Need to know how to French Braid, tie your shoes or speak a different language? How about some entertainment like adorable animal videos or music videos? You can find all this and SO much more on YouTube!

It’s that SO much more that every parent needs to know about! While YouTube can be a wonderful wealth of knowledge and entertainment, it can also be a wealth of inappropriate content as well for your child.

Here are 4 things every parent needs to know about YouTube

1. Their own YouTube channel - your child may be interested in opening their own YouTube channel to upload videos. When deciding whether to allow this or not, consider whether the channel would be public or private and what videos would be permitted to be uploaded.
2. There is inappropriate content on YouTube - just like they may inadvertently stumble across internet porn or other inappropriate content on an internet search, you child could come across that on YouTube as well.
3. Most YouTube videos allow comments - when you have the conversation with your child about how to behave on social media, be sure to also include YouTube and incorporate some “best practices”.
4. YouTube Kids - YouTube has become so popular among children and teenagers that Google came out with a kid friendly version geared towards those ages 13 and under. This site is designed to censor any inappropriate content.

The popularity of YouTube is undeniable and can offer some exciting, educational and entertaining options for children, teens and adults! Like most things in today’s technology driven culture, it needs to be used responsibly, with discretion and parental supervision. Parental control software allows your child to have independence as they explore YouTube but with boundaries parents set to block or warn of inappropriate content. Our children and teens are exposed to a lot today and with this exposure also comes the opportunity and parental responsibility to teach them how to manage it appropriately.