YouTube has more than 1 billion users and it's certain that plenty of them are children. According to the DinnerTime Plus blog, 29 percent of kid's total app usage (53 minutes per day) is related to video apps. In Saudi Arabia, where premium satellite TV is costly and recreation options are few, it's likely that kids spend even more than an hour daily on YouTube.com.
And the amount of time kids watch videos on YouTube is probably increasing. According to YouTube, the number of hours people are watching on YouTube each month is up 50 percent year over year. What kids are watching can be difficult to know or control because half of YouTube views are on mobile devices. Plus, there are more new videos on YouTube all the time. YouTube claims that 300 hours of video are uploaded to its site every minute.
It can be fun to go on YouTube to watch videos of kittens playing or people singing silly songs. But sometimes when kids are on YouTube, bad videos suddenly appear. Often it's just that the swipe of a little finger brings up a nasty video. Older children might also search for something that they think would be funny, such as “crazy kitten.” Then, strangely, along with the videos of playful cats appears one of people talking about pooping in a hotel room. YouTube can be very weird.
To try and deliver a better video watching experience for children, YouTube is now offering the free YouTube Kids app. The app makes it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore. With larger images, bold icons and simple features, it's effortless to use the app. There's even built in voice search so that if children are too young to spell or type, they can still find the videos they want to see.
Kids can browse channels and playlists in four categories: Shows, Music, Learning and Explore. They may also search for videos of special interest, such as amazing science fair projects, Disney cartoons or stories of the Prophets in the Holy Qur'an. There are loads of great YouTube channels including DreamWorksTV, Jim Henson TV, Mother Goose Club and Talking Tom and Friends. Kids can learn about technology from Reading Rainbow; or watch Thomas the Tank Engine leave the world of Sodor for the first time in 70 years to travel the globe.
Special features of the app include a timer that limits kids' screen time; sound settings that turn off background music or sound effects and it's even possible to turn off search, which limits children to watching just the pre-selected videos available on the home screen.
