Avoiding YouTube Hell

My Saturday Suggestions revolve around YouTube.  After a long break, Michael is once again allowed to watch YouTube, but I wanted to share our story as a cautionary tale.

About ten years ago, Michael got an iTouch.  It was the size of a phone, and it allowed him to play games as well as watch Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube.  He became obsessed with YouTube. He wanted to watch very specific videos: remakes of the Baby Einstein videos narrated by verbal kids on the spectrum, videos of kids unpacking and lining up toys and tiny clips of cartoons which he would watch on endless repeat.

Maybe most problematically, he couldn’t always find the video he wanted, and his language did not allow for him to remember and express the exact video. This meant we couldn’t help him find what he was looking for, despite the fact that we taught him to use the search bar.

It was a nightmare. It led to many meltdowns and even self-injurious behavior.  It was clearly a trigger for Mikey! We decided we had no other option but to go cold-turkey. We completely removed YouTube from every device Mikey could access.

Years Later

This year, we got a new car and it has WiFi.  We leave an ipad in the car for Michael to watch while we are driving (he also often opts to watch it while the car is in the garage – not running, obviously – just to get a quiet space to himself). Here are the steps we have taken to reintroduce YouTube successfully.

1. He only accesses this iPad in the car. He abides by this expectation, and has never tried to remove the iPad from the case attached to the seat in front of him.
2. We installed the YouTube Kids app. This allows Michael to freely navigate without any worry of him coming upon something inappropriate for his developmental level.
3. We have a time limit set on the app so that he can only use it for one hour per day. A parental code is needed to bypass this (which we do on certain occasions at home and always for long road trips).
4. I use Guided Access. This is a feature of iPads that allows you to keep your child’s access to the iPad directed to one app.  Michael cannot exit out of YouTube Kids unless I enter a code. This prevents him from searching the internet and getting onto adult YouTube.
5. I use the phrase, “You can watch anything that’s available.” Simultaneously, I gesture to the screen of YouTube Kids Choices.
6. No one chooses any YouTube videos for Michael except Michael. He is the only one who touches it, which keeps the expectation clear. The choices that are available are the only choices.

So far, this is working well for us. I’ll update the blog if any problems arise and I hope this will help other families navigating this tricky situation.