Kids at Grandma’s This Holiday? Make a Safe Video List
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and your five-year-old is at Grandma’s. She texts you a sweet photo of your daughter on the couch with the tablet. You zoom in, and it’s not the show you picked. It’s the fourth video in a row that YouTube chose on its own.
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Grandma did nothing wrong. Her tablet just doesn’t know your rules. With about ten minutes of setup before the visit, you can hand her a short list of videos that play the way you expect.
Why Doesn’t Grandma’s Tablet Have My Child’s Settings?
At home, you may use a supervised YouTube account or a YouTube Kids profile. With a supervised account, you can pick a content setting, turn off autoplay and pause watch history. But those settings belong to your child’s account or profile, not to the device.
On a grandparent’s tablet or TV, your child is usually watching regular YouTube with an adult’s settings. That means autoplay, a column of suggested videos, and comments. And tablets come into the picture early. Common Sense Media found that 40% of children have their own tablet by age 2, and about one in five use mobile devices for emotional regulation, at mealtimes, or to fall asleep. Those are exactly the moments a caregiver is likely to hand one over.
How Do You Set Up a Video List Grandparents Can Use?
The simplest plan for most grandparents is one text message with a few links: tap, watch, done. Here’s how to make links that stay on the video you chose.
Pick three to six favorites. Choose videos your child already knows and loves. That’s plenty for an afternoon, and it cuts down on requests for “something else.”
Preview each one to the very end. Don’t stop after the first minute. Our guide to what YouTube Restricted Mode leaves visible explains why filters alone won’t stop the sidebar and the autoplay queue.
Sign in, then make the links. Paste each YouTube or Vimeo link into SafeShare to create a page with just that video, without comments or suggested videos. Do this from a free account, because pages made without signing in are temporary and may expire within a few hours. [CONFIRM: pages saved in a free account don’t expire.]
Trim if needed. Long video? Set a start and end time so your child sees only the part you picked. Here’s how to trim a YouTube video before sharing it with kids.
Set each page to Unlisted. Anyone with the link can watch it without signing in, but it isn’t listed publicly. Skip Private for grandparents, because Private pages are visible only to contacts you’ve selected.
Share the links, or the QR code. Send all the links in one message, with each video’s name written out. If Grandma prefers pointing a camera to tapping, every page has a built-in QR code you can print or show her.
Test on a device that isn’t signed in to your account, ideally her tablet.
A note on ads. We reduce ads to a minimum, but ads on monetized YouTube videos are controlled by Google, so we can’t always remove them. Picking videos from channels made for young children, and previewing them, is still the best filter.
Quick Device Tips
Bring your child’s own tablet if you can. It already has their profile and your settings. Pack the charger and headphones.
Comfortable with apps? Add your child’s YouTube Kids profile to Grandma’s device and use “Approve content yourself,” so only the videos you picked show up.
Watching on the TV? YouTube’s parent code can require a code before anyone watches signed out or switches to an older family member’s account. Ask the TV’s owner first.
What Should the Note to Grandparents Say?
Keep it friendly and short:
Hi Mom! Here are the videos Mia can watch today. Just tap a link and it plays.
[Name of video] [link]
[Name of video] [link]
[Name of video] [link]
About 30 minutes total is plenty. Thank you!
Putting a time limit in the note lets Grandma say no without becoming the bad guy. If she’d enjoy it, invite her to watch along. Our guide on how to co-watch YouTube videos with your child has easy questions to ask.
Holiday Checklist
- Choose three to six videos and preview each to the end
- Make the links while signed in, and set them to Unlisted
- Test them on a device that isn’t signed in to your account
- Send one message with names, links and a time limit
- Pack the charger, headphones and a non-screen backup (a book or puzzle)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Grandma Need an Account to Open the Links?
No. Unlisted and Public pages open for anyone with the link, so grandparents and babysitters can just tap and watch.
Will the Links Still Work Next Week?
Links made without signing in are temporary and may expire within a few hours. Make your list in a free SafeShare account so the links last.
Heading out soon? Create your first SafeView free, set it to Unlisted, and send Grandma the link before you go.