No, I'm not talking about the psychotic doll who murders people... but about actual children. You know: they're a lot like adult humans, only smaller and higher-pitched. You've seen them here and there in real life, but would you like to see them become a part of Hive?

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Let’s face it: kids are a tough sell.

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Not only is it difficult to sell new ideas (especially challenging ones) to the kids themselves, but it can often be even more of a hassle to get the parents on board for other new extracurricular activities-- both due to the prevalent paranoia of today’s helicopter caretakers, and also just the usual modern time constraints.

But then COVID-1984 Happened...

And let's face it: those constraints from WAY BACK in 2019 have changed in many ways. Now we're told to stay inside and do everything online (and do whatever the television says). So while the situation makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit want to punch a news anchor in the reproductive region, it actually puts the #Hive ecosystem in a much better position to succeed!

COVAIDS has also had one other silver lining: exposing the mainstream machine-- from politics to Hollywood-- as a veritable conveyor belt of mannequins and sociopaths. And it's actually a remarkable thing that we see it all clearly now...

We See That Our Children Deserve Better!

They deserve to be a part of something much more inclusive and rewarding, don't you think? They deserve the right to control their own content and data... and they deserve to have a role in defining these platforms. I want them to want to be here!

Paging "Syd the Kid"!

Hehe! That's my daughter, @sydney.potts, and I personally added that nickname to her Hive profile. It's not her favourite, but I told her she can change it when she gets on here and pokes around a bit more (but maybe she secretly likes it).

Syd's online entertainment world so far has been monopolized by YouTube and TikTok-- as with most kids these days-- but she's a bright and open-minded person.

So, as both a Hive (and general blockchain / crypto) enthusiast and a single dad of a soon to be eleven-year-old human, I naturally see this as a challenge... and I accept! I usually do anyway, and I try my best to involve her in things that excite me.

It doesn’t always work out though, I’ll admit, and this #blockchain stuff has been one of the toughest challenges yet! Because, you know… it can be a bit dry, a tad technical at times-- even for those of us who are interested. And if we're still being brutally honest, we should admit that it can also be difficult to just keep at it... to persist.

But we're always making progress. And I try to give myself an occasional reprieve from the anxiety of not being quite there yet. Learning and forming new habits is a LONG journey, not a race... Rome, as they say, wasn't dug out of the mud in a day.

Progress is good.

The Gateway: Tribes, Art NFTs and Hive Games!

Syd is definitely paying attention to the different things I'm doing... she's looking forward to getting back into RISING STAR and to start building her #DCity-- and to get cooking with me on Foodies Bee Hive.

And she is a budding artist too! She fancies the idea of selling her own #NFTs in the Showroom someday soon (so get ready to open your wallets).

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These are the kinds of elements that can and will make adoption infinitely easier, and not just for kids! The way I see it: if one of two things happens, we’ll have dropped any unsuspecting soul down the Hive rabbit hole (ignore the screams):

1. They start having good, old-fashioned FUN;
2. AND/OR they make meaningful connections.

This will work for any age group, of course, but I’m especially inclined to get children and teens thinking about it. They’re still being steered towards the old centralized, compromised online abyss... and we need them to be tomorrow’s leaders!

So I would say that the #Hive ecosystem is PERFECT for introducing our kids to the concepts and applications of blockchain technology, and to the real personal value of these inclusive and rewarding communities!

It Should Be an Easy Sell…

And as I said, Sydney is interested. When I first talked about the Hive community a year ago-- the games, the earnings, the art-- she was genuinely curious.

She’s been on Hive for months now, actually, because of me… I urged her to start playing #RisingStar, and she played over 150 missions but then drifted off to watch countless more TikTok and YouTube videos. "A waste of valuable time," I would often try to imply during our daily bustle and idle chit-chat...

My girl's smart, so I know she sees the logic in it and she doesn't disagree...

But we need to face two facts:

1. Our kids still dream of being “Tik-Tok famous” YouTube influencer gazillionaires! They have no clue how perverted and elusive the whole mainstream system is-- or their current chances of success within it.
2. And change is hard, for all of us (it's worth simply admitting that from the outset).

I suppose I wasn't really doing the best job of nudging her consistently until now either. That's our job as Hive parents: fostering a genuine interest in this stuff, and helping them have fun while they learn and grow as #Hivians!

I Mean... WE LOVE IT, Right?

And we know Hive is a safer, more private, more organic and more rewarding place for US... so it makes all the sense in the world to start onboarding the generation which has basically been raised on mainstream junk. OUR KIDS ARE JUNKIES!

I'm kidding (sort of). But not about setting my daughter up for success... that's no joke. I’ve already added a parental disclosure on her profile page, designed her background picture (mmhmm) AND sent her a decent starting stack of HIVE and Hive Power, as well as a few Hive Engine tokens… so she can just jump in and earn.

And now that I've started looking around, I noticed that there are already a few kids here... and even some kid-centric communities popping up, like the KIDZ COMMUNITY, TOYS ON HIVE and ON-CHAIN ART that will make her feel welcome and supported! Isn't this place swell?

My job? I'm here to show her the ropes and teach her about the various settings, strategies and tools. And I obviously look forward to being her guide while she finds suitable and fun content creators to follow, as she makes new friends and as she starts becoming a confident creator herself! (Sigh. They grow up so fast, don't they?)

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Are you a Hive parent too? How do you feel about kids getting involved in these online communities? Any ideas that would make their experience better? Maybe you think it's inappropriate for children as young as my daughter. I'd love to hear your thoughts either way! Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a fantastic week! :)

_{Posted via proofofbrain.io}