We Don't Kill Kids' Dreams

When our young kids come to us and say "I want to be Connor McDavid." we buy them equipment. We teach them to skate, take them to the ODR, join a team. We travel the province chasing tournaments and dreams. Camps as they get older. We pay for elite teams, we show up for every practice and every game. Many parents LOVE when their kids like hockey, because it's a shared passion. They can watch it together on tv. Wear jerseys. Have weird nicknames.

But when our kids come to us and say "I want to be a YouTuber", we laugh at them. "Not that dream."

Why would we ever choose to kill a kid's dream?

When I ask this question in parent groups, or online, I get pushback. "Because we know what YouTube is about." "Because it's dangerous." "Because bad people are there." "It's a waste of time. They should be outside touching grass."

Way back when I was in university, one of the most impactful courses I took was Sociology of Sport. We looked at the subculture of hockey specifically. The pack mentality. The hazing. The language. The abuse. Plus, the skill development. The benefit of team participation. Goal setting. Achievement. Hard work.

We're willing to put our kid into a sport that has documented decades of abuse, because we understand it. We feel like we can protect our kids from it. We say "Not all coaches. Not all teams. Not all the time. Not this time." We get involved. We show up. We use our influence at home to push against a bad coach, or toxic teammate. We cheer them on, even when they're losing.

Why can't we do that with YouTube?

A kid who is asking to be a YouTuber isn't asking to be Mr. Beast. They're asking for a chance to put their ideas on video. To play. To create. To learn to edit, or animate, or do voice over. To try, and then do better the next time. To copy their heroes. And maybe, to build a business doing it. Most of the time they don't care if they ever have subscribers, or if it even gets published to YouTube. They just want the experience.

It's different, yes. We have a negative perception of it, yes. But the kids don't.

So if your kid says "I want to do YouTube", here's what you can do.

1. Ask them what they would put on their channel if they had one. I've heard all sorts of ideas from kids! Cooking, feeding the cows, dirt biking, beating a level on a video game, makeup, point of view, animation...the list goes on and on. Now, if you're paying attention, you'll notice that all of those ideas don't involve them just sitting in front of a screen. A YouTuber is actually active, because YouTube is just a medium to broadcast activity.
2. Ask them what it takes to be a YouTuber. Don't contradict, don't add to it. You'll find out exactly what they hope to do. It might be that they want to set up a camera (it can be a phone or webcam), set up an activity, and talk while they're doing it. It might be that they want you to film them doing something. Or it might be that they have an entire business idea mapped out and need adult support.
3. Ask them if they have a plan. Help them build it out. Remember, it should be led by them. Not us. No pressure. Let them do it the way a kid would do it.
4. Ask them about tools. They'll probably tell you about video editors, animation programs, tools to stream. Listen with interest.
5. Set up rules together. One of the best rules I heard from a successful YouTuber's parents was "you have to send everything to us before you publish and be willing to make any changes we suggest."
6. Learn the platform rules and supports together, from the YouTube platform, not other adults, not from a Facebook group, and definitely not by searching it on Google. Here - I did the work for you on that one! https://www.youtube.com/creators/
7. Make sure your kid knows that they can come to you if something is going wrong, without them losing the opportunity. Help them deal with the issue, and then get back to all the good stuff they're doing.
8. Remember, this is for fun. They don't have to make it a job. They don't have to be perfect. They don't have to achieve or be the best. They're still kids, and this is a version of play. Just like hockey.

No, kids shouldn't be on YouTube without a trusted adult to support them. They also shouldn't be on a sports team without a trusted adult to support them. But let's not destroy dreams just because they're not gonna be the best, because we don't understand it, we don't like it, or it's not our passion.

Also, understand hockey is just the juxtaposition I used. It could be any activity. Don't come at me extolling the virtues of "Canada's sport". If you do, you've missed the point.