Parent Approved YouTube Channels: The Workin’ Parent Reviews

Discover safe YouTube channels for kids! Navigate the vast world of online content with ease. Parent-approved picks and smart viewing tips await.

There is a lot on YouTube these days.

A lot.

Monitoring what your child is watching can sometimes feel like a full-time job.  My wife and I realized a few years into our son being born that we were going to really have to keep a close eye on what he was watching.  Especially after seeing a video of superheroes dancing to “The Coffin Dance” as their heads would fall off.

Is there anywhere that’s safe on YouTube these days?

The answer is yes, and in this article here’s what you’ll get:

• How to control what your child is watching on YouTube
• Parent approved YouTube channels
• Best times to allow them to watch YouTube

How to control YouTube consumption

• Use YouTube Kids: This should be non-negotiable if your child is a pre-teen younger.  When my son was 2, we told him they made a new YouTube that only kids are allowed to use, and we’ve luckily been on it ever since.
• Use the TV: The worst thing you can do is give them their own iPad.  Make them watch it directly on the TV so you can see and hear what’s going on at all times, or if they’re younger, put it on your phone and have it displayed on the TV.

The criteria for parent approved YouTube channels

• The channel must have some sort of educational value.
• The channel can’t be scary enough to cause nightmares.
• The channel can’t have a creepy parent lurking in the background trying to get their 15 minutes of fame.
• The channel must have videos with at least a million views.

The list of parent approved YouTube channels

Channel #1: Turbo Toy Time

This channel has everything a parent could want in a YouTube channel:

• A Dad and son who genuinely have a great on-camera relationship. (I would assume a great off-camera relationship but I’ not going to pretend to know them so I can’t make that claim.
• The channel reviews toys and different types of games…and not video games.
• They encourage kids to play outside at the end of every video.

Ryden and his dad start off every video with playful banter, use G rated language, and appear to have a genuine father and son relationship.  (Again, I don’t know them at all so as far as I know they can just be actors pretending to be father and son…although I highly doubt it.)

They’ll usually introduce and read the instructions to the game their playing that day and then play the game for the audience.

After playing the game they’ll talk about whether or not it’s worth buying and will donate the game they play to charity.

Overall Grade: A+

For kids in the age range from between 3 to 7, this channel is perfect.  It doesn’t get annoying after a few episodes, and even though it’s not necessarily educational, it shows what a father and son relationship should look like when playing a game.

Channel #2: Blippi

This one could be controversial because of Blippi’s colorful past, but I’m going to stand by his content as Blippi and say he’s parents approved.

Why?

Well for a few reasons:

• He teaches kids about tons of different topics from trucks, to dinosaurs to what doctors, nurses and firefighters do.
• He is relatable to kids with his tone and explanations.
• He explains topics in great detail.

You can also read Should My Child Be Watching Blippi for an in depth review of Blippi.

Overall Grade: B+

Even though Blippi is parent approved, he does have a lot of videos that aren’t as educational as they could be and walk the borderline of being stupid.  He also can get annoying to listen to after a while, so you won’t want it on for too long.

Blippi is great for kids between the ages of 2 to roughly 5 or 6.

*His music is very good.

Channel #3 Ryan’s World

I spent way too much time thinking about whether or not this channel should be on the list. 

What I don’t like about Ryan’s Channel:

1. His parents are the most annoying people in the world…potentially in the universe.
2. He is clearly being exploited by his parents.
3. His parents try too hard, so some videos feel forced.

What I do like about Ryan’s channel:

1. Ryan seems genuine and has a good imagination which promotes children wanting to have a good imagination.
2. He’s been around for a long time, and you can trust your child won’t be seeing anything out of line.

Ryan seems to be a nice kid and even though he has a lot of silly video, he shines a spotlight on imaginative playtime which is always a good thing.

For a full breakdown on Ryan’s YouTube Channel, you can check out Should My Child Be Watching Ryan’s World YouTube Channel.

Overall Grade: B

Even though you’ll find yourself being annoyed by Ryan’s parents and sometimes the videos in general, Ryan is fine and that’s why he’s been around for so long.

Ryan’s channel is good for kids between the ages of 2 to roughly 7.

Other channels that make the approved list:

• Handyman Hal’s Channel – Check out the review on Hal The Handyman here.
• Nick Jr. YouTube Channel
• Izzy’s Toy Time

When are the best times to allow your child to watch YouTube

It’s important to try and manage when your child is watching YouTube.  If you aren’t paying enough attention, it could very easily turn into your child watching YouTube for hours and hours without a break.

Here’s some things NOT to do:

1. Don’t let them watch it while they eat.
2. Don’t let them watch it as soon as they wake up.
3. Don’t let them watch it right before they go to sleep.

It might be tough, but if you stick to these few rules, you’ll have a good foundation of when to allow YouTube.

What to do next

Now that you have an idea of what some safe YouTube channels are, you can start there.  You’ll also have YouTube recommend other videos which you should keep a close eye on.

If you keep in mind the criteria that was used for picking out good YouTube channels, you should be in good shape.

Happy YouTube watching!