Setting Up Parental Controls in YouTube Kids

I have always had a love/hate relationship with YouTube and YouTube Kids. It offers a wealth of useful how-to videos and interesting clips but kids can easily fall down a rabbit hole of odd, weird and sometimes inappropriate videos. I have resisted setting up the YouTube Kids App on my 5 year olds iPad. With the onset of complaints from parents regarding inappropriate videos YouTube Kids has been updated with new parent safety controls that make me feel  more comfortable in letting my son use the app. 

How to Set up Parental Controls on YouTube Kids: 

Photo: YouTube Kids

1. Open Settings 
2. Select Child’s profile 
3. Go to “approved content only.” Add channels (like PBS Kids or Sesame Street) that you approve. *This turns off your kids ability to search for content and only will show them channels you approve. 

Some things to note about YouTube Kids’ New Features: 

• There is an older kids mode (geared towards age 8-12) which offers more content such as music and gaming videos. 
• You can add different children into the App so that each child has there own profile with safety setting and channels and search capabilities set to the specific child’s developmental ability. 
• Time Limits can also be set. 
• Block videos you don’t want your kids viewing 
• Check out what your kids are watching with ‘Watch History’

Photo: YouTube Kids

New Year ... Time to Reflect on Screentime and adjust your Family Media Plan

It's a New Year and that means you may have some new devices in the house. Now that the Holiday chaos has ended and we are resetting into 2019, it might be a good time to update those Family Media Plans or create one if you haven't already. Setting up parental controls and screen time rules and procedures and then be consistent with those rules. This will help your kid create a online/ offline balance. Cell Phones, tablets and gaming devices all have enormous power in connectivity and interaction and we want to makes sure our kids are developmentally able to handle the responsibility of the device they are using. We also want to be sure the devices aren't interfering in sleep, school-work and our kids emotional and social well-being. 

If you want to create a Family Media Plan, check out Creating a Family Media Plan Blog Post. 

If you want to learn more about Parental Controls, check out Utilizing iOS12 Parental Controls