# YouTube Kids 6 Hacker News commenters recommended YouTube Kids and 25 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Parents can restrict it to hand-picked channels and videos, which people say works well in curated-only mode. Critics say inappropriate content still gets through the filters. ## Why people recommend it - Parents choose allowed videos and channels (2 comments): "YouTube kids allows you to select certain videos, channels, or collections, and only allow your kids to view those that you've selected." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46263116)) "YouTube Kids does a pretty good job IF you change to curate only mode" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46469541)) ## What people warn about - Parental filters and controls fail (5 comments): "I found they did not work well at all and I could easily watch anything in the expanded kids section." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49524494)) "You then trust that something like YT kids might work only to realize that it doesn't." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47308000)) "IF the filters actually worked for youtube kids then i would not have an issue with it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46002570)) - Inappropriate and low-quality videos recommended (5 comments): "If a TV channel back in the day had the kind of crap that YouTube Kids has, it would pay a heavy fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48457680)) "Youtube Kids is absolutely not safe for kids and youtube is turning a blind eye to all of this" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47307371)) "My intro to AI slop videos was sitting next to a 3yo who was watching YouTube Kids" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49881057)) - Harms kids' attention and habits (2 comments): "Giving a kid a phone loaded up with the Youtube Kids app is literally like feeding them crack." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235322)) "My kid is already struggling with attention thanks to youtube kids" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49102579)) - Fundamentally a bad idea for kids (2 comments): "Youtube kids is designed for toddlers, and should probably be shut down entirely." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46226875)) "The whole YouTube for kids idea is a bad one to begin with." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49267733)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [PBS Kids](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pbs-kids.md): 7 recommend - [KidScreen](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kidscreen.md): 7 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.youtube.com/myfamily/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "YouTube Kids", https://hackerapproved.com/p/youtube-kids/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).