Improvements or alternatives for YouTube Kids on Android & iOS
September 21, 2016 6:20 AM Subscribe
How can I address the following problems with the YouTube Kids app: (1) no whitelisting, (2) no downloads and (3) stability problems? The solution can be another app that offers similar control over viewing, or any other tips or configuration options, but the end result must be suitable to put in the hands of a young toddler. Thank you!
If your device is Samsung, there's Kids mode. You can put specific videos on there.
posted by threetwentytwo at 6:57 AM on September 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by threetwentytwo at 6:57 AM on September 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
We bought our toddler one of those Kindle Kid's editions that came with a year of Amazon Freetime. It's not the best designed app, and the Kindle Fire is pretty clunky, but the content is a million times better than letting your kid loose on YouTube Kids. It has good quality apps, ebooks, and videos, no ads, and I haven't had to hear any Finger Family songs in months. Plus it has a 2 year replacement warranty, so I'm less worried about him breaking my iPhone.
posted by galvanized unicorn at 7:26 AM on September 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by galvanized unicorn at 7:26 AM on September 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
I eyed up the Kindle Kid's edition and the interface was just too complicated for my toddler at the time. He's 3 now and I still think the interface looks too complicated for his patience level. I definitely roll my eyes at all of the unboxing videos on YouTube Kids, but I try to be respectful of what he wants to watch. When there are videos with stuff I don't like, I tell him so: "Can you watch a different video, please? I don't like this one. I don't like when XYZ happens." This has worked well for us in that I tell him why I don't like it, and I have seen him not choosing those kinds of videos again, of his own choice.
That being said, we do have a 1st gen Kindle Fire that we buy and download episodes of pre-approved kids shows when we are going on roadtrips or won't have access to wifi. I think you have to purchase videos in order for them to be downloadable. There's the new YouTube Red subscription model, but I haven't tried it out yet at all.
posted by jillithd at 8:24 AM on September 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
That being said, we do have a 1st gen Kindle Fire that we buy and download episodes of pre-approved kids shows when we are going on roadtrips or won't have access to wifi. I think you have to purchase videos in order for them to be downloadable. There's the new YouTube Red subscription model, but I haven't tried it out yet at all.
posted by jillithd at 8:24 AM on September 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
On iOS there is Cakey, which is awesome. Lets you easily save results from searches into predetermined sets of videos that kids can watch, lets you set daily time limits, and (somehow) eliminates ads. Very easy for my four-year-old to use, imagine it would for a younger kid as well.
The one thing it doesn't have that you were looking for is downloading.
posted by wyzewoman at 12:20 PM on September 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
The one thing it doesn't have that you were looking for is downloading.
posted by wyzewoman at 12:20 PM on September 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:24 AM on September 21, 2016 [2 favorites]