iNat is awesome but not designed for kids as users in mind. I am looking for suggestions on how to get my daughter involved (Under supervision, of course) so that she can get initiated. She is already an avid photographer and I think the general idea of an iNaturalist for kids could be really useful.
I’ve been thinking of ways I could tweek things - from creating a project under my account so that she can post her findings, while I am sure this could work for my use case, iNat was not designed with that use case in mind. Then again, maybe it’s an opportunity to create something vaguely inspired on iNat for kids? Maybe something already exist that would bridge that gap? Or maybe it’s okay to start young, and maybe in a couple years she can have her own account? Is there a minimum recommended age to use iNat? I think many sites use 13yo as a minimal age. It’s the old dilemma of having serious observations for science vs exposure to the natural world for (very) novices and/or young folks (More selfies?!), two worthwhile goals that sometime just can’t coexist super well… Open for ideas on how I could initiate my daughter so that she can document her own observations, on here or elsewhere.
I had heard of Seek, but didn’t had a chance to really look into it. Look like that’s what I am looking for:
Thanks!!
Kid-Safe and Fun for Families
No registration is involved, and no user data is collected.
Seek will ask permission to turn on location services, but your location is obscured to respect your privacy while still allowing species suggestions from your general area. Your precise location is never stored in the app or sent to iNaturalist.
We definitely recommend Seek for kids (or for anyone who wants a more privacy-focused, gamified way to interact with nature, it was designed for adults too ).
Someone under 12 years old cannot have their own iNaturalist account without a parent or guardian’s permission, and there is a way to obtain that permission through Seek, although the parent/guardian needs to have their own iNaturalist account first. Once you’ve created your own account, you can start the child iNat account creation process by signing up for an iNaturalist account on Seek and entering your daughter’s birthdate.
I would recommend her trying out Seek first, though, before starting an iNat account for her.
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