I have a pretty draconian approach to Youtube. I will vet, download, and transfer videos to their iPads from Youtube for my kids (9 & 6) to enjoy (TinyKitchen and Art Hub for Kids are two favorites), but they have zero access themselves. I have a deep distrust of the protections from algorithmic garbage and worse that Youtube offers.
This new content on the streaming services technically should not be too offensive since it has been also been vetted, but I reacted pretty negatively to see my youngest drawn into the whatever Disney+ had. Since it lacks the controls to block, like you mentioned, I am honestly considering giving Disney the boot. I know my kids will eventually be exposed to this sort of content, but I am not letting it happen quite yet.
Oh man, I am an elder millennial (a xennial, by some sources) and I ONLY let my kid watch YouTube on the family TV. My thought being, there is way too much weird crap and I don't want him to end up engrossed in something inappropriate. A lot of it starts out very normal and then takes a weird turn... I also hate the youtubification of other apps, in fact im >this< close to deleting our subscriptions over it. We limit it to 30 minutes of youtube, no shorts and ideally one video that takes up the full 30. It's crazy the difference in his attitude and focus when we limit it.
I think that is COMPLETELY understandable. And we *do* watch YouTube videos on the TV as a family. In this case, though, we're talking about the aimless algorithm surfing.
An interesting dichotomy - I'm an older millenial (36) but still regularly watch specific content creators on Youtube (Gamer's Nexus, some LTT channels); my wife watches Critical Role.
the Youtube Kids app definitely isn't perfect, but the parent on the Google Account can 'share' specific videos or entire channels, and it'll show up as a 'Shared with You' option.
There's also an option to clear their algorithm, which I think is going to be super essential; I'll likely do it at the end of the summer as I don't want to send my kiddo into Grade 2 with encyclopedic knowledge of all the SCP creepypasta content.
Finding content that IS on Youtube but much less cringe inducing is probably the way forward; banning channels/creators, but not suggesting alternatives feels like an easy way to create a 'forbidden fruit' bond.
I'm lucky that Mark Rober, National Geographic and a few other 'calmer' content channels can be found.
I remember playing whack-a-mole on the youtube kids app blocking all the channels that just reposted garbage content, and being briefly terrified when I saw that Diana and Roma had been added to MAX The One To Watch For HBO. Thankfully my kids were never really interested in booting up that app. I think Vlad and Niki are on amazon prime now, too, so I guess it was just a matter of time before Netflix got in on all that.
With the long summer days, we are working through figuring out appropriate levels of youtube on the TV that will keep the whole family sane. Thankfully even my youngest (6 yo) seems to have aged out of the over-the-top family shenanigans videos and just wants to watch kid-horror game playthroughs (Poppy's Playtime and 5 Nights) and Backrooms lore videos.
My nine-year-old is nearly past this phase, I think. The six-year-old is the one that's obsessed with watching families play pranks. And to be clear, I get it.
We're very close to banning Salish. It's annoying, it tricks my kids into thinking dangerous activities are ok (I explained to them that everything is planned and staged so they wouldn't think messing with theme park ride controls are OK), Salish's father looks like a scrotum, and they have infinite shows to replace the hole in their hearts left by banning Salish.
I do think they're broadly more annoying than dangerous (avoiding questions about monetizing children in videos without adequate supervision), but you can block them by going to Netflix.com and playing with the parental controls options. I'll have a full guide up next week.
We have a strict no YouTube policy in general as it is social media. They were found liable (just like Meta) for designing their platforms to be addictive for children and teens, despite knowing it could harm their mental health and well-being. Licensing this low-quality drivel is just part of the enshitification of Netflix. They continue to gradually degrade their user experience to maximize profits. The last thing society needs is more exposure to this garbage.
In the past, my kid could only watch YouTube on his dad's phone (I don't allow him to watch it on mine) as he doesn't have a tablet and our TV was too old for any streaming. Eventually we got a smart TV and he started watching YouTube on there. If his dad's phone is available he would rather use that as the search function is easier to use.
But I would rather he watches it on the TV (if he really MUST watch it at all). First, I can see and hear what he's watching, second he's not hunched over with a phone screen two inches from his face, third he can't walk up and down the stairs and do literally everything with the TV in his hand. Even his dad is losing patience with him watching YouTube on the phone as he always adjusts the time limit so that he's watching for far too long.
I'm not familiar with the show that you're objecting to but there is plenty of garbage that my kids likes and I don't particularly want to see or hear myself. I suppose I just exile myself to another room and look at my phone 😄
Kinda more happy with the decision to abandon Netflix a few months back. Our kids are okay to watch certain harmless stuff on YouTube, but we always explain to them, why certain things are not okay and others are. The language of certain YouTubers bleeds into their own language pretty quickly, so we had to battle some "Dude"s and "crass"es for weeks the one time they were allowed to watch certain content creators. So the approach comes down to monitoring, accompanying, explaining and limiting. In various compositions. 😅
Our 10 year old and 7 year old can watch YouTube Kids on the family TV unsupervised during specific times of the day (after school during the school year while I finish working or before breakfast on the weekends). "Regular" YouTube is something our eldest gets to watch after his sister goes to bed and only with one of his parents in the room to approve the content. He fell down a couple algorithm rabbit holes that put paid to unsupervised time pretty quickly! These videos popping up on Netflix specifically have gotten them to pull the same thing as your daughter and I've been equally caught by the loophole. "We know it is 'No YouTube Time' but this is NETFLIX".
Thank you for writing this and confirming that I’m not losing my mind. I thought Netflix was a safe space. It’s not!
You can block 'em, though. Full guide on Tuesday!
I have a pretty draconian approach to Youtube. I will vet, download, and transfer videos to their iPads from Youtube for my kids (9 & 6) to enjoy (TinyKitchen and Art Hub for Kids are two favorites), but they have zero access themselves. I have a deep distrust of the protections from algorithmic garbage and worse that Youtube offers.
This new content on the streaming services technically should not be too offensive since it has been also been vetted, but I reacted pretty negatively to see my youngest drawn into the whatever Disney+ had. Since it lacks the controls to block, like you mentioned, I am honestly considering giving Disney the boot. I know my kids will eventually be exposed to this sort of content, but I am not letting it happen quite yet.
I admire your dedication! I just wish these platforms had more controls available.
Oh man, I am an elder millennial (a xennial, by some sources) and I ONLY let my kid watch YouTube on the family TV. My thought being, there is way too much weird crap and I don't want him to end up engrossed in something inappropriate. A lot of it starts out very normal and then takes a weird turn... I also hate the youtubification of other apps, in fact im >this< close to deleting our subscriptions over it. We limit it to 30 minutes of youtube, no shorts and ideally one video that takes up the full 30. It's crazy the difference in his attitude and focus when we limit it.
I think that is COMPLETELY understandable. And we *do* watch YouTube videos on the TV as a family. In this case, though, we're talking about the aimless algorithm surfing.
An interesting dichotomy - I'm an older millenial (36) but still regularly watch specific content creators on Youtube (Gamer's Nexus, some LTT channels); my wife watches Critical Role.
the Youtube Kids app definitely isn't perfect, but the parent on the Google Account can 'share' specific videos or entire channels, and it'll show up as a 'Shared with You' option.
There's also an option to clear their algorithm, which I think is going to be super essential; I'll likely do it at the end of the summer as I don't want to send my kiddo into Grade 2 with encyclopedic knowledge of all the SCP creepypasta content.
Finding content that IS on Youtube but much less cringe inducing is probably the way forward; banning channels/creators, but not suggesting alternatives feels like an easy way to create a 'forbidden fruit' bond.
I'm lucky that Mark Rober, National Geographic and a few other 'calmer' content channels can be found.
I didn't know about the 'shared with you' option. That's really neat.
Oh, shit, you can clear the algorithm? I didn't know that. I *do* wish YouTube sent me monthly reports on what they're watching, though.
I remember playing whack-a-mole on the youtube kids app blocking all the channels that just reposted garbage content, and being briefly terrified when I saw that Diana and Roma had been added to MAX The One To Watch For HBO. Thankfully my kids were never really interested in booting up that app. I think Vlad and Niki are on amazon prime now, too, so I guess it was just a matter of time before Netflix got in on all that.
With the long summer days, we are working through figuring out appropriate levels of youtube on the TV that will keep the whole family sane. Thankfully even my youngest (6 yo) seems to have aged out of the over-the-top family shenanigans videos and just wants to watch kid-horror game playthroughs (Poppy's Playtime and 5 Nights) and Backrooms lore videos.
My nine-year-old is nearly past this phase, I think. The six-year-old is the one that's obsessed with watching families play pranks. And to be clear, I get it.
We're very close to banning Salish. It's annoying, it tricks my kids into thinking dangerous activities are ok (I explained to them that everything is planned and staged so they wouldn't think messing with theme park ride controls are OK), Salish's father looks like a scrotum, and they have infinite shows to replace the hole in their hearts left by banning Salish.
I do think they're broadly more annoying than dangerous (avoiding questions about monetizing children in videos without adequate supervision), but you can block them by going to Netflix.com and playing with the parental controls options. I'll have a full guide up next week.
We have a strict no YouTube policy in general as it is social media. They were found liable (just like Meta) for designing their platforms to be addictive for children and teens, despite knowing it could harm their mental health and well-being. Licensing this low-quality drivel is just part of the enshitification of Netflix. They continue to gradually degrade their user experience to maximize profits. The last thing society needs is more exposure to this garbage.
In the past, my kid could only watch YouTube on his dad's phone (I don't allow him to watch it on mine) as he doesn't have a tablet and our TV was too old for any streaming. Eventually we got a smart TV and he started watching YouTube on there. If his dad's phone is available he would rather use that as the search function is easier to use.
But I would rather he watches it on the TV (if he really MUST watch it at all). First, I can see and hear what he's watching, second he's not hunched over with a phone screen two inches from his face, third he can't walk up and down the stairs and do literally everything with the TV in his hand. Even his dad is losing patience with him watching YouTube on the phone as he always adjusts the time limit so that he's watching for far too long.
I'm not familiar with the show that you're objecting to but there is plenty of garbage that my kids likes and I don't particularly want to see or hear myself. I suppose I just exile myself to another room and look at my phone 😄
They will act like this until checked, imo. The story of the moment.
Kinda more happy with the decision to abandon Netflix a few months back. Our kids are okay to watch certain harmless stuff on YouTube, but we always explain to them, why certain things are not okay and others are. The language of certain YouTubers bleeds into their own language pretty quickly, so we had to battle some "Dude"s and "crass"es for weeks the one time they were allowed to watch certain content creators. So the approach comes down to monitoring, accompanying, explaining and limiting. In various compositions. 😅
My kids love to say bro, and I have to admit, it makes me laugh really hard.
Our 10 year old and 7 year old can watch YouTube Kids on the family TV unsupervised during specific times of the day (after school during the school year while I finish working or before breakfast on the weekends). "Regular" YouTube is something our eldest gets to watch after his sister goes to bed and only with one of his parents in the room to approve the content. He fell down a couple algorithm rabbit holes that put paid to unsupervised time pretty quickly! These videos popping up on Netflix specifically have gotten them to pull the same thing as your daughter and I've been equally caught by the loophole. "We know it is 'No YouTube Time' but this is NETFLIX".
The amount of parents experiencing the same thing is both upsetting and making me laugh.