Is There a Safe Way for our Kids to Watch YouTube?

YouTube – it’s the global one-stop place for entertainment, ‘how to’ videos and cartoons. Kids everywhere are glued to YouTube videos watching other kids opening boxes, families setting up challenges and pranking each other and……how to make slime!

It’s got everything!

Including a reputation for suggesting inappropriate videos for kids in the side bar and showing nasty comments with foul language.

YouTube continues to stun parents as they find their children watching cartoons like Peppa Pig and Frozen when suddenly, in the middle of an episode, are cartoons of decapitation, instructions for using a noose and explicit videos. And these example are just the tip of the iceberg.

What's a Parent to do?

First of all, it is important to talk to your child about what to do if they see a video like the above or even just a video that makes them feel uncomfortable. The video that makes their tummy feel a bit funny. Give them an action plan and talk about it regularly.

Let them know that no matter what they see, they can bring it to you (or another trusted adult) and show you. A lot of kids of are scared to show their parents material that has upset them because they think that the device will be taken off them. Make sure you address this concern when you are talking to your child.

Some other things you can do is delete YouTube. You can remove the app and remove Safari on your child’s device. If you don’t want to remove Safari, then you can restrict it going to YouTube.

You can turn on Restrictions in YouTube. This will disable comments and filter videos that appear in searches and in the side bar. You need to know though, that hours and hours worth of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute of the day and even though they have filters in use, the users that upload content know sneaky ways to get around the filters and videos will stay up until other users flag them or the filtering system catches them.

You can use YouTube Kids instead. But wait – we’ve seen loads inappropriate material come through in YouTube Kids too. So, you can use the Parent Approved Feature Content and add videos that you have already viewed and that you know are safe. Time Consuming – Yes. Worth it – Absolutely! You can also add approved channels for your child to watch but I would be sticking to channels we all know and love like ABC Kids.

One other option on iPads is to use the Guided Access feature. You can use this feature to lock your child into a video that you have pre-watched. You can even set it so that they can’t rewind, fast forward or change the volume! This option is particularly useful for young children. It’s also a great way to manage their screen time – you can let them know that they can watch this episode and then screen time is over (they can’t do anything on the iPad when the episode is finished until YOU put in your code).