Influencer Mom on How to Protect Children from Inappropriate Content on YouTube
By Movieguide® Contributor
Social media influencer Mai Zimmy just shared the simple way parents can ensure their children are only watching appropriate content on YouTube.
In a video posted to her Instagram page, Zimmy addressed “tablet moms,” saying that she had recently been concerned about her children watching videos she deemed “not educational.”
“So, instead of just letting them scroll and watch whatever garbage pops up,” she explained. “You need to create an account so you can block certain videos and, more importantly, only allow access to videos you deem [appropriate].”Zimmy demonstrated how, once you have created a YouTube Kids account for your child, you can go into the Settings page and turn off “Allowed Searching.” This means kids can’t use YouTube’s search feature to look anything up on the website.
She then went into Content Settings, where you can choose your child’s age range, which tells YouTube Kids what sort of videos are appropriate for them, or select “Approve Content Yourself.”
Through this setting, parents can select different “kids safe channels,” from videos about math and science, to clips of people reading childrens’ books.
After putting these settings into place, your child’s YouTube Kids account will only offer them the specific channels you have already pre-selected.
In addition to Zimmy’s video, YouTube has also released short videos instructing parents on how to use YouTube Kids and the content settings.
Movieguide® previously reported on other measures YouTube has taken in an effort to make the video streaming platform safer for children:
Youtube’s updated creator guidelines, released late 2022, deters creators from producing sexual, drug and dishonest behavior related content alongside a controversial profanity change.
“Our policies are constantly evolving,” a google rep explained, “We are always working to facilitate a healthy digital advertising ecosystem.” While these changes were made for the benefit of advertisers, they contribute to the safety of children on the website as well.
The updated guidelines classified topics related to drug trade organizations as “harmful or dangerous acts” and incorporated drug usage as a reason for demonetization.
“We do not allow monetization of content that includes graphic sexual text, image, audio, or games, and non-consensual sexual themes whether simulated or real,” a google rep explained. These additions expanded Youtube’s strict restrictions on sexual content including nudity, sexual entertainment and sexual merchandise.
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