.
I totally forgot to add that my daughter blogs on wattpad (short stories) and has a big following. People don’t even know she has autism and she feels safe in her ability to communicate through IM and email or through blog comments. She gets feedback from other writers too. This is a huge win for our family as she would never join a group to become a better writer. So there’s a lot more pluses to blogging than there is downfalls, at least in our family.
Enjoyed reading your comment!
As for making friendships in an online community, as an introvert myself, I understand your concern all too intimately.
I don’t know how old your daughter is, but kids nowadays are a different breed – if you don’t grow up with the idea that you are missing out on social interaction, the online variety can very well suffice, and then some.
Even my generation (and I’m 27), has to live with a burden of expectations. To never be fully satisfied with online socialization, and to always feel the fear of missing out on real life interactions. If your daughter is comfortable online, then believe me when I say this – each interaction there, and every success will inevitably improve her self-confidence and willingness to interact with people face to face.
Thats super encouraging to hear. She turned 18 this year. With autism, there is always the feeling of being “behind”. For instance, she has trouble even asking her teacher for help. Even with pushing her into social experiences, it takes forever for her to “get it”.
My other daughter has social anxiety and this week her counselor said that we need to run some tests, of sort. So desensitization, as they call it. So I’m supposed to be nearby, but give her money to run into the store herself. Or let her walk some way without me. She’s 15 but she does OK in social situations and can ask for help. The problem with her is that she was bullied in school. So much for social interactions being great. Seems they can also do the opposite and cause great anxiety. My oldest with autism has had mostly positive interactions and so it’s almost been easier with her.
I looked at her wattpad account once and saw her interactions online and it was like seeing an alter ego. It was really quite impressive. She communicated well, spelled correctly, had awesome grammar. This from a kid who has trouble giving more than a one word answer out loud. It amazed me really. I like that social media is there for people who struggle in that arena. To be honest, it helps me too. I don’t generally like groups of people and prefer online interactions so I like the option of blogging.
thanks for the input! It helps me to know that those interactions are never meaningless and that she is learning to communicate, just not in a typical way.
Thanks for sharing this Elle,
I hope your other daughter will solve the problem with social anxiety. Just never make a big thing out of it. Step by step, with enough dedication, it will go away.
After dropping out of college, I struggled with social anxiety as well, but blogging and starting my own thing gave me the confidence I desperately needed.
Now, just a couple of years later, I get to stand in front of investors, pitching my new startup. Things can change rather fast.
Meditation helped too! I love Headspace!
Thank you!
The show “The Good Doctor” in the US on ABC shows the potential of some autistic young adults. I’m not sure how realistic the show is, but Shaun becomes very likeable to his own following, and has absolute personal integrity; he is better than the rest of us.
This is really amazing! Thanks so much for sharing. It’s so nice hearing these types of stories.
Thanks for posting this! It’s helped me think through it again.
Hey Ramsay! Awesome discussion point as usual and I’d start by echoing Dean’s sentiment that I would encourage my daughter to be the best at whatever she chooses to do with her life. I was one of the few of my group of friends who didn’t go to university at 18. I left school at 16, got a steady job in finance and worked my way up. I ended up managing the Fire Prevention Department of my local Fire and Rescue Service, working exceptionally hard in an under appreciated, underpaid role.
Of the friends I referred to who all went to university to study in their own specialisms, only one is doing the job they actually went to study for. The rest have evolved with time and found their true passions in their late 20’s and early 30’s.
The school system, as you rightly suggest, prepares our children with some skills however, it in itself has evolved very little in the last 200 or so years. I don’t feel that our children are given the true picture of choosing a career. And who can truly say they know what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they’re 15-18 years old. I just wanted to have fun with my friends, right?
So, in answer, if my daughter told me tomorrow that she wanted to blog for a living I would whole heartedly support her because it is a choice. And that choice is what is to be celebrated.
I didn’t discover blogging until 12 months ago. Had I known this was my calling I would have downed tools a decade ago, maybe taken courses that helped me to progress and gone for it full throttle. So instead, I’m doing that now, because I can. And my daughter will be taught that whatever she sets her mind to, she can achieve it.
“If you think you can or you think you can’t, either way, you are right”
Jo x
P.S. be on the lookout for my panicked social media posts when my three year old daughter takes up blogging and scares the hell out of me!
What a lovely outlook and wonderful comment about blogging. Thanks for sharing this. She sounds like a lucky kid!
I would be thrilled if any of my kids wanted to write shareable content that helped others and utilized their gifts!
Wonderful!
It’s a good topic mate. As with any artistic expression (writing, art, music, etc), to truly make a career out of it, you need to put away the thoughts of making money and concentrate on the expression. Marketing suggests picking topics and view points people want to read or agree with but, that alone, will make someone bitter and resentful to the medium. Find topics of passion or true belief and start the journey. If the writing is honest, it will attract readers and followers. They in turn will attract the dollars that make it a career. You, like many others have proven that. Blogging, like many other content mediums is only worth saying something if you have something to say.
Agree with that last sentence wholeheartedly. Sometimes it’s hard to get over that, even when you have a lot of experience.
The nature of Blogging has shifted and changed so much over the past 20 years.
I think what we have is nothing short of a media revolution on our hands. The term ‘Blog’ is not widely understood, it is a vague, general benign sounding word which generates a kind of ‘Hobby’ level activity; Blogging is in fact the current state of play for journalism and cultural exchange.
I think it is an emerging reality that we have to become ‘media companies’ firstly, each business area needs to produce its own narratives and offer actually useful insights and information to the people it serves. Blogging is an essential part of this Media Company approach.
The skills of creating meaningful content, and of being able to reach people is central to modern culture and business. Therefore developing skills with blogging translates into being successful in today’s world!
What better way to build digital media skills, and develop a portfolio of work to present. Building a blog is now a primary journalistic, and media skill. It just makes fantastic sense to me Ramsay!
Couldn’t agree with this more – we need a new word for blogging.
Yep, we really do. “Digital Media Communicator” is a bit clumsy, but a word which encapsulates this?
Not really, I would want my kid to choose another career that is more promising and profitable.
Blogging is good for those who want to improve their writing skills, but it’s not so much rewarding from a financial standpoint. 95% of blogs out there NEVER make enough to cover their hosting costs.
I would want my kid to choose another primising and financially-rewarding online career such as being a digital marketing consultant, running an e-com store, or developing blockchain applications… I’m sure these are more rewarding than blogging.
Thanks for sharing. Appreciate this.
Your articles (especially the topics) always resonates with me. I jumped into blogging with the hope of becoming a pro blogger some day (and also because I’m not fond of the office life). My parents were definitely against it at first since I managed to qualify as a lawyer (but never practised as one). It didn’t make sense to them that I spent so many years studying and jumped into something that doesn’t require a degree.
I’m seeing better traffic for my blog these days so hopefully it’s getting better financially. I really do hope that I don’t regret my decision.
I honestly think it’s better to have tried something, even if you fail at it. Otherwise you would have always wondered what might have been, and this, for me, is worse than failing.
Can’t believe I’ve only found your site today – some super rad posts dude! Thanks for all the insight! I’ve just lost track of time and read 6 of your posts in a row. Time to apply.
Awesome!
Why don’t you do it the inverse? Ask your subscribers for their opinion about a certain subject and then process all the ideas in a blog post eventually with own remarks, but not too much. Afterwards, economically, my best posts were those for which I first put questions in Q&A and related programs. I’m rarely on the Internet these days and this time only started up to submit a feedback by the writers of a paid course I’m following.
Or maybe you do nothing else than searching info about all kind of things all day, I should read it more profoundly. Sorry, I can’t help this.
Hi Moni.
Thanks for the idea. I think this would work well in many cases, but for the most part it seems that people read blogs about various topics because they want the opinion of someone who has trodden that path or at least has some expertise in the area.
I fear that if I just did reader surveys here on Blog Tyrant that people would become less involved. I genuinely would like to remove myself from the site more, however, so maybe I should give it a try.
Thank you.
I’m a parent and a blogger and I would absolutely love it if my children started their own blogs. I’m still in the trenches trying to make my first dollar but I know that blogging is a great personal development tool. For this reason I would love it if my children started their own blogs. Thanks for the interesting article!
Thanks Jesse. I agree that it can be an activity that teaches you a lot about yourself, if nothing else. I really value it for that.
Ramsay, my daughter is 9 and she has a free WordPress.com blog (which I manage for her) where she writes whenever she wants to. I always encourage her to write.
She has already started me questions like, why don’t people come and read her blog? how can she get more people to read her blog?
I can’t tell my 9 year old about the SEO etc. 🙂 so I have answer carefully for her.
In essence, although it is very legit and very real, but still, if she is 14 or 16 and comes to me and say that she wants to be a blogger for the rest of her life, I will have a hard think about it 🙂
Great article, nice topic.
Do you see any potential downsides yet?
Ramsay, some fields are more competitive than others.
Blogging in my opinion is a difficult one when it comes to saturation and competition.
Yes I agree that there is a room on the top on any profession but it needs a very strong will power, persistence and resolve to work in certain fields. Unfortunately, blogging is one of them, not everyone can do it. It demands patience, persistence and grit.
I am not saying that people don’t have these traits, all I am saying is that these traits are decreasing especially from our younger and coming generations. We tend to like anything easy and free.
Hey Ramsay!
I’m not a parent (yet) but I can understand the concern of the “old school” parents of today.
Blogging is a legitimate career and it has the best potential to provide you with the income you need to live an amazing life. I love blogging myself and I know how powerful it is.
I’m a high school dropout – but of course I did get my GED certificate. Being this type of kid did not stop me from dreaming big and wanting to live a life of true abundance – where you have a lot of time and can make a lot of money at the same time. True wealth is measured in both time and money!
I would advice parents to not discourage their kids if they are having a curiosity about blogging and earning a living following their passion. Building a successful blog does take a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication, and time. Just like with any other thing you want to accomplish and be super successful at! ya know! 🙂
Thank you for sharing such interesting post!
Cheers! 😀
Love this comment! Thanks for the optimism.
Yes, although I have not had a child who is mature and have not been able to determine the career path that will be taken at the time of adulthood.
However, if later my son wants to become a blogger would not be a problem for me, as long as the job can make him happy. As a parent, I can only support all activities of the Children as long as the work does not harm others.
What else being a blogger is not just making money online, but the main one can share knowledge, experience, and good or bad stories can be shared with everyone.
If a good experience is told, of course others get benefits. and if a bad experience, so that others do not experience the same thing. Thank you for allowing to comment on this great web.
Hi Ramsay,
Lack of knowledge making the parents worried about their children. Parents should learn new things about blogging and let their children do what they want.
Tha title of the post is really good and encoy\urge3d me to read the whole post.
My son is 17 and currently wants to qualify for a degree in Sports Journalism next year. I’m actively encouraging him to start a blog and keen to help (but of course he is less keen for me to stick my nose in!), for no other reason that it feels like it is critical to his future success.
Blogging is a totally mainstream media for kids these days – the same way TV was for me in the 80s – and like any other job in a competitive market, I think its key he has some ‘body of work’ out there to showcase his talent.
The only downside I would warn him about is not to be too extreme in his views of thoughts – people’s online history is starting to catch up with them.
Great point about the other skills in terms of online media and skills that a blogger will learn along the way.
If a child is interested in blogging, personally, I think that is awesome. Of course they might need adult supervision.
The main thing is that I have learned is that perseverance is key to everything. Just look at the people who took months, if not years, to get past 100 members/subscribers and are now millionaires.
Personally, I had the same with my LinkedIn group Site Manager UK. It took ages to get the first few subs, but now has 22,000 members in a small niche of UK construction managers.
The above has given me the confidence to start my own blog and regardless how slow the start is I know that it’s perseverance that is key to doing well long term.
It’s sometimes hard to get motivated with no views, but hopefully that will change once I’ve got enough articles on my site – https://gossiplolly.com
As for children, I think blogging is great to enhance their overall reading, writing, computer and general social skills. It’s almost a school education in one.
Nice article, by the way. Enjoyed reading it. Thanks.
I think this will be a really great option to a make a career in blogging…though i don’t like kids or children sticking to computers or mobile…but yes if we parents train them from the beginings they will be become expert in blogging by the time they are in high school or graduation..this will help them to make them financial independent if they start making money and will for themselves rather than for others..!!
great post..thanks for sharing…!
Arvind
i would definately encourage my children if they are interested to do blogging. it would be great career
Took me some time to sit down and write another comment on this article (first one failed to post, probably due to a network failure on my end).
First of all, let me say that this is a brilliant article, on a topic very few people care to explore. Thanks for writing it, for I believe it will help many people find their way.
The report you mentioned blew my mind. I remember Sir Ken Robinson lecturing about the same trend few years ago, but it might be happening sooner than expected. Blogging, therefore, is the perfect start to an entrepreneurial career, or a way of finding an industry to settle in (design, coding, writing…)
My story – much of it thanks to people like you – can be a reassuring tap on the shoulder. A real-life validation of this great article you’ve put together.
I’m a 27 year old guy from Eastern Europe, who 7 years ago, still a student at the academy of classical music, decided to part ways with school altogether. After few months in Oahu, Hawaii, on a work and travel visa, I came back home, not knowing what to do next.
Together with my friend, both of us influenced by Darren Rowse at the time, we created Lifestyle Updated ( https://www.lifestyleupdated.com/ )- our attempt to enter the world of blogging.
Believe it or not, your story, shortly after, gave as the much needed reassuring tap on the shoulder. And I’m grateful to you ever since!
Looking back in retrospect, I’m more than happy to have made the decision to start blogging. With a garden variety of skills under my belt, and together with the help of my partner, we created a number of projects, profitable beyond my wildest expectations.
It was blogging that led us to creating a product of our own – a fitness SaaS platform (google Fitness Updated) that can easily compete with the best of them – and it was blogging that allowed me to travel with my girlfriend, marry her, and start a life together.
Blogging made me research many things, follow dozens of great people, explore topics like AI, VR, cryptocurrencies, etc. and learn how to be proactive in self-improvement.
I never had the support of my family (they believed I was wasting my time), but thanks to people like you I reinvented myself completely. And for that – I must say it again – I will always be grateful!
Keep writing on these topics, and keep inspiring people!