Just realized my 4-year-old has been watching TikToks on my iPad

Jan 31 min read

Cool cool cool. So I found out yesterday that my son figured out how to get to TikTok on my iPad and has been watching god knows what for the past week while I thought he was watching Bluey. He was watching some guy do parkour stunts and apparently decided to try it off our deck. Not a huge fall, thank God, and no injuries, but now I'm the worst parent alive and my wife won't stop giving me the silent treatment.

Anyone else have a kid learn technology way too fast? How do you actually manage this stuff without feeling like a failure?

6 comments219 views

Comments(6)

MMatt W.RegularJan 3

Yeah we've basically moved to YouTube Kids only now. At least that has some actual filtering. Regular YouTube and TikTok are just too much of a gamble.

CCarlosNew DadJan 3

The thing about TikTok is you can't really control what comes on the For You page. He could stumble onto something inappropriate pretty easily. Might want to check his watch history if there is one.

DDante J.New DadJan 4

Apple parental controls became my best friend after this happened at our house. Pro tip: don't make the password something your kid can guess.

CChristopherNew DadJan 4

Oh no. Yeah TikTok algorithm is designed to be addictive for everyone, especially kids. The weird thing is how fast it learns what will keep them watching.

RReggie T.New DadJan 4

My 5yo did this exact thing and I had no idea how long he'd been at it. Set up screen time limits after that so at least it stops him automatically now.

JJustinNew DadJan 4

This is my nightmare. I try to keep my iPad pretty locked down now but kids are basically geniuses at finding workarounds. Did you manage to get him off it?