Online Safety

For Parents - YouTube Kids

One of the biggest frustrations I hear from parents of younger children is that the content on YouTube Kids is too childish or the content isn't what their children want to watch. The end result is that only a tiny minority of young children use YouTube Kids, with the majority on the main YouTube site.

A feature that has been within YouTube Kids for years, but so very few parents know about, is called 'Parent Allowlisting'. This does a number of things, but one of the most important and useful is that parents can keep their younger children within the safer environment of the Kids app, and parents can approve individual videos from the main YouTube service to that particular child's YouTube Kids account. This keeps younger children away from the dreaded recommender algorithms and allows parents to moderate what their children can or cannot see.

I have linked a short video which is on YouTube to explain what Parent Allowlisting is and how it's used:

Link: YouTube Kids Parent Allowlisting
 

For Parents - What is Monetisation

Monetisation is how content creators earn money through social media and video-sharing platforms, with some creators using dishonest practices to receive more activity on their posts.

Internet Matters have put together a brilliant information guide and you can find the link below.

Link: For Parents - What is Monetisation?
 

For Parents - Starting the Conversation

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) have produced a great new, simple  guide aimed at helping parents start those conversations which can be very difficult. This is specifically for young people rather than teenagers as it covers online dating safety, digital consent and boundaries.

Link: For Parents - Starting the Conversation with Young People