My child says everyone else has Snapchat. What do I do?
Hold the line, but listen: your child isn't really asking for an app, they're asking not to be left out.
“Everyone else has it” is rarely the whole truth. It's rarely pure invention either. The Norwegian Media Authority's 2026 figures show that half of all 9 and 10 year olds are on social media, despite the age limit of 13. So your child isn't making things up so much as describing the gap between the rule and the reality fairly accurately. And what they're actually asking for is rarely the app itself. It's not being shut out of the place where everyone else is.
Which is why the useful move is answering the need, not the request:
- Take the missing out seriously. “I get why it feels rotten to be left out” costs you nothing and takes more heat out of the moment than any argument will.
- Give a reason, not just a no. The age limit on Snapchat is 13, and the reasons behind it are laid out in the answer about Snapchat and 10-year-olds. Your child deserves to hear why, in your own words.
- Help them stay in the loop anyway. A lot of the social planning happens inside the apps, so do your part outside them: invite friends over, compare notes with other parents and make sure your child hears about the things that are happening.
- Make the wait predictable. “When you turn 13, we'll set it up together” is a plan a child can live with. “We'll see” is an open invitation to nag.
Know a parent who fields the Snapchat question every single day? Send them this answer.
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