Do you know what your child is watching on YouTube?
Helping Children Use YouTube Safely: Guidance for Families
YouTube is one of the most popular platforms for children — offering everything from educational videos and music to tutorials and cartoons. When used well, it can be a positive space for learning and creativity. However, with such a huge library of videos online, it’s important that parents and carers feel confident supporting their child’s viewing. Internet Matters provides clear, practical advice to help families navigate YouTube safely. [internetmatters.org]
Why YouTube Appeals to Children
Children enjoy YouTube because it offers instant access to videos that match their interests — whether that’s science experiments, crafts, gaming, animals, or learning something new. With so much available, YouTube can be a great place for curious young minds to explore.
Reviewing What Children Watch
A helpful approach is to check new channels together before children start watching them independently. Well‑established brands often maintain higher standards for young audiences, though some may include commercial content.
Some recommended child‑friendly channels for younger viewers include:
Peacock Kids
Mother Goose Club
Talking Tom & Friends
National Geographic Kids
It’s also useful to look through older videos on these channels, as YouTube may recommend them next.
Subscribing to approved channels can help create a safer, more predictable feed for children.
Using YouTube’s Safety Tools
YouTube provides several features to help parents shape their child’s experience online:
YouTube Kids (Under 13s)
YouTube Kids is designed specifically for younger children, offering:
Stronger filtering
Simple navigation
Parental controls
A supervised mode to support gradual independence
It’s often the safest place for children to explore videos.
Restricted Mode
Turning on Restricted Mode helps hide potentially mature or unsuitable content on the main YouTube platform. While not perfect, it adds an important layer of protection.
Supervised Accounts
For children beginning to outgrow YouTube Kids, supervised accounts allow parents to:
Set content levels (e.g., suitable for pre‑teens)
Limit features such as comments
Support responsible, age‑appropriate independence
This option offers a balanced way to introduce children to the main YouTube experience.
Privacy and Wellbeing Tools
YouTube offers privacy settings for under‑18s, including the ability to make videos or activity private. Children can also use wellbeing tools such as reminders to take breaks, helping them build healthy habits around screen time.
Keeping Communication Open
The most important safety tool is ongoing conversation. Regularly talking to children about what they watch and how videos make them feel helps them recognise when something isn’t right and encourages them to come to a trusted adult if they’re worried.
You might ask:
“What did you enjoy watching today?”
“Did anything surprise or worry you?”
“Is there a new channel you’d like us to check together?”
This builds confidence and reassures children that they’ll be supported if something goes wrong.
Creating a Family Approach
Internet Matters recommends using a shared family account for younger children. This allows parents to monitor viewing history, track recommended videos and choose suitable channels together. It also supports open conversations about online choices and digital habits.
YouTube can be a powerful and positive resource for children, but they benefit from adult guidance as they learn to navigate such a vast online space. With the right settings, shared decision‑making and regular conversations, families can help children enjoy YouTube safely and confidently.