Raising our children in an age where the world is at their fingertips can be liberating, awe-inspiring, and somewhat frightening all at once. Keeping YouTube safe for kids can seem like a daunting task. With just a few clicks or swipes, they can explore a wealth of information, view videos on the many things that interest them, and learn so much. They can also be exposed to things that you’d rather them not hear or see. My kids love watching videos on YouTube. They each have a favorite channels and I’ve previewed those channels to make sure the content aligns with our values and standards. We’ve had many conversations about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Just a few weeks ago, my 5yo was sitting on the couch, watching a YouTube video on her tablet, while I worked at my desk. Apparently, she clicked on one of the “suggested videos” in the sidebar when her video finished. It was the language that caught my attention. It certainly was NOT what we deem as appropriate or acceptable. I quickly grabbed her tablet and clicked out of the video. I felt horrible. She was less than 10 feet from me and had inadvertently been exposed to language and content that I wouldn’t have allowed. I was relieved, then, when I learned about the Save Vision App and installed it.
With little kids in the house, keeping YouTube safe can be a challenge, but with the Safe Vision app it doesn’t have to be a full time job! Here are some tips for keeping YouTube safe for kids.
Keeping YouTube Safe for Kids
Create Boundaries
When it comes to younger children, boundaries need put into place in regards to the Internet. It’s important that they know the rules for using the family computer and their tablets. Go over what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable. We do have rules in place. We review those rules. Even with rules, an innocent click could result in your child hearing or viewing content that you’d rather they not hear or see.
Use the Safe Vision App
With the Safe Vision App, parents can control what their children can watch on YouTube. They can enjoy their favorite channels, and you can have peace of mind knowing they won’t inadvertently click through to unapproved channels. Safe Vision allows you to set which channels they can watch, and only those channels can be viewed on their device.
Let Them Know Safe Vision is in Use
Children need to know that we’re trying to keep them safe. There’s no reason to hide the fact that you’re trying to keep them from harm’s way. This is a good way to bring up the importance of Internet safety with your younger children. Let them know that some things just aren’t appropriate for them to hear and see, and that “bad guys” do exist. Explain that the Safe Vision app is a safety net, not a punishment!
Let Them Know Which Channels are Okay to Use
Safe Vision allows you to add channels that you are okay with them using. Let them know which channels are approved and that if they want to view another channel, you can preview it before adding it to the approved list.
Talk about Internet Safety in General
It’s important to discuss internet safety as a whole. Let your children know that while Safe Vision will protect them on YouTube, there are rules in place for using the Internet, too. If you have the ability to do so, install some content blockers to limit their access to questionable content.
Personal Information
Remind kiddos that personal information (name, date of birth, address, city, school, etc) should not be given out on the internet, including in comments on YouTube. It’s a sad that children need this sort of in-depth protection, but we live in a digital age and it’s necessary to keep them safe.
More about the Safe Vision App
There are both a free version and premium version of the Safe Vision App. The free version allows you to use it on one device for one child only, and allows you to unlock 5 channels for that child. It sets a time limit of 1 hour per day for video watching. Safe Vision Premium is an optional paid subscription upgrade. It allows parents to unlock unlimited YouTube channels and to change the time limit to more than one hour if desired (we left it at one hour). Safe Vision Premium can be used on an unlimited number of devices in your household, with up to 7 child profiles. The premium upgrade is currently $23.49 in the US.
With the Safe Vision app, you can rest assured your child isn’t going to accidentally land where they shouldn’t be.
Check out the Safe Vision App today! It’s available for iPad, iPhone, and Android devices. We installed it on the kids Kindle Fire 7s.
All readers who install the app and send the code IHNMARCH2019 using in-app support chat before March 31, 2019 will get 1-year premium subscription for free. Learn more about Safe Vision on Facebook.
How to get your free premium subscription:
- Install Safe Vision app on your phone or tablet. You can download it for free: Safe Vision in the App Store or Safe Vision on Amazon
- Sign up for a new account
- Use in-app support chat to send the code IHNMARCH2019
- You will receive email confirming that you get 1-year premium subscription in a day or two.
Install it today, you’ll be glad you did. I know I am!
Oh be careful little eyes what you see.
