YouTube Parental Control Options: Ensuring a Safer Viewing Experience for Your Children

YouTube is the world’s favorite video-sharing platform, but for parents, it can sometimes feel like a nightmare. As a parent, it's crucial to guide your child with basic internet ethics and safeguard them from the darker aspects of the internet and other applications. While no solution is foolproof, implementing these safeguards can help create a safer online environment for your children.

Use YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids is designed specifically for younger audiences, offering a more controlled viewing experience. While it doesn’t guarantee complete safety, it’s a valuable tool to filter and monitor what your kids are watching.

Set Up Separate Accounts

Create separate Google (and thus YouTube) accounts for your children. Make sure you know the passwords to these accounts so you can monitor their activity. Check their history after each session to see what they have been watching.

Use YouTube Safety Mode / Restricted Mode

YouTube’s Safety Mode helps block mature content, though it’s not 100% reliable. Here's how to enable it:

1. Log into YouTube and open the home page.
2. Click your profile picture (or the blank face icon if you don't have one).
3. Select "Restricted Mode" from the drop-down menu.
4. Toggle "Restricted Mode" on by clicking the option next to "ACTIVATE RESTRICTED MODE."

To prevent your child from turning off Safety Mode, click "Lock Restricted Mode on this browser" and repeat this process on all web browsers on your computer.

Make Playlists

Creating playlists of pre-approved videos is a good way to control what younger children watch. However, this may not be as effective for older kids. Ensure your child watches only from these playlists.

Regularly Check Viewing History

Monitor your child’s viewing history regularly. Be mindful of the “related videos” feature that can lead children to inappropriate content. Encourage them to subscribe to their favorite channels to minimize random browsing.

Watch Together

Spend time watching videos with your child. If they prefer watching alone, get the name of the channels they enjoy and review the content yourself to ensure it’s appropriate.

Be a Detective

If you’re concerned about what your child is watching, check their YouTube account for recently watched videos and recommendations. Even if they delete their watch history, recommendations will still reflect their viewing habits.

Use Subscriptions

Encourage your kids to subscribe to their favorite channels. Subscribers receive notifications for new videos, which appear in the Subscriptions section, making it easier to monitor and faster to access desired content. Consider choosing subscriptions together and watching the newest uploads as a family activity.

Things to Consider When Sharing Mobile Devices with Kids

• Parental Controls: Use the latest built-in parental controls on mobile operating systems like Windows and Mac OS.
• Monitoring Apps: Download apps like Google Family Link, Bank, Limitly, and Teensafe to control and track online activity.
• Turn Off Features: Disable web access, texting, or downloading on mobile phones.
• Child-Friendly Phones: Consider phones designed for children with limited internet access, minute management, number privacy, and emergency buttons.
• Web Filtering: Enable web filtering on mobile browsers and learn how to set restrictions.
• Discuss Safety Rules: Talk about basic safety rules before giving your child a mobile phone.

Tips for Using Facebook Safely

• Privacy Settings: Adjust privacy settings to ensure only friends can see posts and send friend requests.
• Timeline Review: Enable Timeline Review to control what appears on your child’s timeline.
• Blocking and Reporting: Teach your child how to block and report users and content.
• Parental Involvement: Stay engaged with your child’s Facebook activity and report any serious concerns to the police if necessary.

Guidelines for Safe App Usage

• Chatting and Location Sharing: Be aware of the risks associated with chatting with strangers and sharing location data.
• Inappropriate Content: Teach your child the importance of not sending inappropriate messages or images.