By Sawyer Carlton | Photo courtesy of Facebook

Let’s face it — kids these days are not like kids 10 years ago. With the phasing out of landline phones, there is no longer a way for your daughter to call her friends in front of you, and there are no connected lines in another room for you to silently eavesdrop on your son. With the online world seeping into the real world, it is becoming harder for parents to monitor their child’s behavior, especially when it happens on a screen. The age-old debate about whether or not children under 13 years old should have a cellphone or any way to contact their friends is becoming a losing war for parents who want their child to be social in this digital age, but are also concerned about the dangers of the internet.

Facebook is now capitalizing on this untapped market by releasing Messenger Kids. This app is separate from the Facebook Messenger app and requires a parent’s Facebook login information to be activated. Parents can control approved contacts and check their child’s account from a Messenger Kids Controls panel in their main Facebook App. Equipped with kid-appropriate GIFs, stickers, masks and frames, kids can send photos, videos or text messages to parent-approved contacts who will receive them via the traditional Messenger app. The Messenger Kids app also allows children to video chat with contacts.

So, what do you think? Will you be letting your kiddos give Messenger Kids a try? Let us know in the comments!