So… we have a love/hate relationship with YouTube in our house. Us grown ups use it to look up how to do things like replace the battery in the car key fob. Our tweens use it to watch videos of other people playing Minecraft and orchestrating child-ish pranks. All together there is ALOT of YouTube content flowing through our house.
My husband and I struggle with how much time the tweens watch. We struggle with what they watch. AND, we struggle with how they watch. This week’s newsletter is more of a “this is what we are doing in our house” self-confessional than anything else. Ok, here goes!
Here’s what I did
After researching YouTube Controls for an earlier article, I freaked out and decided we needed a better handle on the YouTube Situation in our house. The tweens had abandoned YouTube Kids (‘So boring, Mom’) and were watching regular YouTube on my husband’s (unrestricted) account. And while neither of us are watching anything racy, it just felt like it was just a matter of time before the tweens stumbled onto something they didn’t understand.
We decided to upgrade the elder tween to a Supervised YouTube Account which allows us to restrict the content that can be accessed. It took a few steps which go like this:
Google “Family Link” and follow the instructions for setting up a google family group (link here)
Invite your spouse to the group
Follow prompts to set up a gmail account for your tween.
Once the tween’s gmail is set up go through the setting in the Family Link app and modify the content settings.
In the Content Restrictions area In the YouTube section I selected Explore which is for 9+. There are less restrictive options but we’re going with 9+.
I then went over to General Settings and disabled autoplay
While in Family Link, I decided to change the Google Search setting to Safe Search.
I think it worked?!
I was nervous about the TV because I had heard that YouTube settings would not translate to our TV unless its a Google TV. When I checked, there is no parental control area on my TV but when I went into the YouTube app on the TV I was heartened to see that the tween’s account appeared with “supervised” underneath it.
I did a quick double check to make sure the settings were there. I couldn’t see the content setting but I could see the autoplay setting.
I also realized I should at least scan his recent searches so when while I was taking pictures of my mantel for this article I clicked into the tween’s account and looked at what he’s searched for lately. So far there is NOTHING interesting is happening there.
I think that person either had an older tv, an unsupported model or else he was talking about time limits. Time limits on our TV are the sleep timer or a hovering grown up.
So the summary is:
The tweens can watch their YouTube on the family TV with content restrictions set to Explore.
I will creep on their search history (at least until they figure out how to delete history).
There aren’t time limits in Family Link or YouTube so I think we’ll have to set up the sleep timer on the TV if we want to limit how long they can sit there.
If you are not confident that your TV supports YouTube settings, another option is to cast from another device. So for example, if you’ve got the family tablet exactly how you want it, you can, in theory, cast that tablet onto your tv. Just be aware that if your tablet or your TV are really old this might not work.
We put these changes into effect a few weeks ago— I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!
Resources
Since I skipped over the basics here are good resources.
My previous articles on how to set up time limits, content limits and last week’s Primer on YouTube.
Also this handy article that spells out the difference between YouTubeKids, Supervised Account and Normal Account
And finally, some info about which TVs support YouTube settings here
Love,
Sarah