Everyone agrees that it's never too early to begin a child on social media.

The San Francisco Business Times brings us news of ELFKINS, a Sean Parker-backed toy robot designed to safety introduce children to the wonderful world of social media. Elfkins will be available in September and will cost a very reasonable $149.99.

Basically, Elfkins' ears light up when it (he? she?) has a message for the kid. The messages can be from parents or other pre-approved people in the child's Elfkins network. Messages can end with fun animations like a high-five or blowing a kiss. Kids can send Elfkins messages back, again within the family's vetted community of fellow Elfkins users. Behold:

Meet the ELFKINS from Patrick Chiang on Vimeo.

Designed by San Mateo-based Empath Interactive Inc. and funded in part by Parker, the robot is designed so that kids aren't forced into an attentive social media interaction, like Skyping with a grandparent. The youngling can send robotic messages whenever they feel like it — and check their robot's ears for a glowing message alert when they feel like it, not necessarily when a controlling adult wants them too.

"They can express themselves in that moment, whenever they want, and get it off their chest," Empath Interactive CEO Patrick Chiang told the Biz Times.

Chiang continued, "Our longer-term vision is to help kids develop these relationships, help families and friends connect within the constraints of modern society and allow parents to shepherd their kids into their digital lives."

DigitalTrends dives into the robot's privacy features, explaining "Users who haven't received an invite from Elfkins admins — parents, in most cases — can't see photos or messages. All conversations are encrypted, and deleted after four weeks. And Elfkins toys only store the last recorded message."

This robot would actually be great for parents who might be divorced or families who have a frequent traveling parent. But kids still need to talk to grandma on Skype because it took her forever to learn it and no one has the patience to explain a talking robot to her.

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