Education training experts share safety tips to parents for children and young people using YouTube

Children and young people often use YouTube to watch their favourite creators, learn new skills and keep up with the latest trends.

However, like many online platforms, YouTube presents risks, such as exposure to inappropriate content, contact with strangers, and excessive screen time. Here, leading education training experts High Speed Training share some top YouTube safety tips for kids.

In the UK, the Online Safety Act 2023 places greater responsibilities on platforms to help protect children from harmful content, but parents and carers still play a vital role in teaching children how to stay safe online, so it’s important to understand how YouTube works and the safety features it offers.

Dr. Richard Anderson, Learning Experience Director at High Speed Training said: “Many creators on YouTube produce informative, educational and entertaining videos. However, anyone can upload content to YouTube provided they follow the platform’s Community Guidelines. This means that the quality, accuracy and suitability of videos can vary significantly, making parental supervision particularly important for younger users.”

What are the dangers of YouTube?

Dr Anderson continues: “Although YouTube has many benefits, it is important to understand the risks that children and young people may face while using the platform. Being aware of these dangers allows parents to put appropriate safeguards in place and have regular, open conversations about staying safe online.”

• Inappropriate content: Although inappropriate content should be removed, some videos may contain violence, sexual content, swearing, misinformation or themes that are not suitable for younger viewers.
• Contact with strangers: Children who comment on videos, upload content or take part in live chats may interact with people they do not know.
• Misinformation: Anyone can upload videos to YouTube, regardless of whether the information they share is accurate or not. Some creators present opinions as facts or deliberately spread misleading information to gain views.
• Harmful challenges and trends: Online challenges and trends can spread very quickly. While many are harmless and entertaining, some encourage dangerous behaviour that could result in injury or emotional harm. Children may feel pressure to copy popular creators or take part in challenges simply to fit in with friends or gain attention online.
• Cyberbullying: Children who upload videos or leave comments may receive negative or hurtful messages from others. In some cases, this can develop into online bullying or harassment. 
• Privacy risks: Many children don’t fully understand how public the internet can be and videos may accidentally reveal personal information such as where they live, the school they attend or places they regularly visit.
• Advertising and influencer marketing: Younger children may struggle to recognise when creators are being paid to promote products or services.
• Excessive screen time: One of the biggest concerns for many families is the amount of time children spend watching YouTube. Features such as autoplay, personalised recommendations and endless scrolling can encourage users to keep watching for long periods without realising how much time has passed.

How to use YouTube safely

Dr Anderson said: “No social media platform is completely risk-free, but there are plenty of steps parents can take to help children enjoy YouTube safely. Combining parental controls with regular conversations and supervision gives children the skills and confidence to make safer choices online.

“Creating a positive family culture around technology can be just as important as using parental controls. Showing an interest in what your child watches and keeping communication open can help them develop the confidence to use YouTube responsibly and safely as they grow older.”

Here are High Speed Training’s YouTube safety tips for kids:

1. Try YouTube Kids for younger children where appropriate and set up parental controls using Google Family Link or supervised experiences.
2. Follow YouTube’s minimum age requirements and avoid allowing children to create accounts before they are old enough, and review your child’s privacy settings regularly, particularly if they upload their own videos.
3. Turn on Restricted Mode to help reduce the amount of mature content your child may encounter and encourage your child to subscribe to trusted educational, creative and age-appropriate channels.
4. Set realistic daily screen time limits and encourage regular breaks away from devices, and disable autoplay if your child tends to watch videos for long periods without stopping.
5. Encourage your child to watch videos in shared family spaces rather than alone, and watch videos together occasionally so you can better understand the type of content your child enjoys.
6. Talk regularly about online safety, including the importance of protecting personal information and remind your child never to arrange to meet someone they have only spoken to online.
7. Encourage your child to think critically about the information they see online and not believe everything they watch, including advertising, sponsorships and influencer marketing.
8. Teach your child how to block users and report anything inappropriate or upsetting, and encourage your child to tell you if they see anything that makes them feel worried, uncomfortable or confused, reassuring them they will not get into trouble for speaking up.
9. Remind children that anything posted online may remain accessible even if it is later deleted.
10. Help your child balance YouTube with offline activities such as reading, sports, hobbies and spending time with friends and family.

For more tips and in-depth guidance, visit High Speed Training Hub, or our article: Parents’ Guide to YouTube