Child Security Measures for Youtube

“Whoa! What was THAT??”

The only internet-connected computer in our house to which the boys have access is located in a high-traffic location right by the kitchen. We put it there so we can keep an eye on their online activities, which consist mostly of watching Youtube videos or playing web-based games.

On Youtube, though, it can be only a couple of clicks for children to get from something you’re comfortable with them watching to something that you most definitely aren’t! On more than one occasion we’ve been brought running from the kitchen by language or other things that have been totally inappropriate!

There’s a couple of things you can do to limit exposure to inappropriate material on Youtube though.

If you have a Google account (which you will if you use Gmail or Google+, for example), you can access Youtube‘s safety settings. Scroll to the very bottom of any Youtube page and you’ll see a button called “Safety: Off”. You can select it and, by signing into your Google account you can set that safety setting to “On”.

Note that this is a filter, not an absolute ban; as the setting itself says, “No filter is 100% accurate, but it should help you avoid most inappropriate content.”

Of course, one content area that Youtube definitely DOES want viewers watching, but which can also contain content inappropriate for children, are the advertisements that precede almost every video. Believe it or not, you can block these ads, too!

We use a free add-on for Firefox called Tube Enhancer (www.tubeenhancer.com). Among other features, you can set it to block the ads that appear in or before Youtube videos – a great feature when those ads are full of the latest death-and-mayhem of Call of Duty: Ghosts or GTA 5! There are also Tube Enhancer add-ons for the Chrome and Internet Explorer browsers too.

Again, though, add-ons such as Tube Enhancer will only filter content inappropriate for kids, not guarantee total blocking.

There is no substitute for being involved in your children’s internet activity!