How to Make YouTube Kid-safe

According to a Pew Research Center survey, nine out of 10 teens stream YouTube, making it the top online app for teens. With droves of content churned daily, digital literacy should be an integral part of every child’s education and upbringing. Therefore, parents and educators must stand guard against the potential dangers lurking in the virtual world. More importantly, they must take serious measures for their children’s online safety. In this article, we will break down the possible risks kids face on YouTube and suggest ways to combat them to help you create safer online environments. 

Understanding the Risks on YouTube

YouTube has become a favorite entertainment platform for most kids. In fact, they spent around 84 minutes each day on this app in 2023. However, it only takes one click to be exposed to an unsafe video. Therefore, parents and teachers must be familiar with the different types of risky YouTube content to mitigate any mishaps.

Inappropriate Content

Videos depicting violence, explicit language, nudity, or disturbing themes are just some examples of this content. YouTube doesn’t always immediately flag these down. Without proper guidance, your kids could accidentally stumble upon these clips, so parents and teachers must constantly keep a watchful eye.

Misleading or Harmful Information

Children can come across creators and videos promoting fake news or extremely harmful, biased, and hateful ideas that don’t align with family values. Likewise, there are videos sometimes disguised as helpful, entertaining, or educational but are actually questionable or sketchy. These can confuse and influence the young, impressionable minds still learning to discern reliable information. 

Cyberbullying

Hurtful comments, name-calling, teasing, or other forms of targeted harassment can happen in a flash, with one in four teens experiencing cyberbullying and one in six being a perpetrator. Without the right intervention, this may lead to more serious mental health illnesses, sleeping difficulties, school problems, or eating disorders. Therefore, having background education on this type of risk is essential in keeping your kids safe. 

Privacy Concerns

Kids can sometimes unknowingly share personal information on their profiles. Similarly, they might be susceptible to phishing scams, unsafe links, and malicious entities that target unsuspecting users. Lastly, they may fall prey to users who dox or the act of revealing one’s personal information without their consent.

Being able to spot these dangers is a good first step in maintaining your child’s online safety. Now, the next thing to do is to teach your kids about them and emphasize the importance of digital literacy. Moreover, you can complement these discussions with actionable steps to make YouTube more child-friendly and help your children explore the platform more confidently. 

Key Steps for Making YouTube Kid-Friendly with AstroSafe

Creating a safe space on YouTube for your kids doesn’t have to be complicated. That’s why with AstroSafe, parents and teachers alike can easily implement ways to ensure their kids and students are watching age-appropriate and secure videos. Here’s how you can put that into practice.

Set Up Content Filters to Block Harmful Videos 

AstroSafe’s advanced filtering features enable you to block a YouTube channel, video, or creator. You can choose from over 40 filter categories to customize content based on your child’s interests. Additionally, consider learning some of the lingo your kids use to gain insights into what could be harmful and incorporate these terms into your filter settings. This ensures no risky or distasteful video slips through the cracks and guarantees your child can enjoy watching on YouTube. 

Monitor and Control What Your Kids Can Search and Watch 

Aside from using YouTube Kids, which offers curated content for children, you can take advantage of platforms with monitoring tools. For instance, Astrosafe performs various tasks, from sending alerts about unsafe searches or cyberbullying risks to gaining real-time insights into browser histories. With this, you can instantly track red flags in your child’s online activities. In addition, you can use AstroSafe’s Safe Search, a secure search engine that assists with your child’s education. The tool provides curriculum-aligned results, from educational websites to photos and videos, enabling kids to research safely.

Enable Age-Appropriate Recommendations 

Not everything your kids watch on YouTube is suitable for their age. Part of practicing online safety is selecting age-appropriate content that they can enjoy and understand. AstroSafe enables you to fine-tune YouTube’s video recommendations by choosing content that fits your child’s maturity level. This not only creates a safer and better viewing experience but also reinforces the principles of digital citizenship for kids. By preselecting kid-friendly videos, you establish positive digital environments and healthy online habits. 

Set Time Limits for Screen Time 

According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of U.S. kids aged 13 to 17 are online almost constantly, and around 96% of them are on the internet every day. Setting some ground rules for screen time instills discipline and a sense of responsibility in your kids. Moreover, maintaining a balanced amount of time online supports healthier overall development. AstroSafe’s Parent Portal includes configurations that allow you to set your child’s screen time. With this, you can easily view their online patterns and determine the best course of action for their browsing and viewing habits.

Have Open Conversations About Online Safety  

Although having this knowledge and utilizing AstroSafe’s tools are invaluable to ensuring your child’s safety, nothing compares to having an honest discussion with them. Practicing open and transparent communication with your kids is one of the most effective ways to ensure their safety. Help them understand why you need to monitor their activities on YouTube or other online apps and explain why these rules and restrictions are in place. Most importantly, take the time to ask what they feel comfortable with, offer compromises, and reassure them that it’s always okay to seek your help or clarification. This helps foster their trust in you without making them feel like you are invading their privacy. 

Engage with Your Child’s School and Teachers

Education also plays an important role in helping kids understand these risks. Teachers and school administrators must find effective ways to incorporate online safety into the curricula in a fun yet informative way. In doing so, they can guide students in making smarter choices online. 

Parents can complement these efforts by getting in touch with child life specialists. These professionals can help provide insights into guiding kids through difficult topics such as online safety. With their advice and support, you can help shape your kids into savvy digital users who enjoy YouTube for its benefits while staying protected from its risks. Keep in mind, however, that the child life specialist salary can be steep, so be sure to set aside some budget for their professional fees.  

Making YouTube a Safer Place

Curating a kid-safe YouTube dashboard may seem challenging, especially with all the different types of content that muddle your child’s viewing experience. With platforms like AstroSafe, you can utilize an array of features that filter videos, block inappropriate content, monitor search results, and set up screen time. These tools increase the effectiveness of your child’s online safety. However, they must not serve as your only line of defense against the potential risks on YouTube.

In addition, parents and teachers must work together to take proactive steps, such as identifying these dangers and having open and ongoing discussions with kids and teens as they grow older. Explaining your kids’ part in digital citizenship can also help them understand why restrictions are necessary. Lastly, incorporating digital literacy in their education provides a consistent way for them to practice safe viewing as educators ensure they are protected in school. Together, we can make this streaming platform a safer and more enjoyable digital space for our kids.