32 votes

The Kids Should See This

9 comments

  1. zenon
    Link
    "The Kid Should See This is a Webby Award-winning collection of 6,000+ kid-friendly videos, curated for teachers and parents who want to share smarter, more meaningful media in the classroom and...

    "The Kid Should See This is a Webby Award-winning collection of 6,000+ kid-friendly videos, curated for teachers and parents who want to share smarter, more meaningful media in the classroom and at home."

    13 votes
  2. Oxalis
    Link
    Projects like this always remind me of a quote from Activist Dee Dee Halleck, founder of public access channel Paper Tiger: The activation energy to find something genuinely wholesome for young...

    Projects like this always remind me of a quote from Activist Dee Dee Halleck, founder of public access channel Paper Tiger:

    It is one thing to critique the mass media and rail against their abuses. It is quite another to create viable alternatives.

    The activation energy to find something genuinely wholesome for young minds is tiring. Billions of options but the majority of them are brain-rot trash churned out at industrial scales to capture the view market. So even though this isn't an endless feed of content to plop a kid in front of (that's a bad idea anyway) it's awesome to have a resource for consistent, curated things that hearken back to the glory days of PBS.

    I especially love that many of the videos have additional text/image content underneath with lots of related links in them for context. Makes a video into a stepping stone for deeper learning.

    Though it's worth noting that many of the videos are curated from youtube as far as I can tell (with a smattering of vimeo), so ad exposure is still an issue. Hosting this much video content would be super expensive so I can understand it.

    10 votes
  3. [6]
    clem
    Link
    Thanks, this seems great! It shocks me that something called "YouTube Kids" isn't basically this: a carefully curated selection of videos that are good for kids to watch, with no access to...

    Thanks, this seems great! It shocks me that something called "YouTube Kids" isn't basically this: a carefully curated selection of videos that are good for kids to watch, with no access to anything that wasn't fully vetted. Well, it would shock me if I wasn't familiar with Google. But there's no chance I would ever let my son simply "use YouTube" without full supervision. I need to browse this a bit more, but this looks like something I'd just let him browse freely. The first video, "The Real Reason Leaves Change Color In the Fall," is right up my alley.

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      tomorrow-never-knows
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Left in its default state YouTube Kids does quickly descend into a mess of nonsense. Thankfully, you can lock out the search and require all content be approved on a per video / channel basis via...

      Left in its default state YouTube Kids does quickly descend into a mess of nonsense. Thankfully, you can lock out the search and require all content be approved on a per video / channel basis via the parental controls. You can also set timers to limit viewing sessions. It is a little time consuming but well worth the effort, I noticed a big difference with my son's viewing habits, generally much calmer since the majority of addictive / triggering content has been removed.

      3 votes
      1. [4]
        clem
        Link Parent
        Ah, I didn't realize this--maybe I let my cynicism get the better of me and I dismissed it too quickly. When you say approved, do you mean that you have to approve all of the content, or a YouTube...

        Ah, I didn't realize this--maybe I let my cynicism get the better of me and I dismissed it too quickly. When you say approved, do you mean that you have to approve all of the content, or a YouTube editorial staff has done it?

        1 vote
        1. [3]
          tomorrow-never-knows
          Link Parent
          There are a couple of curated lists available to get you started, PBS, Nat Geo, science, arts and crafts, etc., but you need to manually select these, and all other videos and channels. You will...

          There are a couple of curated lists available to get you started, PBS, Nat Geo, science, arts and crafts, etc., but you need to manually select these, and all other videos and channels. You will have access to the search feature yourself and can add/remove as needed through the app. The UI is a bit cumbersome though, probably took me around 45 mins to an hour to get it all setup initially.

          1 vote
          1. Hobofarmer
            Link Parent
            Sorry to butt in but a few others that my kids/students enjoy: Ryan and Craig Science Max Mystery Science Vooks Scratch Garden Storyline Online Enjoy!

            Sorry to butt in but a few others that my kids/students enjoy:

            • Ryan and Craig
            • Science Max
            • Mystery Science
            • Vooks
            • Scratch Garden
            • Storyline Online

            Enjoy!

            3 votes
          2. clem
            Link Parent
            Thanks to you and /u/Hobofarmer! Maybe I'll actually let him watch YouTube sometimes. These are probably far less addictive than the videogames he enjoys...

            Thanks to you and /u/Hobofarmer! Maybe I'll actually let him watch YouTube sometimes. These are probably far less addictive than the videogames he enjoys...

            1 vote
  4. dsh
    Link
    This is an awesome resource. We've done a great job at home limiting the screen time of our toddler but as he gets older and we get more tired I sense our love of watching the big bright screen...

    This is an awesome resource. We've done a great job at home limiting the screen time of our toddler but as he gets older and we get more tired I sense our love of watching the big bright screen will get transferred to him. We are always on the hunt for the Good Stuff and are terrified of what's on the big streaming platforms for kids (especially YouTube).

    We'll keep him occupied with his toys and going to the park for now, but you bet I bookmarked this site for later.

    1 vote