Info About YouTube For Parents Of Young Children

Question: As a parent of young children, what do I need to know about YouTube? 

Answer: YouTube is a free video sharing website, and YouTube Kids is a version designed to have only videos intentionally made for children.  On average, there are 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, so there’s an endless number of options. Videos include a wide variety of content from adorable cats, food recipes, science lessons, fashion tips, video games and much more.  

When children are on the main YouTube website or app, they are at risk of seeing inappropriate content. This is because they can search any term they want and the recommendation algorithm might recommend inappropriate videos, not knowing that they are a child. YouTube offers a supervised experience which is a parent-managed version of the regular YouTube experience for children. Parents can pair their YouTube/Google account to the child’s and select a content setting that limits what the child can watch.  Another options parents frequently use is creating a playlist of videos they want their child to watch, to avoid the child clicking on new recommended videos.  

If you do not feel comfortable having your child on YouTube, there is also YouTube Kids. YouTube Kids is a dedicated app with videos that are diverse but has a smaller selection of videos than what is available on the main YouTube app. It gives children a more contained environment and makes it easier to explore, but it still has a lot of “kid-influencer” videos that have been criticized for showing off too much, being rude or showing unhealthy food. 

If your child watches YouTube or YouTube Kids, be choosy about what videos and channels they watch. There are seemingly endless channels competing for your child’s attention, but many are not high-quality. Every family prefers different videos, but try to find channels where:  

• The characters/YouTubers are positive and kind.  
• They are not trying to sell your child anything or pressuring them to keep watching.  
• There are not too many ads that block the screen or interrupt the video.  
• You like watching along with your child (this is a good sign that the storyline is interesting or funny!).  
•  Skip any kid-influencers who are showing off or being negative role models.   

Age: Toddler, Preschool, 3-11 years, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood 

Topics:  YouTube, Videos 

Role: Parent/Caregiver