Simplicity

• A site that is easy to use and requires little customization is a good place to start children. For example, Blogger.com allows people to choose a name for their blog, a theme, and they can immediately begin posting. When young bloggers become more acquainted with how the platform is set up, they can branch out further, embedding pictures and videos of pop stars, for example. Other examples of sites that allow free and easy set up include Xanga.com and Livejournal.com.
  
  

Safety

• Making sure that a minor is secure on the Internet with a blog can require some effort by parents or guardians. Consider asking the child to start with a restricted site. Posts will be private unless the visitor has been given the password. As both parent and child become more comfortable, opening the blog can be done by making posts public rather than private.
  
  

Monitoring

• Visiting a young person's blog on a regular basis may seem tedious, but parents who do so can make sure that personal information such as full names and addresses aren't showing up in posts. Even more innocuous information such as a school mascot could provide a cyberstalker with enough information to find out the young netizen's real identity.
  
  

Encouraging Proper Use

• A blog can be used to improve writing skills the same way that a personal journal does. Both kids and parents should look for examples of good stories or articles online and consider commenting on them in their blog. It is also a public venue, and kids who set up their blog and post about positive events are less likely to run into legal trouble.