What is YouTube Kids?

This generation may not have Saturday morning cartoons like we did, but YouTube Kids is delivering content today’s kids love 24/7. As the name implies, YouTube Kids is a video library site created for kids by YouTube, a Google subsidiary.

Parents may want to know:

• Is YouTube Kids Safe?
• Does YouTube Kids Have Parental Controls?
• How Can Parents Set Up YouTube Kids?
• Can YouTube Kids Collect My Child’s Information?
• Does YouTube Kids Have Ads?

Click above to jump to any section, or scroll to read. 

Is YouTube Kids Safe?

Most content on YouTube Kids is considered safe for kids. Parents can steer children to healthier content that is educational or interactive videos that get them moving. 

While it is a separate kid app platform, videos on YouTube Kids are curated from YouTube. 
YouTube and YouTube Kids rely on user-generated content. YouTube’s library for young people includes gaming videos, content for learning and exploring, and cartoons, to name a few.

So while it aims to populate only age-appropriate content for children, some inappropriate content can still slip through.

---

Wholesome YouTube Kids Channels

Note: This list is not comprehensive and is subject to change. Parents should ensure each program meets their family’s standards.

• Common Sense Education – digital citizenship and internet safety videos for K-12.
• Kids Learning Tube – sing-along songs paired with animation help kids learn about everything from Earth Day to anxiety.
• Art for Kids Hub – elementary kids can follow along with these art lessons taught by a dad of 4.
• SciShow Kids – K-4th grade science questions answered by host Jessi and her rat robot, Squeaks.
• Cosmic Kids Yoga – kid themed yoga for preschool – 6th grade, including Frozen, Moana, Minecraft, Star Wars and Trolls.
• BrainPOP – animated learning videos for grades 4+, with BrainPOP Jr. for K-3.
• Nat Geo Kids – animal and nature videos for kids of all ages.
• Khan Academy Kids – educational content for toddlers – early elementary school.
• Bright Side – engaging riddles and random fact videos for older kids.
• PBS Kids – clips and some full episodes from popular PBS kids. Best for ages 5-10.

Limited Filtering

Although YouTube Kids has a filtering system based on the child’s age — including artificial intelligence, human review, and community flagging — it can’t catch everything. 

As such, some inappropriate videos slip through those filters.

YouTube Poop: Inappropriate content

Remixed or knockoff cartoons that are harmful to kids can slip past filter criteria.

Some cartoons are dubbed over with explicit language or sexually suggestive audio. Others pirate characters from popular kid’s cartoons and create distorted storylines that can scare children, such as main character deaths.

Writer James Bridle’s blog post exposed one version of Peppa the Pig where a trip to the dentist becomes a place of torture, another where Peppa eats her father, and yet another where she drinks bleach.

Parents can flag inappropriate videos and block them from their child’s profiles — and these particular videos have now been taken down — but variations can be reposted. .

Teaching children how to recognize, stop, and report content they don’t want to view is a great digital citizenship skill.

Does YouTube Kids Have Parental Controls? 

Yes, YouTube Kids provides several robust parental controls. You can approve content, block any video or channel, turn off the search feature, and set a timer to limit screen time (only available in-app).

To set a time limit, click the padlock icon at the bottom right of the screen. Choose “Set time limit” and slide the dot left or right to your designed length.

If inappropriate content comes up, parents or older children can block it by clicking on the three dots and selecting “Block this video.”

Prevention Rather than Intervention

Some parents prefer safe devices for their kids that do not allow social media apps. They can still be safely connected to their child without the worry of what kids may be exposed to.

How Can Parents Set Up YouTube Kids?

An adult’s Google account is required to create a YouTube Kids account. 

Once the terms and conditions are agreed to, create a profile for each child and set their viewing preferences. Each profile asks for your child’s age. 

What Age is YouTube Kids For? 

YouTube describes this platform as being designed for kids ages 4-12. However Common Sense Media suggests 7 and older. Ultimately, parents can assess their child’s development and what YouTube Kids offers to determine what age their child is ready.

There are three categories: 

• Preschool: Under 4
• Younger: Ages 5-8
• Older: Ages 9-12

Children over 13 can still use YouTube Kids’ profiles, or you can create a restricted profile on YouTube for them. However, the flagship YouTube app has fewer parental controls, more explicit content available, and is overall less safe for kids.

Is YouTube Getting Rid of YouTube Kids?

In July 2024 Google removed the YouTube Kids app on TBs, however you can still access YouTube Kids from your child’s profile in the regular YouTube app. YouTube Kids will remain a standalone app on Android and apple iOS devices.

Can YouTube Kids Collect My Child’s Information?

Yes. Parents have to agree to data collection to start a YouTube Kids account. In the fine print YouTube Kids uses Google to collect your child’s information — their name, age, birth month (if you entered it when signing up), viewing history, and preferences.

Google claims that collecting this information is so that children can have a better customized and curated experience. However, it is clear that this is a business model where platforms turn users into the product.

The Harm from Children’s Data Collection

Not only can data collection cause harm to children by feeding them targeted ads, but researchers also believe there is risk of jeopardizing kids’ futures due to data profiling.

Data profiling is a process using machine learning and algorithms to “to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements.”

The upcoming generations may have massive data available to profile them in high-stakes ways—possibly affecting their university or job offerings, financial future (insurance or credit score), or increasing their risk of identity theft.

Profiting from Data Mining

In 2023, Google and its parent company, Alphabet, made 73.79 billion dollar profit. A portion of that wealth was linked to data collected from children using targeted ads. 

Due to collecting personal information on minors without parental consent and using persistent tracking identifiers, YouTube was fined 170 million dollars in 2019 for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). 

Because of Google’s immense wealth, this fine was merely a minor inconvenience —hardly enough to encourage them to honor child privacy or promote responsible behavior. To comply with the law, they added a passive parental consent section into the YouTube Kids setup that many parents miss.

Does YouTube Kids Have Ads?

YouTube Kids allows targeted ads to children to provide their service free. Targeted ads are advertisements that are curated based on a user’s data, preferences, watching history, etc.

The American Academy of Pediatrics teaches that children are more vunerable to commercials because their  impulse control and critical thinking skills are underdeveloped, making them easily influenced.

Adolsecent’s growing brains struggle to discern between bias in advertisements and reality.

Parents can pay for YouTube Premium to make YouTube Kids ad-free, or make each advertisement a learning experience by teaching them how to identify ads and discussing their biases.

How YouTube Obtains Parental Consent

YouTube Kids obtains parental consent to collect data on children in the fine print of their agreement when setting up a profile.

Parents may not realize they are agreeing to allow YouTube to collect private data about their kids — as stated in the Terms and conditions — when entering their password to set up an account.

Notice how the app will collect information about the content kids view, the ads they click on, the rate at which they scroll, and their screen habits (i.e. time of day and duration on the app).

Opting out of data collection with a YouTube Kids account is impossible. You must delete your child’s YouTube Kids account if you want to stop Google from collecting data.

Parent Choice

Parents and caregivers can use this information to decide if YouTube Kids is a fit for their family. Despite the potential online danger, we can best prepare kids to be safe on tech by teaching them digital citizenship skills and permitting age-appropriate amounts of technology.

Kids can learn digital literacy to identify what content is harmful and what is safe. When it comes to making decisions with your kids, you know them best.

What other questions or thoughts do you have about YouTube Kids? Let us know in the comments!