YouTube Has Introduced Their Newest Member to The Family – YouTube Kids App! #YouTubeKids

Have you heard the news? YouTube has created something that I wish was invented years ago — YouTube Kids App. My kids LOVE YouTube. Heck, even I love YouTube! It’s where I can watch my favorite vloggers such as Laura Vitale, Betsy-V and Vera Sweeney, who are among the few that I love to watch on a daily basis!

youtube kids

It’s the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind, and their first step toward re-imagining YouTube for families.

YTK_Invite_playground

YouTube Kids App has so much to offer for your little ones ages 2-8.

Bright and Playful Design

Your 4-year-old may already be a swiping expert, but the app’s design makes it even easier to find Pocoyo or the latest episode of Sesame Street’s The Furchester Hotel. With larger images, bold icons and more, it’s fast and simple for little thumbs to navigate. And we’ve built in voice search so that even if your child can’t spell or type, they can still find videos of things they’re curious about.

Family-focused Content

For years, families have come to YouTube, watching countless hours of videos on all kinds of topics. Now, parents can rest a little easier knowing that videos in the YouTube Kids app are narrowed down to content appropriate for kids. You can browse channels and playlists in four categories: Shows, Music, Learning and Explore. Or search for videos of particular interest to your family, like how to build a model volcano, math tutorials, the amazing (and endless) world of trains—and everything in between.

Along with favorites from DreamWorksTV, Jim Henson TV, Mother Goose Club, Talking Tom and Friends and more, your kids can watch new series from YouTube channels they already like. Discover new facts about dinosaurs from National Geographic Kids; learn about technology from Reading Rainbow; or watch Thomas the Tank Engine leave the world of Sodor for the first time in 70 years to travel the globe. Plus, more new videos are coming soon from beloved YouTubers like John and Hank Green of the Vlogbrothers and Stampylonghead.

Parental Controls

We realize every family is different, so we’ve built options into the app that help you control the experience for your kids:

  • Timer: Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to.
  • Sound settings: Sometimes you need a little peace and quiet! You have an option to turn off background music and sound effects, so your kids can keep watching while you catch a breather.
  • Search settings: If you’d rather limit your children to just the pre-selected videos available on the home screen, you can turn off search.
  • Product feedback: Our goal is to improve YouTube Kids all the time, so we’ve included a space for you to give us your feedback.

Our Thoughts

My kids spend a lot of time on YouTube.  I admit — so do I.  But I always think that my youngest will scar her mind with something inappropriate if she accidentally searches for the wrong thing.  Although my youngest is not between the ages of 2-8 (she will soon be 10 years old), she is actually loving the new YouTube Kids App.  She’s already mentioned that the Explore channel is her favorite. She loves to create new bracelets with her Rainbow Loom and loves to draw and do crafts.  I’m happy she now has a safe place to search for videos that peaks her interest without all the “other stuff” I rather her not see and/or hear.

Thank you YouTube! 🙂

YouTube Kids is available for free in the U.S. on Google Play and the App Store, and will soon be available on Kurio and nabi kids’ tablets.

Comments

  1. Sandy Cain says:

    What a super idea! There’s a lot of really adult-oriented stuff on YouTube that makes me nervous about little kids seeing. I’m glad they did this!

  2. Sara Zielinski says:

    This looks like a nice safe way for kids to view their favorite youtube videos.

  3. nicole dziedzic says:

    Wow this is a great app for young kids, my kids love youtube as well, but sometimes I can get a bit hesitant by letting them view alone, since they can run into something not suitable for there age. Great that they did this.

  4. Amy Orvin says:

    What a cute app. My niece would really enjoy this.

  5. Amazing. Now parents can have children watch children programs w/o filtering.

  6. Ali Thompson says:

    This is great! I’m always wondering what my daughter could end up watching on YouTube. I recently stumbled upon this page (while researching elementary schools to send my daughter to): http://www.publicprep.org/page.cfm?p=611. It has links to videos that my daughter loves watching.

  7. Deborah G says:

    Perfect for kids! I love the timer to limit screen time and the voice search!

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