For many online children’s media channels, the main goal is to keep children’s eyes on the screen, while educational content is a secondary factor. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that kids under two should avoid “nursery-rhyme channels, fast-paced shows, and YouTube on Autoplay,” which can overwhelm small children. Yet research also shows that the most impactful things kids watch are the shows they watch with their parents. A parent’s involvement can make a big difference in the way their child learns. Whether it’s singing along to nursery rhymes or watching the Cocomelon kids learn life lessons, kids thrive when their parents are by their side watching along.
Legendary musician Snoop Dogg created a YouTube channel for young children called Doggyland. Coming from a hip-hop rapper who spent much of his career creating music focused on adult themes, this might come as a surprise to fans. Launched in 2022, Snoop Dogg plays a character named Bow Wizzle on his YouTube channel. Why? Well, as he told CNN Entertainment, “As a father, grandfather, and longtime youth football coach, it’s always been important to me to build positive and educational environments for all children.” He added that doing this through YouTube was also important because it’s free, allowing any kid to watch the content.
Photo via Doggyland YouTube channel
Although Snoop Dogg worked with talented musicians in the hip-hop industry to bring the series to light, not every channel dedicates this much time, energy, or research toward their young audiences.
The phrase “brain rot” was the Oxford word of the year for 2024, and it’s not hard to see why. A good deal of social media content is low-value (think Family Guy clips and Subway Surfers videos spliced with cooking videos). It’s designed to be consumed but not thought about. It’s the internet’s junk food, and it’s yummy in small doses, but if that’s all you’re consuming, well, just like your teeth can rot from too much candy, your brain can suffer too. The American Journal of Pediatrics found that kids between ages one through five who spent long periods of time on screens suffered developmental delays, like issues with social skills, problem solving, and fine motor skills.
Photo via Subway Surfers
While professional TV shows are developed by pediatricians to cater to the needs of children, kid’s videos online aren’t as carefully vetted. According to actual doctors, instead of crafting high-quality content based on what a baby needs to learn, a lot of kids’ online media opts for quantity over quality. Instead, it looks eye-catching and, at first glance, it could convince parents that it’s teaching their children something. But this type of kid’s media gets criticized for being “hyperstimulating” and “addictive” from parents who’ve experienced it first-hand. In a web environment where long video watch-times are markers of success, it’s no wonder youngsters are being sucked into addictive videos on YouTube and TikTok. The axolotl song is just one of the stickier earworms to go around the internet lately, but there are plenty of audio snippets on TikTok to captivate little ones.
There are still plenty of good options for parents to choose when they need to plop their children in front of a screen for a while (Which is totally understandable!). Teacher and YouTuber Ms. Rachel makes highly-acclaimed videos teaching “letters, numbers, colors, animal sounds and more.” Sesame Street and PBS programming on YouTube are also recommended by pediatricians. So next time your little one wants to choose between videos or is swiping around on TikToks, you can snuggle up by their side and know that no matter what they’re watching, what really matters is that you’re by their side.
Photo via Ms. Rachel
