Amongst all the parental talks, you might have come across a kid’s desire to start their own YouTube channel; probably one common concern for most parents.
YouTube is best known for its “how to” videos, music videos, and creation tools. Observing their utter desire it seems that online video stardom has replaced big-screen fame as a goal for young kids. And unlike making it big in Hollywood/Bollywood, becoming a YouTube star seems more accessible, because the platform is open to anyone. So, having them, express their wish to be “Youtuber” shouldn’t be a surprise to you.
However, the decision to let your child join YouTube and create a channel, of course, a personal one and depends on the child’s age, emotional maturity and reasons for wanting to put themselves out there. But before allowing your child, you ought to ask, why do they want to have a YouTube channel? What kinds of videos do they want to create? What are their favorite YouTube channels? What do they like about them? Are there any YouTube channels they don’t like? And why do they this dislike it?
Once, you get all the answers; have the child write a proposal outlining what they want for the channel. It should describe what they’ll offer, the target audience and how often they will post videos. If your kids are looking at it as a business channel, then, ask them what kinds of advertising they might consider and whether endorsements are a good idea.
Now, know the rules of YouTube. Officially, this platform forbids children under the age of 13 to create their own accounts, and children between ages 13 and 17 are allowed to open accounts, only with parental permission. Of course, these rules don’t say anything about parents opening an account for their child because there are various inappropriate content over YouTube that children’s shouldn’t watch.
The next step, discuss content, you should be clear with your child about what’s okay to post, what should stay private and other aspects of staying safe online and being respectful of both their own privacy and the privacy of others. Be it any social media platform, you need to make your kids understand what to share and what not to share online.
Later, review all of their videos before they are posted, and discuss the potential risks of what they’re sharing. Consider having all videos listed as private, and only sharing them with your immediate family and close friends, at first and then think of making it public, if you feel so. By starting out with privacy settings and limited audience of trusted friends and family, your child can ask for constructive feedback on what’s working well and learn.
Since, your kids will be new to this platform, then, you need to be careful and safeguard them from all negative comments and trolls. To do so, it’s better to turn off comments. You might want to feedback from your viewers but feedback you receive on a public channel isn’t helpful or authentic. So, you can encourage your kids to seek in-person, valuable and constructive feedback from friends and family members rather than creating space for people they don’t know to potentially insult them. These tips can help you coach her through it.
When your child’s YouTube channel is up, continue supporting him/her. Check in regularly to see whether there are any issues or conflicts popping up and how you can help. Just as with your initial conversations, approach these with an open mind so your child knows they can count on you for advice and support.
Lastly, designate it “for kids.” It is understood, if kids are making videos, then, probably the videos will be for kids. If this is the case, then, mark video for kids, it should hit its intended audience (instead of the general YouTube viewership.) other best thing: comments are automatically disabled on videos designated for kids.
How to Set Up YouTube Channel:
- Create a Gmail account for your child if he or she is under 13 years old or use your Gmail account, for parental control. This will give him or her, YouTube account, but not a YouTube channel.
- Create a YouTube Channel by clicking on “Select My Channel”, available on the sidebar on the left side of the YouTube homepage. Fill in the name to be associated with their YouTube channel. For kids, it is advisable not to use their real/whole names, since these names will be broadcast to anyone watching the videos.
- Already mentioned, set the privacy settings so that everything is private or unlisted. Turn off comments so your kid won’t have to read any unkind or inappropriate remarks from other users. These privacy settings will make it so only friends and family can view your child’s page, which is great when it comes to safeguarding them from trolls, controversies and hateful comment safe.
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