The quick answer
Use an approval-based viewing mode, choose a small starting library, and check it from the child’s side. In YouTube Kids, use Approve content yourself. In KidsTube, use Strict mode and approve channels.
Decide first whether you want to approve whole channels or individual videos. KidsTube’s channel-based approach is not a promise that you have reviewed each upload. YouTube Kids approval settings · KidsTube’s public listing.
Choose the size of each approval
| Choice | Useful when | Your review task |
|---|---|---|
| One video | You want to choose a specific story, song or demonstration. | Watch the complete video and decide whether this particular item fits. |
| A whole channel | You are comfortable following a creator’s wider output. | Review several uploads, including recent ones, and revisit the channel over time. |
| A collection | You want a ready-made group of choices. | Understand who selected the group and whether its overall scope matches your intent. |
Think of channel approval as a continuing editorial choice. A channel that mostly teaches drawing may also contain challenges, sponsored segments or a new series. That does not automatically make it unsuitable; it means the channel name alone is not the decision.
For a narrow viewing session, choosing a few specific videos may be a better fit than approving the creator’s entire output. For a child who follows a familiar series, channel approval may be less work to maintain. Choose the level of control you actually want.
Set up an approved library in YouTube Kids
- Open YouTube Kids on the child’s mobile device and enter Settings.
- Complete the parent check, select the child’s profile, and enter the parent account password.
- Open Edit settings, select Approve content yourself, and follow the introduction.
- Add the videos, channels or collections you want available, then finish with Done.
Google documents this setup in its iPhone and iPad parental-controls guide. Make this change in the YouTube Kids app. Use Manage under the approved-content setting when you want to revise the selection.
Do a small first pass rather than approving every promising result. Pick enough material for one ordinary session, then review the child’s available choices. If you cannot find an item, do not substitute a similarly named channel without checking who publishes it.
A channel review you can repeat
Use the same questions every time you add a creator. You do not need a score or a universal list of “safe channels.” You need a choice you can explain for this child.
- Identity: is this the creator you intended, rather than a compilation or a similarly named account?
- Recent output: do newer uploads resemble the videos you already know?
- Presentation: does the pace, language and humour fit your child?
- Commercial material: are there product promotions or requests to buy something?
- Range: are you comfortable with the whole channel, or only one series?
- Practical fit: do video lengths suit the viewing period you have planned?
For example, imagine a child wants to learn to draw animals. Preview a recent tutorial, another video from the same series and an upload outside that series. If only the tutorials fit, choose those individual videos in a tool that supports that level of approval. This is a proposed review method, not a guarantee about any creator.
Revisit choices when a child asks for a new interest, when you notice a changed format, or when the current library no longer fits. Let the child suggest additions while keeping the final choice with the parent.
Use Strict mode in KidsTube
In KidsTube, choose the child’s profile, set Strict mode, and add the channels you want approved in the parent area. Strict mode limits viewing to approved channels. Flexible mode also permits filtered search, so it serves a different purpose. These modes are described in the released app’s listing.
Review the profile’s content preferences and viewing limits as well. A channel being approved does not mean every video must appear: content filters, availability and the finite feed can narrow what is shown. If something expected is missing, review the settings before broadening the entire library.
KidsTube keeps child profiles, parental settings and watch history on the device. It is a separate player, so approving a channel there does not configure the regular YouTube app or a television. Use the comparison with YouTube Kids to decide whether this approach fits your household.
Check the routes outside the approved library
Hand the device to yourself as if you were the child. Leave the viewing app and look at the other routes that are actually available: a browser shortcut, regular YouTube, a different app or another profile. A library can work exactly as configured while those other routes remain open.
Choose which routes you want available, configure the relevant device or account controls, then check again. Do not assume a setting carries over to a sibling’s tablet or the family television. Our parental-controls guide helps separate content choices from the rest of the setup.
Make the stopping point part of the same handover. Tell the child where they can choose, when the session ends, and how to ask for something new. The viewing-time guide covers the time side.
Common questions
Can I approve one video without approving the channel?
YouTube Kids supports individual video approval. KidsTube’s released feature set centres on channel approval. Choose the tool that matches the granularity you need. Google’s approval guide; KidsTube listing.
Is blocking unwanted channels the same as an approved library?
No. Blocking removes a choice you have identified; an approved library starts from the choices you want available. Google’s blocking and sharing guide explains its separate block controls.
Will this change YouTube on every device?
Do not assume it will. Check the app, signed-in profile and device in each place your child watches. KidsTube’s profile settings are stored locally.
A calmer place to choose
Try a finite feed for your family.
Choose channels and viewing limits for each child on iPhone or iPad.
View KidsTube on the App Store ↗3-day trial, then a subscription. iOS/iPadOS 17+. YouTube advertising may apply to playback. Privacy · Terms.