Your child will soon be holding their first smartphone in their hands – and with it many new opportunities, but also challenges. In the virtual parents’ evening, you will receive everyday tips on safe settings, protecting personal data and child-friendly apps. We will provide tips on media education and show you how you can empower your child to deal competently with contact risks, cost traps and the like. Find out how to help your child use digital media responsibly – for safe and positive smartphone use right from the start!
Take the opportunity to be there live and ask your questions to our experts – we will be on hand to exchange ideas and provide valuable inspiration for everyday family life!
Date: 05.05.2026 | Time: 5 to 6 pm
Procedure: (Media educational) input (approx. 30/40 minutes) and subsequent open exchange
Speakers: Sophia Mellitzer (JFF) and Martin Fischer (DKHW)
Moderation: FSM e.V.
Platform: The virtual parents’ evening is realized via the “Zoom” tool.
Privacy Notice: Zoom is a service of Zoom Video Communications Inc. which is based in the USA. We use Zoom via the German operator WTG. The WTG server is located in Europe. Furthermore, within the Zoom service we have chosen the configurations with the highest data and security protection.
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Registration:
The Toniebox can be found in many children’s rooms and makes it possible to play radio plays and music independently. The Toniebox 2 adds new functions: Content becomes more interactive and invites children to join in.
The Toniebox is an audio system that has been specially developed for children. Content is not selected via a menu, but controlled by figures. When a Tonie is placed on the box, a story, music or radio play starts automatically. The Toniebox is one of the audio boxes for children.
There are Tonies with ready-made content, such as figures or audio books, as well as creative Tonies that can be played with your own recordings. These are uploaded and saved via the Toniecloud. The box is deliberately easy to use: you can fast-forward or rewind by tilting it, tap it to skip between chapters and adjust the volume using the ‘ears’.
The Toniebox 2 adds additional functions. Content becomes more interactive via “Tonieplay”. Children not only listen, but are encouraged to join in, for example through small tasks, speaking along or movement.
Once set up via WLAN, the Toniebox can also be used without an Internet connection.
The Toniebox is designed so that even younger children can operate it themselves. No prior reading skills or technical knowledge are required. This helps children to use the Toniebox independently.
The figures play an important role: children recognize familiar characters, collect Tonies and build up an emotional bond. There are stories, songs and knowledge content for different age groups.
With functions such as Tonieplay, children are also involved. They are not just listeners, but part of the story. Creative Tonies offer the opportunity to create your own content. For example, children can listen to stories from familiar people or record something themselves.
The Toniebox is a comparatively secure service without open Internet communication. There are therefore no classic online risks such as contact with strangers.
However, points can still be relevant in everyday life:
The provider describes the Toniebox as robust and child-friendly. The operation has been specially developed for children. According to the provider, the Toniecloud is subject to data protection standards in accordance with European law. Own content and accounts can be deleted. Functions such as Tonieplay add interactive content to the range.
The Toniebox is a good introduction to media use as it does not require a screen. It is particularly useful to accompany your child at the beginning. Pay attention to suitable content and listen in occasionally.
Provide guidance on when and for how long the Toniebox is used in everyday life and pay attention to how your child uses it.
Use creative Tonies together. Your own recordings, such as stories or songs, make the Toniebox more personal. Listening together can encourage interaction, especially with younger children.
Keep an eye on the costs. In addition to the box, you will have to pay for other figures. A tip: clay figures can often be borrowed from libraries.
Events such as wars, natural disasters or political conflicts often dominate news coverage for days on end. Children hear about these topics – through conversations at home, at school or on the internet. However, much of the information is difficult to understand or frightening. How can children be introduced to news in an age-appropriate way?
Children should learn to understand the world. However, many news formats for adults are too complex or show images of violence or disasters that can overwhelm children. What’s more, false reports and highly simplified or distorted representations spread quickly on the internet. Information can be shared via social media or messengers in particular without being classified. It is often difficult for children to recognize whether a message is really true.
Age-appropriate guidance is therefore important. Parents can help to classify what they have seen – and select suitable, safe offers.
When it comes to stressful topics such as war or armed conflicts, children need special support and a good understanding from adults.
There are various news services on the Internet especially for children. They use simple language, clear explanations and do not use particularly distressing images.
Recommended offers:
The children’s search engine fragFINN.de helps to find trustworthy children’s offers on the Internet. The search results are editorially checked and filtered according to age.
Some children prefer listening to the news to watching it. Podcasts can be a good alternative. Especially when images of crises or disasters could be stressful.
Recommended podcasts:
Young people often find information via social networks. News appears there in the feed between entertainment videos, memes or posts by influencers. As a result, it is not always immediately clear whether information comes from a journalistic editorial team or is merely a personal opinion.
Reputable offers therefore try to reach young people directly on the platforms they use anyway.
Examples:
Even child-friendly news can be unsettling. Some children react curiously, others quickly become worried. It is not only the media on offer that is decisive, but also the guidance provided by adults.
Children and adults often use media differently and discover other exciting aspects of it. A joint media project offers the opportunity to share these perspectives and learn from each other. Sometimes children even show their parents how something works. And it becomes clear: media is more than just watching videos or listening to music!
Instead of just consuming media, you can get creative with your family. Smartphones and tablets, which can be found in many households, have a camera, microphone and simple apps that you can use to quickly implement your own projects. By trying them out together, you and your child will learn how the devices work. At the same time, your child will experience how media is created and that this requires ideas, planning and a little patience. Even kindergarten children can create simple animated films or photo stories and discover their own strengths in the process.
With our do-it-yourself media series, we offer you ideas for media projects at home. The aim is to promote creativity and actively experience digital media together – for example with radio plays, explanatory videos, virtual reality or making projects.
The website kinder.jff.de of the JFF – Institute for Media Education offers child-friendly instructions for creative media projects in the family. You can go on a photo safari with your smartphone or tablet, create a QR code rally, develop a children’s cookbook and much more. Short video instructions make it easy to get started straight away and show step by step how you can actively use apps and devices at home with your child aged three and over.
In the TüftelLab you will find practical ideas for getting creative with your child at home – from making, coding and robotics to artificial intelligence (AI), video and animation. For children of primary school age and above, there are projects where you can try out, build and design together step by step. The TüftelLab provides a wide range of materials, instructions and digital learning content to make it easier to get started and awaken a desire to tinker.
The NRW family portal shows what opportunities media offer for the further development of skills. Use the site as a box of ideas to develop small media projects with your child. Choose a topic together and immerse yourself in media production. You can find detailed instructions in the NRW media box: there are self-learning offers and online courses on audio, video and AI.
On Elternguide.online you will find even more ideas on how you can actively use media at home with your child. Take a look – we hope you and your child enjoy trying them out!
The smartphone is at the ready, the console is running hot, videos or games don’t stop – many parents want more offline time for their child. This is not about banning or denigrating media. Digital media is a natural part of growing up today. A good balance between online and offline time in everyday life is crucial.
Children and young people need regular breaks without screens. Offline time allows for exercise, creative play, relaxation and real encounters with others. This strengthens imagination, concentration and independence and helps to reduce stress, even if children don’t always realize it themselves.
The older children get, the more important media use becomes for friendships and belonging. For young people in particular, the worry of missing out plays a major role. For some, media is even the most important way to stay in touch with friends or a community, for example when like-minded people don’t live in the immediate vicinity. It is then often difficult to switch off because chats, games or videos are socially important. This is where an open discussion about alternatives can help.
If media is available at all times, many children do not stop independently. This is why children need guidance and support, e.g. through fixed offline times or media-free places such as the dinner table and before bedtime. It is important not to use media time as a reward or punishment, as this can further increase its importance.
Strict prohibitions often lead to arguments or secret use. It is more effective to involve children and find solutions together.
Offline time works better when it feels good:
Technical settings can support without controlling. Set up screen time limits or break timers (e.g. in YouTube Kids) together. This makes the transition to offline playful and transparent.
Children closely observe how adults use media. Consciously put the smartphone away and share: “I’m taking a cell phone break now!” Commonrules such as “no cell phones at mealtimes” apply to everyone and are the most convincing.
Irritability or frustration when switching off is normal. Take feelings seriously: “What are you missing right now?” or “What is difficult without a screen?”. If conflicts persist or hobbies fade, take a closer look and get support (e.g. counseling).
Listen to books, play games with sound, create your own recordings. There are now various audio pens that can do this – from TipToi to TING and BOOKii to Anybook. It is impossible to imagine many children’s rooms without these pens. The Tellimero is a particularly open-ended product.
Tellimero is published by Pädagogik-Verlag Betzold, a traditional provider of educational and learning materials. The idea behind the pen is to create a flexible tool that is not tied to specific books or products.
Instead, the pen works with stickers: the pack contains a whole stack of different sticker sheets with colorful dots, animals, instruments and symbols. Some motif stickers already contain noises, such as animal sounds, melodies or other sounds. The 200 or so single-colored dots can be played with as desired.
The stickers are not intended for decorating, but instead make the pen “talk”. If you touch a sticker in recording mode, sound can be recorded – up to five minutes per sticker. This sound is played back in playback mode. This allows you to record books, add sound to objects or record tasks acoustically.
The pen itself is clearly laid out and has three buttons: on/off, record and playback. If you use several Tellimero pens, existing recordings can be copied to other pens via a PC. Finished audio files can also be loaded onto the Tellimero.
The Tellimero is doubly exciting for children: they can listen and be creative at the same time. If adults prepare materials –
At the same time, children can get creative themselves: record their own stories, set riddles to music or use the pen for learning. The operation of the three buttons is so intuitive and simple that the pen really can be used without any problems from the age of 4.
The great creative freedom also brings challenges. Children can’t just be given a pen and a book and be kept busy – preparatory work is required. Stickers have to be distributed, recordings made and content prepared.
If you want to use Tellimero for language learning, for example, you can’t use ready-made products, but have to record books or materials yourself.
As the stickers can be replayed, there is also a risk that children will overwrite stickers that have already been discussed. To avoid this, the so-called “teacher mode” should be used when recording.
As with all audio pens, parents are the “human recharging service”. An empty battery at the crucial moment is one of the most common points of frustration.
According to the publisher, the Tellimero is primarily intended as an educational tool. It is often used in nurseries and schools, for example for language development, station learning or orientation aids. Teachers can, for example, add suitable audio content to a phonics table, a globe or station training. The pen has received several awards for this, including the Comenius EduMedia seal and the Worlddidac Award.
Tellimero is also suitable for private use, whether for creative “fun uses” or for learning and everyday tasks. However, parents should be aware that there are no ready-made materials and the content must be designed entirely by themselves.
Tellimero is a good alternative for families who not only want to listen, but also get creative themselves. Young and old can work together to develop funny, helpful or educational content for the stickers – and they can do it again and again.
The JIM study (Youth, Information, Media) provides insights into the media use of young people (aged 12 to 19) in Germany. It is conducted annually by the Media Education Research Association Southwest. Here we summarize the most important results so that parents can better support their children.
Almost all young people (98%) own a smartphone that they use every day. On average, they spend around four hours a day on the device, with older young people spending over four and a half hours. It is not only the duration that is decisive, but also the type of content that young people consume. This usage time includes both school work and leisure activities. From the age of 16 in particular, many use their smartphone almost continuously. Even if they are aware of how important it is to take breaks, many find it difficult to regulate their use independently.
Social media platforms and messengers remain the most important channels for communicating, finding information and organizing everyday life.
For the first time, the 2025 study focuses on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI): 91% of young people use at least one AI tool.
Even younger teenagers use AI regularly. Parents should therefore
The study also shows that many young people have negative experiences: Around a quarter are aware of cases of bullying in their environment, while 9 percent have been affected themselves. The
In addition to this overview, we also recommend the miniKIM study on media use by young children and the KIM Study 2022 for younger children.
Further detailed information on the JIM Study 2025 can be found on the website of the Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest and at Handysektor.
Whether dance trends, comedy or small everyday moments – TikTok inspires young people worldwide. The platform invites them to get creative, try out new things and get in touch with others. For many young people, it has long been more than just entertainment – it is part of their everyday lives.
TikTok combines social media and video app. Users choose from a library of well-known songs, audio or film quotes, film playback or create their own clips. The videos usually only last a few seconds to minutes, but clips of up to ten minutes are now also possible. Some videos trigger hype, are imitated or continued as challenges.
Public videos can be viewed via the browser, an account is required for your own uploads. TikTok offers many additional functions: Duets (filming together), stitches (sharing clips from others), live streams and the TikTok Shop. Companies and influencers also use the platform for advertising.
Young people appreciate TikTok for fun, sharing and self-presentation. The app is low-threshold: with effects, a music library and simple editing options, you can quickly create your own videos. Unlike Instagram or YouTube, it is less about perfection and more about creativity and everyday life. The videos appear authentic and TikTokers are often perceived as approachable role models.
TikTok motivates young users to realize their own ideas: Dance moves, comedy, experiments, tutorials or role-playing games. Many learn how to plan content, develop small storyboards and combine music with visual effects.
TikTok is continuously developing its security functions:
Despite these measures, the feed remains algorithm-controlled. Content can be filtered, e.g. videos from people with disabilities or those that are censored in individual countries. The app’s endless loops can also lead to heavy usage pressure.
Clarify motivation: Ask your child why they want to use TikTok – entertainment, creativity or sharing? Explain that likes, followers and comments can influence self-perception.
Step-by-step introduction: Start by exploring the app together via the browser, without an account. If you set it up together later, make sure you enter the year of birth correctly – this is the only way to ensure that the safety functions relevant to the protection of minors work. Check the settings step by step: privacy, comments, time limits.
Use security functions: Enable accompanied mode, private accounts, restricted comments and content filters. Deactivate livestreams, duets and stitches under the age of 16. The step-by-step instructions on medien-kindersicher.de will help you to set up all the important settings correctly.
Rules for private messagesDefine together who is allowed to send DMs or voice messages. Deactivate this function completely if required. Only allow group chats with known people.
Protect your privacyExplain never to share personal data such as name, school or address. Show how faces can be covered with stickers or backgrounds. Point out possible biometric data collection through filters.
Time management and balance: Agree fixed screen times, plan breaks and encourage activities outside the app. Actively accompany your child instead of just controlling them.
Reflective approach to content: Discuss advertising, filters, influencers and trends. Show how content is reported or blocked. Use the restart function to critically scrutinize recommendations.
Encourage communication: Encourage your child to report cyberbullying or harassment. Practise reporting and blocking together. Talk about respectful commenting and digital empathy. More information can be found in TikTok’s guide for parents (in cooperation with the FSM).
Strengthen critical thinking: Explain how algorithms work, what opportunities there are to earn money and how content can have a manipulative effect. This teaches your child to examine information critically.
Accompany instead of monitor: occasionally watch videos together, reflect on the rules and adjust them if necessary. Trust is the most important basis.
Did you know that your child can hear even before he or she is born? The ear is the first sensory organ to develop during pregnancy.
Hearing also plays a special role in babies and toddlers. Babies can recognize the voice of their caregiver at an early age. Hearing is important for perceiving the environment and learning to speak. Since young children cannot yet read, they are especially dependent on hearing. They enjoy being read to or listening to audio stories.
From kindergarten age at the latest, children are fascinated by audio media such as music, podcasts and radio plays. Many children like to use their own listening box for this. From kindergarten age, you can produce little audio stories together or try out games with sounds. This trains accurate listening and helps to learn to speak well. Here are a few options.
You can go for a walk with small children from the age of 3 and listen carefully: What do we hear? What actually makes a noise? Tip: close your eyes – then your ears will perceive even more.
When your child is a little older, you can go on a sound safari together. Every smartphone has a built-in microphone, and many also have an app for recording voice memos. Go outside, e.g. into the forest. Collect different sounds together and record them. Do you and your child recognize the sounds afterwards? If you are out with several children, you can make a sound puzzle out of it and let each other guess which sounds were recorded.
Speaking needs to be practiced – and is particularly fun for children when they are allowed to consciously discover their own voice. Small vocal exercises such as speaking loudly and softly, trying out different moods or reciting tongue twisters strengthen articulation and expression. In this way, your child learns to use their voice in a playful way. You can find exercises for speech training here on Auditorix. In the next step, you and your child can conduct a short interview – for example with a family member, a neighbor or a friend. Topics such as favorite places, hobbies or wishes for the future are a good place to start. In this way, your child not only trains their voice, but also learns to listen, ask specific questions and shape conversations.
Producing and recording music yourself is fun for children and encourages their creativity. Your child can create their own sounds and rhythms with simple means – for example, with everyday objects such as cans and rubber bands or rattles made from rice and cups. Those who prefer to work digitally can use music apps such as GarageBand or Indigo Pads to playfully try out instruments and record their own melodies. This quickly creates a little beat that makes a radio play sound livelier and emphasizes moods, for example.
Almost every child has a favorite book or story. Make a little radio play out of it together. This works with children aged 4 and over. With a smartphone or tablet, you can easily record and combine different soundtracks – for example, using the Audio Adventure app. Read the dialog with distributed roles and think together about how you can use music and add sounds to the story. What does it sound like when it’s raining or storming outside? An overview of how to create sounds yourself can be found on Auditorix. You can find video instructions on how to tell stories with a tablet at kinder.jff.de.
If the weather doesn’t invite you to go out, your child can solve audio puzzles on AUDIYOUkids or Planet Schule, set a story to music themselves or put together an audio play. Accompany your child – especially if they can’t read yet. Children of primary school age and above can also learn to edit audio recordings here.
Then get your ears ready and have fun listening together, making noises and setting stories to music!
Many parents ask themselves this question at the beginning of the vacation weeks. The answer is not so easy to give. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Appropriate screen time depends on your child’s age, stage of development and needs – so it’s an individual decision. Talking to other parents can help, but no two children and families are the same and media rules can vary accordingly.
Set rules for screen and media time depending on what media your child uses and how well they can handle it.
Shared media use and conversations about the experiences will help you to assess this well. The form of use should also play a role: So how does your child spend their time? Are they finding out about a topic that is currently of particular interest to them? Are they playing games, watching series or endlessly scrolling through social media feeds? Are they alone?
Media offer us the opportunity to inform ourselves, to be inspired, to interact with others, to distract ourselves from our hectic everyday lives – but they can also stress us out or even burden us. Especially during the vacations, it can be good to take a break from the often packed and tightly structured daily routine of school, sports clubs or music lessons. Using media can help your child relax and stay in touch with friends. However, a balance is important, such as playing indoors and outdoors, sports, arts and crafts or spending time with friends and family.
Media rules are more likely to be accepted if they are made together with your child. Talk together about what media and content your child uses, when, how and why. Also think about your own media use, as parents act as role models. Establish common media rules for the whole family. Deviations during the vacations or at weekends are okay! Rules must fit your child’s development and needs as well as your everyday family life so that they can be adhered to.
You can find out more about media rules and screen time in these Elternguide.online articles and videos:
https://www.elternguide.online/regeln-fuer-die-mediennutzung-in-der-familie/
https://www.elternguide.online/medienregeln-fuer-schulkinder/
https://www.elternguide.online/der-staendige-streit-um-medienzeiten-ab-wann-ist-es-zu-viel/
https://www.elternguide.online/wann-ist-viel-zu-viel-zwischen-sucht-und-extremer-mediennutzung/
Can’t find an answer to your question? Ask your personal questions about your child’s media use directly and conveniently using the messenger service via WhatsApp or Threema. You can find more information here.
Who is allowed to do what with media and for how long? These issues come up in every family sooner or later and not infrequently cause stress and arguments. Rules on media use can help create a structure and avoid conflicts. These can be discussed by parents and children together and recorded in a contract. The online tool for a media usage contract presented here — an offer by klicksafe and the Internet-ABC — is suitable for this purpose.
The tool guides you step by step to the finished paper. You can choose from two age groups (6-12 years and 12+) and choose a title design, a mascot and a background. All the rules you select are automatically inserted like building blocks, so it’s easy to keep track of them all. Each module can be edited individually. Of course, you can also insert your own rules. At the end save the document, then it can be completed at another time. You can also create multiple contracts for different children.
Use the building blocks as a suggestion to start a conversation in your family about media use. Some possible rules you may not have thought about, others are already self-evident. Set priorities, because the tool offers very many ideas that do not all have to be implemented. There are several types of rules:
A contract is nothing more than written down rules that have been agreed upon. The advantage is that you can always look at it and remember it.
A special feature is that rules can also be set for parents. For example, parents can commit to not using the cell phone even at dinner, or to using adult media content only when children are not present. Because rules are easier for children to understand if everyone has to follow them and you set a good example.
Media are an integral part of children’s everyday lives – whether they are playing, learning or communicating. The KIM Study 2024 by the Media Education Research Association Southwest shows how intensively and diversely children between the ages of 6 and 13 in Germany use media. We summarize the key findings – and provide tips on how parents can support and empower their children in their everyday digital lives.
The older children are, the more often they use the internet – and the more often they have their own devices: 70% of 6 to 13-year-olds use the internet (2022: 62%). Almost all children aged 12 and over are online. Even among 8 and 9-year-olds, the proportion of daily internet use has risen significantly (2022: 23% | 2024: 40%). Overall, 46% of children own a smartphone, and more than half of children aged 10 and over.
Tip: Make sure you use age-appropriate devices, activate safety settings together with your child – and talk about responsible use of the internet.
More than half of children use media such as YouTube, online videos, games or messengers on their own – especially from the 3rd grade onwards. 54% of children who use the internet do so every day (2022: 47%). Among 12- and 13-year-olds, the proportion is as high as 86%.
Tip: Even if children become more confident with technology, it is still important that you accompany them. Pay attention to what your child uses and talk regularly about experiences, questions or problems.
Many children use apps and services that are actually only permitted from the age of 13 or 16, such as WhatsApp (73%), TikTok (42%), Instagram (25%) and Snapchat (21%). These age ratings are often circumvented because the platforms offer hardly any effective age verification. In terms of streaming, Netflix is now the most popular video provider with 21%, ahead of KiKA (14%) and YouTube (11%).
Tip: Check app settings, deactivate location sharing, for example, and talk to your child about risks such as advertising, cyberbullying or in-app purchases.
Many parents see themselves as responsible, but often do without technical protection measures. Two thirds of families do not use filters or safeguards. At the same time, awareness of the importance of media education is growing.
Tip: Safety settings and parental control apps are helpful, but it’s more important to talk to your child. Ask: What does my child see online? Who are they texting with? What keeps them busy?
In addition to this article, we also offer in-depth insights into the media use of younger children with the miniKIM study and the media habits of teenagers with the JIM study.
Further information on the KIM Study 2024: www.mpfs.de/studien/kim-studie/2024
With media, children can learn, be creative, relax and have fun. It is important for children of primary school age and above to develop a conscious and increasingly independent approach to media. As parents, you are responsible for ensuring that media consumption does not get out of hand. Common rules for media use in the family are helpful.
Children of primary school age need clear rules. They provide security and help them to use media consciously. Agree these together with your child:
Children accept rules better if they are allowed to help decide. Think together about what makes sense – and what happens if a rule is broken. A media usage agreement can help to record everything. Be careful not to use media bans as leverage.
Adapt the media rules to your child’s stage of development. From adolescence, for example, fixed media times can be gradually abolished. Nevertheless, there should be rules about which media may be used for which purposes, for example with their first smartphone. Accompaniment by parents is still important in adolescence. Talk to your child about his or her media use. Ask how and why it uses what and how it copes with it. Always be available if there are any problems.
Games are particularly fascinating for many children – but they also pose challenges. Establish clear rules forcomputergames together:
Media time rules are often difficult to enforce – technical aids can help. Parental control functions in operating systems, settings in devices, apps and games as well as parental control apps help to comply with time limits and break times and to filter content. However, your child should gradually learn to put the smartphone or tablet aside by itself after the screen time is over. In this way, they practice and internalize a conscious approach to media.
Younger children should only install new apps and computer games together with their parents. As they get older, you can gradually give your child more responsibility and adjust the technical settings to suit their age.
Sooner or later, many parents hear: “Everyone else already has a smartphone/plays a console/may use TikTok!” Don’t let this put you under pressure. Children compare themselves, but every child is different. Explain your decisions to your child and involve them in an age-appropriate way. Your child will be increasingly influenced by friends at school age. It can help to talk to other parents and agree on common ground rules with classmates or friends.
As a parent, you are an important guide for your child. Therefore, be aware of your role model function – also with regard to media use. Certain rules should apply to everyone. For example, you can agree that smartphones have no place at mealtimes or set up smartphone-free family days.
Instead of simply regulating media use, it is worth consciously creating shared media experiences. A weekly movie night with the family or listening to music together at the weekend strengthens family cohesion and at the same time offers opportunities to talk about content, discover media preferences and convey values.
They have been around since the turn of the millennium – but they have only become an integral part of everyday life in recent years, especially since the coronavirus pandemic: podcasts. Almost half of people in Germany regularly listen to podcasts – young people even more than adults. Many formats are aimed specifically at young people, others more at adults.
Podcasts are audio broadcasts that you can listen to or subscribe to online – similar to radio broadcasts, but more flexible: you can listen to them anytime and anywhere. The name is made up of “pod” (playable on demand) and “cast” (broadcast).
In addition to classic audio podcasts, there are also video podcasts or formats that combine both. Most podcasts appear regularly in series form – with a fixed topic, such as sport, culture or news. Sometimes the episodes are self-contained, sometimes they build on each other.
Audio formats are practical: they are easy to listen to on the go and can quickly relieve boredom. There are podcasts in which people talk casually about their everyday lives or “God and the world” – and others that deal specifically with certain topics. Many young people like podcasts because they are both entertaining and informative. Listening to podcasts often creates the feeling of being particularly close to the podcasters – especially when they talk about personal things. This sometimes has a similar effect to influencers on social media.
There are many podcasts that are deliberately made for young people and are dedicated to youth topics. Often, the “hosts” (i.e. the people who lead through the podcast) are very much in the foreground. Young people then listen not only because of the content, but above all because of the person, for example when influencers have their own podcasts. Podcasts such as “Dick & Doof“, “Hobbylos” or “Gemischtes Hack” are very popular with young people. But true crime podcasts are also popular, i.e. formats in which real criminal cases are told, such as in “Mordlust” or “ZEIT Verbrechen“.
Unlike videos or games, podcasts do not yet have to be labeled with an age rating in order to protect minors. Labelling has long been considered, but the sheer number of podcasts makes it difficult to implement. So anyone can produce and publish a podcast – with any content. Therefore, regularly ask what podcasts your child listens to and find out about them.
Another point: Many podcasts contain advertising – it is often spoken directly by the hosts and is not always clearly recognizable. Advertising can have an influence, especially on young people. Many podcasts are financed by advertising.
In addition, platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Deezer automatically suggest new content based on listening behavior. Not all suggested formats are age-appropriate. Keep a watchful eye – or discover suitable content together with your child.
Podcasts aimed specifically at young people are usually ad-free, have an age recommendation and deal with topics that interest young people. But there are definitely podcasts that don’t have a specific age recommendation, but are still well suited for teens. Here are a few tips:
You can find more tips for podcasts for young people at Webhelm and the city magazine Känguru.
Children and young people are growing up in a digital world in which they come into contact with online media on a daily basis. Clear rules and effective protective measures are essential to enable them to use the internet safely. The German Association for Voluntary Self-Regulation of Digital Media Service Providers (FSM e.V.) plays a central role here. We explain how the FSM shapes youth media protection and why it is so important for parents.
The FSM is a self-regulatory body recognized by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) in the area of youth media protection. It is committed to protecting children and young people from online content that is harmful to minors and supports digital media providers in the implementation of youth protection measures. It works closely with many other institutions in the field – in Germany and internationally.
The FSM pursues the goal of ensuring effective youth media protection in digital offerings. Its main tasks:
The FSM is part of the system of regulated self-regulation in Germany. It works closely with other self-regulatory bodies such as the USK (Entertainment Software Self-Regulation), the FSK (Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry) and the FSF (Voluntary Self-Regulation of Television). In this way, the self-regulatory bodies promote cooperation between companies, authorities and politicians for the effective protection of minors in the media.
The digital protection of minors is a dynamic field that constantly presents new challenges:
It is often difficult for parents to assess what content on the Internet is suitable for their children. The FSM offers support to ensure that youth media protection reaches families:
More information is available directly on the FSM website: www.fsm.de
