Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatuh,

With technology evolving in the way it is today there are increasing concerns for our children both in the the online world ad well as outside now. As parents it is important that we ensure we do all we can to protect our children in this field too.

YouTube can be very useful and educational for children, however, there is also a lot of material on it that is very inappropriate also so it is very important to monitor her behaviour so that she doesn’t end up watching a damaging video.

There are several ways you can approach this.

The most obvious solution is to sit with her whilst she is in YouTube so you can directly monitor everything that she is watching so that she cannot even watch inappropriate material in the first place.

However, for many YouTube is a useful way to keep a child occupied in something educational whilst attend to things like household chores. Unfortunately however, this means that you are unable to directly supervise her and run the risk of her clicking something inappropriate. If this is the case then you can create a play list yourself via your account, especially if it is that you are leaving her with it without direct supervision.

This way you can be sure that the next video that will automatically play will be one that you have personally selected and not that she has clicked on. To add safety to this option you could also set this up via your phone/tablet..etc.. and screenshare with your tv and then take away the phone/tablet so she has absolutely no control except to watch what you have selected.

Alternatively, if these are not options you can simply not allow her to use YouTube, instead opting for other educational options such as alternative games that you can be sure do not have inappropriate content. They don’t even have to be electronic games. Or, if it is that she pays better attention to educational media you could buy educational dvds or put in educational channels.

This might even be a more favourable option given that many children are becoming addicted to electronic entertainment from younger ages. It is still possible for her to entertain herself whilst learning by playing with ‘old-fashioned’ toys also. Alternatively, encouraging both by limiting time on YouTube to allow time for traditional play also can help to b nurture a variety of skills and creativity.

May Allah reward you for looking out for your daughter and may He guide her on the straight path. May He give you all it takes to continue to be a good parent to your child