YouTube Kids
Designed for children, with age-based content settings and the option to approve content yourself. Parents can also turn off Search, block content and manage history.
BASTIONHOST / YOUTUBE FAMILY GUIDE
YOUTUBE FAMILY GUIDE
YouTube safety is a family routine—not a single setting.
YouTube Kids and supervised YouTube provide useful controls, but Google is clear that automated filters are not perfect. Choose the right experience, reduce open discovery and make it safe for a child to show you something unexpected.
STEP 1
Choose the experience—not just the app.
The right option depends on age, maturity and how independently the child will watch. Do not assume the default is the right boundary.
Supervised YouTube
For a child who is ready to explore more of YouTube through a supervised account. Parents choose a content level and retain some account controls.
Important
READ WITH A YOUNGER CHILDUse Leo and JB's story to practise Stop, Pause, Tell→YouTube Kids reduces exposure; it does not guarantee that every video will match your family’s judgment. Google recommends using blocking and reporting when inappropriate content appears.
A SAFER BASELINE
Configure discovery before discussing screen time.
Time limits matter, but what the child can find—and how recommendations are shaped—matters just as much.
Sign in and create an individual child profile
This lets settings, blocking and history apply to the intended child rather than a shared anonymous session.
Choose the narrowest useful content setting
YouTube Kids currently offers Preschool for ages 4 and under, Younger for ages 5 to 8 and Older for ages 9 to 12. Use the child's maturity and needs, not only their birthday. For tighter control, use Approved content only and handpick videos, channels or collections.
Turn Search off for younger or early-stage users
This limits open searching. It does not make the service risk-free, but it narrows how content is discovered.
Disable Autoplay
Use Family Center to disable Autoplay for the child. This prevents the child from turning it back on and stops another recommended video starting automatically.
Review, block and report
Look at watch history and recommendations together. Block channels or videos that do not fit and report content that appears inappropriate.
Protect the television experience too
Use a parent code where available and make sure the TV opens into the child's profile rather than an unrestricted adult account.
WHAT WORKS IN REAL LIFE
Make reporting safer than hiding.
Watch new channels together
Let the first few viewing sessions happen on a shared screen. Pay attention to tone, adverts, suggested videos and how the child reacts.
Create a ‘show me’ rule
If a video feels scary, confusing, secretive or asks them to do something, the child can pause and show an adult without being blamed.
Review recommendations, not only history
The next video can matter more than the last one. Look at what the service is beginning to suggest.
Increase freedom deliberately
Treat independence as a staged decision based on behaviour and readiness—not simply a birthday or repeated requests.
Official guidanceImportant information for parents about YouTube Kids ↗Create a YouTube Kids profile and choose a content setting ↗YouTube Kids parental controls, Search, Autoplay and parent code ↗Controls for supervised child accounts on YouTube ↗
Last reviewed 15 August 2026. Controls and menus can change. Check Google's current help pages while applying this guide. This page supports family decision-making; it is not emergency safeguarding advice. Find UK help and reporting services.
PARENT-WRITTEN GUIDANCE
Add family judgment to the technology settings.
The settings are only the starting point. If this guide is unclear or misses a useful practical step, you can suggest an improvement.
Suggest an improvement →