YouTube Kids safety settings - am I being paranoid?

Nov 27·1 min read

My 6yo loves educational content on YouTube Kids but I keep worrying that somehow she'll find weird stuff or that the recommendations are leading her down some rabbit hole. I've got ALL the parental controls on, restricted mode, no search function... but I still check her watch history like twice a week. My wife thinks I'm overthinking it. Is this normal dad paranoia or should I just go back to DVDs for her age?

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Comments(5)

AAndy T.Regular3h ago

You're not being paranoid - YouTube Kids is way better than regular YouTube but the algorithm can still do weird stuff. Checking watch history regularly is actually responsible parenting, not paranoia.

LLuca P.Regular1h ago

One thing I did that helped my anxiety - I sat with my daughter while she watched sometimes and saw what recommendations came up. Turns out with the controls on, it's pretty benign stuff. Seeing it yourself might help more than checking history.

RRandy S.Regularjust now

With all those controls on you're basically doing everything you can. The rabbit hole thing is less likely on Kids but it CAN happen if she figures out how to get around restricted mode. Maybe just have the conversation about "if you see something weird, tell me" and trust that?

EEli L.Regularjust now

The "weird stuff" rabbit hole thing is more of a concern around age 8-9 when kids get more independent. At 6 with heavy controls on, you're probably overthinking it. That said, staying vigilant isn't paranoid.

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DDan T.Regular23h ago

Twice a day is reasonable honestly. I check maybe 3-4 times a week and I've never found anything sketchy with all the parental controls on. You're probably fine but staying aware is good.