YouTube Kids: approve the videos yourself instead of open discovery

For a younger child, choosing the available videos can be a better fit than relying only on an automated age filter. YouTube Kids offers an approved-content option for supported Kids-profile setups. ¹

Recommended setup

1. Open parental settings. In the YouTube Kids app, open settings and complete the parental check. Select the child's profile and provide the parent-account verification when requested.
2. Choose manual approval. Edit the profile's content settings and select Approve content yourself.
3. Build the library. Approve the videos, channels, or collections you want available, then save. This mode limits viewing to approved selections and does not provide open search. ¹
4. Prefer a narrow starting point. Begin with individual videos when you want to make the smallest possible approval decision. Review a channel carefully before approving it as a whole.
5. Use a private parental passcode. Set your own code rather than relying solely on a multiplication challenge a child may eventually solve. ¹

Good to know

Turning Search off is not the same as choosing approved content yourself. Decide which experience you are configuring rather than treating the two controls as interchangeable. ¹

These settings govern the YouTube Kids experience. They do not establish that the regular YouTube app, a browser, or another device is unavailable. Review those access points separately.

A parent's approval is also an ongoing decision. Revisit the library as your child grows, interests change, and your household's boundaries become clearer.

Check your setup

Open the child's profile and confirm that only the selections you intended are available and open search is absent. Try entering parental settings without the code. Then check whether the child can leave for regular YouTube or a browser on that same device.

When the approved-content option is not offered for your account configuration, consult the current official instructions rather than substituting an ordinary age filter and calling it the same setup.

Sources

1. YouTube Kids: parental controls and approved content

Steps were checked against these official help pages on September 18, 2026. Menus change; when a step does not match your screen, follow the linked page.