My 7yo won't stop watching YouTube shorts and I'm losing my mind

Nov 241 min read

Seriously, how is this even designed for kids? My son figured out how to bypass my screen time limits somehow and spent 3 hours yesterday just scrolling through shorts. I had to physically take his iPad away and he had a meltdown. When I was a kid you had to walk to the TV to change the channel. Now there's just infinite scroll of whatever algorithm thinks will keep them glued. Anyone else dealing with this? What actually works?

11 comments290 views

Comments(11)

BBen D.Regular1d ago

At 7 he shouldn't even KNOW how to bypass screen time limits. That means either he's figured out your password, found an unsecured device, or your limits aren't actually set up right. Worth investigating which one.

AAl G.Regularjust now

The fact that he figured out how to bypass screen time limits is concerning because it means whatever limit you set, he's determined to exceed it. That's the real problem, not just the shorts themselves.

MMack G.New Dadjust now

The problem isn't that he won't stop - it's that the platform is designed to make stopping feel impossible. YouTube shorts hit the same dopamine buttons as gambling. You're competing against actual engineers whose job is to keep him scrolling. Not a fair fight.

FFinn M.Regular14h ago

YouTube Shorts is literally DESIGNED to be addictive for all ages and it bypasses parental controls constantly. It's not your kid, it's the platform being engineered to steal attention. That said yeah he needs boundaries.

GGreg H.Regular1d ago

The taking the iPad away and meltdown is rough in the moment but that boundary was the RIGHT call. Now you just gotta reinforce it and not give back access to whatever he bypassed.

LLuca P.Regular20h ago

Have you tried putting parental controls directly on the app? Like using YouTube's built-in restricted mode or just uninstalling YouTube Kids and the regular YouTube app? If he can't easily access it, the sneaking becomes harder.

TTravis N.Regular10h ago

3 hours of shorts is a spiral. The meltdown about taking it away is withdrawal-like and honestly shows the platform is working too well at keeping him engaged. This isn't a parenting failure on your part, it's genuinely engineered to be hard to stop.

AAndy T.Regularjust now

YouTube shorts for kids is genuinely designed to be addictive - it's literally TikTok for YouTube. The infinite scroll thing combined with algorithm-picked content that keeps them engaged is terrible for impulse control. You're right to be frustrated.

MMack G.New Dadjust now

The physical iPad removal + meltdown cycle sucks but also... he'll get over it. The bigger problem is he figured out how to bypass your controls. What'd he do, find your password or is it a technical workaround?

RRob P.Regularjust now

This might be worth a conversation with his teacher or pediatrician too. 3 hours of Shorts scrolling isn't normal even for 7yo ADHD energy. Might be avoidance of something else.

RRyan M.New Dad17h ago

YouTube Shorts is specifically the problem here, not screens in general. It's literally slot-machine-designed for compulsion. Have you tried just not giving him access to that app specifically instead of total screen limits?