Pranks, Pedophiles and now #MoMo? YouTube's Child Safety Problem and How to Deal with It

YouTube is quickly becoming every parents’ worst nightmare. 

Over the last couple days, you’ve probably heard about the “MoMo Challenge” – a viral phenomenon in which your kid could be watching a Peppa Pig video when all of a sudden, a super creepy Marilyn Manson-looking figure shows up out of nowhere and dares your kid to commit suicide.  YouTube denies the existence of these videos and the whole thing might just be a hoax; but regardless, it has stoked fears in parents around the world. Perhaps even more terrifying is last week’s news story about the controversy surrounding pedophiles on YouTube lurking in the comments sections of seemingly innocuous videos of little girls doing gymnastics or eating ice cream. In response, YouTube is now disabling comments on tens of millions of videos featuring children, but it can't track them all. And then there's the growing trend of dangerous prank videos that led to a corresponding ban. The threat to child safety on YouTube is real and it's disturbing.  

So why don't parents just cut YouTube out altogether? It’s not that simple. According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, about 81% of parents with children 11-years-old or younger say they let their kids watch videos on YouTube. In fact, kids now watch YouTube more than traditional broadcast television. The big problem: YouTube videos are not bound by the same rules that children’s broadcasters are subject to--in other words, they have no obligation to ensure child safety or provide educational value.

But let's be real. YouTube isn't going anywhere and kids will probably find it one way or another. So how can we as parents mitigate the potential damage it creates in order to keep kids safe?

#1. Know the difference between YouTube and YouTube Kids

YouTube created the YouTube Kids app as a much safer space for kid-specific content. It has far more parental control features and it generally has safe content (the quality and educational value of much of that content, on the other hand, is up for debate). While YouTube Kids isn't perfect, and inappropriate content CAN show up there, it is far less prevalent and can be more easily controlled in the settings. 

#2. Manage Your Settings

In the YouTube Kids app, you have quite a few options in the settings menu to limit what your child can access. It allows you to enable or disable the search functionality and it also lets you hand pick which channels your child can view. 

On regular YouTube, you can enable Restricted Mode, which, according to YouTube: “can help hide videos with mature content.” You can find it if you click on your user profile icon on the top right of the page, it is at the bottom of the drop-down menu. 

Additionally, on regular YouTube you do have some say into the types of ads that are being served to you and your kids. If you go to your Account Settings, you can update your preferences around how you are being categorized to advertisers and you can even turn off certain advertisers from targeting you.    

#3. Watch with Your Kids

There is no better way to get a grasp on what your kids are watching than by watching with them. You will undoubtedly discover strange things that make no sense to you (ASMR, anyone?) but at least it will help you understand what your kids are into and catch anything inappropriate or too mature first-hand.

#4. Subscribe

When you find channels you deem appropriate for your child, make sure to subscribe to them and turn on notifications. This lets YouTube know your preferences and it will serve up videos from these channels first – making it easier for kids to watch and keep watching these videos versus random videos. 

#5. Create Playlists for Your Kids

You can always watch videos beforehand to ensure they are safe for your child and YouTube even has a function that enables you to create playlists. Underneath each video there is a little icon with 3 lines and a plus sign. Click on that and you can “Add to Playlist”. This is an easy way for you to queue up any and all videos so that you can pre-set your kids’ viewing session.

#6. Monitor

In your YouTube Account Settings tab, you can see down to the most minute detail what your kids have been watching. This allows you a view into their viewing habits and can help you identify anything you feel is inappropriate. 

#7. Seek out the Good Stuff

The silver lining is there is a TON of GREAT content on YouTube -- and I'm proud to say that GoldieBlox YouTube Channel is setting the example. We offer a safe space for kids with weekly shows that are educational and fun for the whole family. Our channel inspires kids to be makers, with positive role models, robot building challenges, and DIY projects that teach STEM principles. Our content is created in partnership with curriculum experts and all comments are moderated by GoldieBlox staff. There are lots of other great channels like ours that you can feel good about your kids watching. For more examples, check out this round-up.

It's scary to think the world our children are growing up in is so different from what we grew up with as kids. Technology has changed everything. But just like the online world, the real world is a scary place too, and that doesn't mean we don't let our kids go outside. As terrifying as all this YouTube stuff is, it's empowering to know that as parents, we do have choices and we can step in and play a larger role in what our kids watch. And as a children's content creator, it is empowering to know that there are so many ways to have a truly positive impact and influence on children.