I am a very progressive parent. I was harassed by my parents for spending too much time on the computer and I make 6 figures working in tech now and spend 8 hours a day minimum on the computer. When I say I’m progressive I’m not exaggerating. Robotics are the future of humanity. Understanding tech is the future 6 figure job my kid will have.
First and foremost I pay for YT premium to avoid the constant barrage of unreviewed ads.
Secondly I take a night every week to go through her watch history and remove some videos that are questionable for the algorithm. I also block channels in the suggested area and block watched makers if they are slop or … bad…
I also tell her she is allowed to watch shorts but ONLY if she is able to watch longer form content above all. I do not believe in tik tok and that started way before trumps cronies owned it. I believe tik tok type consumption is one of those things that will come in a fad and ease out of fad.
I also watch sometimes with her to identify Ai slop and I show her videos if I ever fall for Ai. I got really excited about a fox video the other day that turned out to be ai and I showed her and she recognized the Ai tells before I did.
This allows a kid to explore technology without pressure or fear but avoids the Ai stuff. I also have her lookup facts if I know them to be wrong. We watch a lot of dar man because its child friendly but boy fact checking those videos are a riot.
She is very smart so I rarely have to do anything now but she started yt back when those creepy vilent Elsa videos were popular. So I have been using this method for 6 years. She is a tech wiz, she is smart, made high honor roll, her focus is still intact and she does well at school.
This was also important to me. I also noticed some channels which were satire of middle schoolers would influence her behavior, so we talk about it. Then if the behavior continues ues I block the channel. Later she can watch again if she feels she is strong minded enough. Some weird pov YouTube rs were cut off for a year but have been allowed back as she is not pliable in those ways anymore.
Anyways thats the most serious and in depth answer. I hate to pay for YouTube but its the best way to keep her on a single platform with the most visibility and I can adjust the algorithm through her history
You sound like a great parent, and this should ideally be how every parent teaches their kids. Trust, open discussion, and a welcoming environment for questions.
First you will need to set up their account as a child account, and your own account as a parent account using the Family system in Google.
On mobile: Using your PARENT account, go to the channel you want to block for your child. Then press the “3-dot” menu in the top right corner, then select “Block channel for kids”, and finally select which child accounts to block it for.
On desktop: Using your PARENT account, go to the channel you want to block. Click the channel description. Scroll to the bottom. Click “Report user”. In the menu that pops up select “Block channel for children”, and then select which whildren to block the channel for.
I am a very progressive parent. I was harassed by my parents for spending too much time on the computer and I make 6 figures working in tech now and spend 8 hours a day minimum on the computer. When I say I’m progressive I’m not exaggerating. Robotics are the future of humanity. Understanding tech is the future 6 figure job my kid will have. First and foremost I pay for YT premium to avoid the constant barrage of unreviewed ads. Secondly I take a night every week to go through her watch history and remove some videos that are questionable for the algorithm. I also block channels in the suggested area and block watched makers if they are slop or … bad…
I also tell her she is allowed to watch shorts but ONLY if she is able to watch longer form content above all. I do not believe in tik tok and that started way before trumps cronies owned it. I believe tik tok type consumption is one of those things that will come in a fad and ease out of fad.
I also watch sometimes with her to identify Ai slop and I show her videos if I ever fall for Ai. I got really excited about a fox video the other day that turned out to be ai and I showed her and she recognized the Ai tells before I did.
This allows a kid to explore technology without pressure or fear but avoids the Ai stuff. I also have her lookup facts if I know them to be wrong. We watch a lot of dar man because its child friendly but boy fact checking those videos are a riot.
She is very smart so I rarely have to do anything now but she started yt back when those creepy vilent Elsa videos were popular. So I have been using this method for 6 years. She is a tech wiz, she is smart, made high honor roll, her focus is still intact and she does well at school.
This was also important to me. I also noticed some channels which were satire of middle schoolers would influence her behavior, so we talk about it. Then if the behavior continues ues I block the channel. Later she can watch again if she feels she is strong minded enough. Some weird pov YouTube rs were cut off for a year but have been allowed back as she is not pliable in those ways anymore.
Anyways thats the most serious and in depth answer. I hate to pay for YouTube but its the best way to keep her on a single platform with the most visibility and I can adjust the algorithm through her history
You can limit shorts in the YouTube parental settings! Just found out about this a few weeks ago
You can’t disable them completely, but you can set a time limit
You sound like a great parent, and this should ideally be how every parent teaches their kids. Trust, open discussion, and a welcoming environment for questions.
How do you block channels? Is that a premium feature?
You can block channels for a child.
First you will need to set up their account as a child account, and your own account as a parent account using the Family system in Google.
On mobile: Using your PARENT account, go to the channel you want to block for your child. Then press the “3-dot” menu in the top right corner, then select “Block channel for kids”, and finally select which child accounts to block it for.
On desktop: Using your PARENT account, go to the channel you want to block. Click the channel description. Scroll to the bottom. Click “Report user”. In the menu that pops up select “Block channel for children”, and then select which whildren to block the channel for.
There’s an option “Don’t recommend videos from this channel” when you click on three-dots of the recommended video.
Thanks! I shall try that and see if that helps.