We are happy to offer a video filtering tool at the top of our website, but what if your child or teen is searching YouTube from a regular browser or smart phone? Fortunately, free parental controls for YouTube are available using your Google account.

Even though YouTube has restrictions on what users can post, it still contains questionable material that is not appropriate for every age group.  However, there are a number of ways to make it a little safer with parental controls.  And when using YouTube Kids in a browser or via parental controls on the YouTube app, it’s much more safe.

Activating Parental Controls on YouTube

In the past, you could only turn on safe search for Google’s regular search results to ensure safe browsing. After many requests from parents and educators, YouTube now has parental controls so that you can implement YouTube filtering in your browser when searching from YouTube.com. Further action was taken to create an entirely safe YouTube for kids.  We will explore all of these options.  For instant automatic filtering of videos from a variety of screened websites, explore our safe video search.

In this article you will learn:

1. How to turn on Restricted Mode and how to lock it. This does not mean it will provide 100% safety when searching videos on YouTube, but it will help parents ensure the worst content is blocked.
2. How to set up stricter parental measures for younger kids on computers and laptops.
3. How to protect children using a special app on mobile devices, such as tablets and phones.

To fully monitor or block how family members access the entire internet, explore parental control software and apps for all devices.

How to Set Up Restricted Mode for YouTube

To implement the YouTube Restricted Mode, go to YouTube.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page….

You will see a reference to Restricted Mode: Off...

Click the drop down arrow and details about ‘restricted mode’ will appear…

Clicking On followed by the Save button will activate ‘Restricted Mode’ but will not lock it.

Locking YouTube Safe Search

As you will see, it’s very easy to turn safe search on and off. Therefore, you may want to lock it in order to ensure it is always activated for all family members.

To activate parental controls for YouTube, you will need a Google account. To open a free Google account, go to google.com and click “Sign In” in the top right hand corner of their main website. You will then see the option to create a new account.

Now return to YouTube (while signed into your account) and scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Restricted Mode link.

After selecting the “On” button, you will see an option to Save. Then log out of your account.

Restricted Mode is now activated you can now log out of your account. Unlocking restricted mode on YouTube will require you to log into your account. This guarantees that no one else can deactivate the safety setting.

Important: If you have more than one browser on your computer, you will need to follow these steps for each browser. Below is a video that walks you through the process of implementing YouTube Parental Controls that were just explained.

Remember, restricting YouTube will stop the worst content but not all videos that you personally may see as unfit for younger viewers. Even with parental controls for YouTube activated, many parents and educators find YouTube inappropriate for their kids. Utilizing an AI Content Checker can help assess the suitability of video content for children.

Along with these measures, exploring teenage counselling online could provide teens with extra support, helping them handle any emotional challenges that arise from exposure to online content. Our safe video tab on the top of our website offers strict filtering of videos from a variety of safe sources.

Parental Controls Using YouTube Kids

Alternatively, you can restrict your younger family members from using YouTube entirely.  Go to YouTube Kids to set up a parent account.  Follow the instructions and when complete, you can direct your kids to use the same website.  Parents can choose the appropriate level of content for each child.  Your selection impacts the types of videos available within YouTube Kids.

Content Experiences Include:

• Preschool (ages 4 and under)
• Younger (ages 5-8)
• Older (age

KidzTube Videos:  Please note that the search feature tab for video at the top of our website delivers safe filtering videos from educational and filtering websites only.  However, it does not restrict children from going to other browsers to search Google.   We have an app for that as well.  Continue reading…

Parental Controls on YouTube App

When kids are using YouTube on their mobile phones, the steps to protecting your kids is similar.

1. Visit your devices app store and search for YouTube Kids
2. Download the YouTube Kids App.
3. Follow the instructions to set up your parental account with a pin number.
4. If the regular YouTube app is already installed, delete it from your child’s phone.
5. Show your child the new YouTube Kids apps on their phone and let them loose to explore safely.

To ensure safe searching for every age of kids in your family, you can also delete any installed browsers.  Then, download our safe search app for safe searching of Google and other filtered resources.  It called the KidzSearch app and provides the same filtering as seen on the top of this website.

Safe YouTube Summary

Parents put a lot of trust in safety tools and resources provided from various sources to protect their kids online.  As children age, internet filtering and monitoring by parents can be eased, but will never be totally removed until they are fully grown and move out on their own to begin life as a adult.  In the meantime, it’s also important to teach kids the value of responsible internet use. This includes searching YouTube for videos that can provide positive entertainment and educational benefits.

Watch this Video for Step By Step Instructions to Lock Safe Search with YouTube parental controls.

Learn more about online safety for kids, including privacy concerns and how to make YouTube Safe with parental controls.

Read this parents guide about understanding AI generated YouTube content.

Online classes have many advantages beyond just decreasing the impact school closures: they can be more engaging, provide more opportunities for personalized learning, and save on commuting time.  No wonder, then, that the future of online education remains positive—even as kids return to school.

While many teachers have embraced online learning, others have found the transition to be challenging. But with just a little bit of effort, you can make the switch successfully.

Here are five tips to help you boost your productivity and ensure the consistent growth of your students while learning online.

Set Out Your Plans Early

The first step to being productive as an online educator is simple: you need to set out your plans early. By outlining what you want to achieve in each class, you’ll have a better sense of what actions you must take and when you need to take them. This will help you stay on track while teaching and avoid getting sidetracked.

Don’t try to accomplish too much in a single class—you’ll only end up frustrated and overwhelmed. Instead, break down your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks that you can complete.

Get Organized

This won’t be news to older teachers, but it bears repeating. Most teachers are indeed quite organized, but even the most fastidious teachers can get overwhelmed once classes start piling up.

There are no hard rules when it comes to getting organized. We generally suggest just doing what works best for you and your students. Some ideas to consider:

• Creating a master list of all the topics you want to cover in your course

• Divvying up your master list into smaller units or modules

• Making a schedule for each unit, including deadlines for when each topic should be covered

• Assigning readings, videos, and other materials for each class session

• Filling out answer keys for faster grading

Preparing everything you need ahead of time means one less thing to worry about during class. It also gives you a sense of control and mastery over the material, which can boost your confidence in front of your students.

Split Your Tasks

Teachers are constantly pulled one way and then another. There are a million things that need to be done and not enough hours in the day to do them all. The key to productivity, especially online, is splitting your tasks up so that you can focus on one thing at a time.

You can break them down in any number of ways. Our two favorites:

• High- and low-involvement- Some teachers like to split their tasks between those that are high-involvement, such as lesson planning, and those that are low-involvement, like photocopying. This allows you to tackle the difficult work when you feel most energetic and save the simpler tasks for when you need a break.

• Urgent and not so urgent– Another way to split your tasks is by urgency. This can help you prioritize what needs to be done first and prevent you from getting bogged down in the less important work.

Whichever way you choose, the important thing is that you find a way to focus on one task at a time so that you can give it your full attention.

Harness Technology

To be as productive as possible, make sure you make the most of the technology tools available to you. Doing this not only makes your life easier, but it also makes your students’ learning experience better.

Again, feel free to go with whatever tools work best for you and your students, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Screen capture– Use this tool to take pictures of what’s on your screen. This is great for when you want to save a website, document, or image for later reference. You can also use it to show a student’s screen to the rest of the class.

• Smart class management system– These systems help you manage your classroom by keeping  track of assignments, grades, and student progress. They can also be used to create and deliver assignments, such as GitHub for Education.

• Assisting tools– There are many tools available that can help you with things like taking attendance, monitoring student activity, and providing feedback.

It’s unlikely that your students will need much help using these tools, but it’s always a good idea to go over them at the beginning of the semester just in case. By familiarizing yourself with the technology available to you and taking advantage of the features that can make your life easier, you can help ensure a productive and successful semester.

Take an Individual Approach

Many parents and students are concerned that, with remote learning fast becoming the norm, teachers won’t have enough time to give each student the individual attention they need to succeed. But there are always ways that teachers can continue to have individual two-way communication with their students, even when teaching online.

Checking in for some one-on-one time virtually is a great way to ensure that your students are keeping up with their work, and to answer any questions or quell any concerns they may have. You can also set up chat rooms for students to communicate with one another or to ask you questions outside of class time—particularly helpful for shy students.

Getting to know each one of your students helps you gain an understanding of their individual needs and helps you cater to them in the best way possible. If one student, for example, seems to be interested in coding, you can point them to one of the many kid-friendly coding web resources available online.

Boosting your productivity as a teacher helps you make the most of your time, which in turn allows you to give your students the attention they need to thrive. Following the tips we outlined above will help you create a productive routine that works for you and your students.

Why Productivity Matters Beyond Efficiency 

Companies like Adobe have taken a dive into teacher efficiency and has uncovered a startling truth about saving money while saving the world.  Teachers and the school system could be greatly reducing costs with the adoption of eco-friendly practices, such as digital documents.

Here are a few stats to consider:

• The American US Education system uses 41.6 billion sheets of paper each year— equivalent to 4.16 million trees’ worth of paper every year— and spends $2.1 billion a year in printing paper alone.

• With digital documents, the average K-12 school can save $120,000 a year— an average savings of $13.50 per piece of paper replaced.

• For every 1,000 students that go paperless, a school saves 533 pounds of wood, 84 pounds of waste, and 1287 pounds of carbon dioxide.

So, here’s to better productivty for your classroom and school while shaping the minds of tomorrow to be the best they can be.

The connection between oral health and your child’s performance in class may not be obvious at first.  However, a child’s health and overall well being can have a major effect on every other aspect of their life. As the years pass, issues related to insufficient oral care can compound as children age.

How does Oral Health Affect School Performance?

Poor oral health can affect more than just your child’s teeth.  Bad dental hygiene and proper oral care can cause distracting discomfort or even pain that will have a negative impact on your child’s performance at school. It can even affect their social life, as one of the most common signs of poor oral health is bad breath, and children can often shun or mock other children at school if they smell bad.

Furthermore, if a minor oral health issue is left untreated, the problem can quickly turn into a much more serious problem such as tooth decay or even tooth loss. The early signs of cavities can easily go unnoticed if your child does not get regular dental checkups, especially as children often will not tell you about oral health problems they are experiencing for fear of getting in trouble.

To avoid these issues, it is absolutely vital for children to learn good oral hygiene habits and attend regular dental checkups.

How Pain Distracts The Brain

It is difficult for anyone to concentrate on challenging mental tasks when they are feeling pain, especially a school-aged child. A recent study conducted by the American Public Health Association found that children who are experiencing oral pain or other problems were falling behind their peers in terms of their performance in class.

Any kind of ongoing pain can be very distracting, and both physically and mentally exhausting for the person suffering it. In addition to reducing your child’s ability to focus on their work, this can also make them more irritable. It can increase the chance that they act out in class or have negative social interactions with their classmates.

Poor Oral Health Also Means Missing school

Children who have dental issues because of poor oral hygiene can often have to miss more school visits to the dentist, which naturally can lead to a drop in grades due to not being present in class to learn important parts of their course. According to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, children with poor oral health were 90% more likely to miss more than a week of school per year than other children who did not experience any oral health problems.

Absences can also affect a child’s performance in school because of the disruption to their routine. While a regular schedule leaves your child’s mind free to concentrate on their work in class, if a child is frequently leaving school early or missing entire days for dentist appointments, they will always be partly focused on that instead of their lessons.

Signs Your Child’s Oral Health is Impacting Their School

Children do not always tell their parents about the pain or discomfort they are experiencing as a result of poor oral care. They may fear that they will be punished for failing to brush their teeth, unaware of your concern for their dental health. As a result, they may not want to tell you about problems that they think might be related to not following your instructions regarding their oral hygiene. This means you might not find out about a problem until it has become a much more serious and painful issue for them.

Furthermore, children do not always understand why they are experiencing pain or poor health, and therefore will not mention it. Others simply might not know how to communicate the problem they are having, especially if they have not received any education in oral health and the potential results of poor oral health. Because of these problems, it is very important to look out for the early signs of an oral health issue and to teach your child to tell you if they spot any of those signs themselves. These signs can include:

• Tender, swollen, or bleeding gums
• Pain when chewing or swallowing
• Bad breath
• Discolored teeth
• Frequent or persistent ulcers or sores
• Teeth that are highly sensitive to temperature
• Swollen face or cheeks
• Painful, clicking or locking jaw

When these symptoms are not given attention with a follow up to a dentist, they will most likely lead to more severe problems.  It may not seem like a dental emergency today, but handling the issues now can prevent a lot of pain for the child and less cost for the parent in the future.

School-Based Programs to Promote Oral Health

Because oral health can play such an important role in children’s education at school, some schools are adopting health programs aimed at improving the oral health of the children attending their school. These typically include:

• Education about oral health, how to maintain good oral hygiene, and encouraging children to adopt healthier behaviors regarding their dental health.
• Basic oral health procedures to promote better dental hygiene while the children are at school, such as a regular fluoride mouth rinse to strengthen their teeth.
• Oral health screenings to provide early warning if a child shows signs of needing dental care.
• Applying dental sealant on children’s teeth to help to protect their teeth from decay caused by bacteria.
• Raising awareness about the effects that sugar can have on children’s teeth and oral health, and helping them to choose alternative foods and snacks with less sugar that are less harmful to their teeth.

Good Oral Health Habits Start at Home

While these school programs can help to support your child’s dental health while they are at school, good oral hygiene habits need to be established and maintained at home if they are going to become part of your child’s normal routine. This includes brushing at least twice a day with a fluoride-based toothpaste, and ideally also rinsing and/or brushing after each meal of the day.

Of course, it is not always possible for your child to brush their teeth after every meal, especially when they are at school. Encouraging the habit of always drinking and rinsing with water can help to wash out at least some of the bacteria and the sugars that they feed on from their mouth in between opportunities to brush their teeth properly.

Your child’s eating habits are also a crucial part of their oral health routine. Frequently snacking on candy, chocolate, and other foods that are high in sugar is naturally not advised. Bear in mind that most fruit contains a lot of sugar and acids that both damage your child’s teeth, so rinsing or brushing after eating these is just as important as doing so after eating other sugary foods like candy.

When your child is at home, you can make sure that they rinse and brush after enjoying sugary snacks, and you can control how much they eat. However, you cannot do this as easily when your child goes to school. If they are already in the habit of eating sugary snacks then they will continue to do so at school, where they cannot clean their teeth afterward. Getting your kids used to healthier snacks at home will help them to make healthier food choices when they are not at home.

Additional Resources:

If your child has a fear of dentists, educate yourself on how to help them overcome dentophobia.

Read about ways teens can cope with braces.

Is it safe for children to chew gum?

All software based internet filters block content to prevents kids from viewing harmful websites or downloading apps their parents don’t approve of.  Covenant Eyes does this as well, but has added features that encourages a culture of accountability through email reports disclosing internet use and sending them to an accountability partner.

This accountability relationship may include kids and their parents, or may strictly be among adult friends who are struggling with porn on the internet.  Therefore, Covenant Eyes is not just marketed to parents who want to protect younger internet users. If you’ve ever wondered why is porn so hard to quit, it’s crucial to understand the role of accountability in overcoming addiction, which is where Covenant Eyes can help.

How Does Covenant Eyes Work?

Unlike the history in your browser that can be deleted, Covenant Eyes keeps track of all user activity within the subscriber’s account.  It teaches safe browsing habits.  Just knowing that an extra set of eyes will see the search history on a daily or weekly basis help keeps family and friends responsible when surfing the internet, including Google.

It is these two facets that makes Covenant Eyes unique.  While most parental control software programs are set up to give parents all the control, Covenant Eyes can also be for adult users with accountability partners.  These adults have control of their own account and their accountability partners are sent reports of online activity, as well as changes made to restrictions and app downloads.  To further clarify, let’s recap that which may be confusing to those who are new to internet filtering, parental control apps, and monitoring software;

Covenant Eyes has Two Distinct Features depending on the End User

• It is just like your standard parental control software used by parents to monitor and restrict internet access for younger kids.  Age limits can be set according to age to give teens more freedom to make good choices online, but a certain level filtering and blocking is still implemented. This is controlled by the parent.

• It is monitoring software for adults who want accountability with a friend or spouse*.  The account is opened by the adult user.   An accountability partner is added (or multiple partners) and email reports are sent to this partner or multiple partners of their internet activity.  The frequent of email reports is determined by the account holder.

The creation of the Covenant Eyes software program was based on the word covenant, which is basically an agreement one makes with another person about particular issue. In regards to internet safety, the agreement made with what people see online (covenant eyes).  The commitment is to stay away from harmful content online.  Later, Covenant Eyes was expanded to also provide complete internet blocking for kids.

Accountability for You

Both internet blocking and screen accountability are included in the full software download.  The difference is who owns the account.  For families with kids, the parents have the control.  For adults, they hold the account and have full access to the internet. They simply want to be accountable to others. It may be to fight a porn addiction or they are struggling with control issues over internet use.

*It has been recommended by many counselors of couples who are struggling with porn that your Covenant Eyes accountability partner is someone other than your spouse.  This sets up inequitable parental roles within the relationship.  All couples, married or not, should be focusing on open and honest communication about all aspects of their relationship without condescension.  It can work better for each individual to set up accountability with a friend that both people in the relationship respect and trust.

If you are an adult seeking control over the internet within your own life, you still have freedom online.  For example, a site like YouTube may automatically be blocked.  This is a standard setting for parents who may want to prevent their younger kids from being on YouTube.  Therefore, you can change the settings to allow YouTube.  Your accountability partner(s) will see these changes in their email report but it won’t be something they would question since YouTube is not a pornographic website.

Internet Blocking

If you are a parent with older teens, you may not even decide to block content.  You may want to teach self control.  Your teens actions will be greatly controlled by the strength of their accountability relationship with you as a parent.  When they are aware that the parent will be receiving email reports about online activity, it will teach good decision making and self control.

Accountability can also go both ways.  Friends may want to be accountable to each other, or a support group of friends.  Each member would have their own account and add multiple partners.

Email reports are not cumbersome. Bad websites are highlighted to produce an easy to view history report of where a user has been online. Those keeping an eye on a users internet habits can also log in with limited access to see a recent history.  Of course, this is not ideal for younger kids because you don’t want them stumbling on explicit material even by accident.  This is where you would want to employ complete parental controls.

Beyond the accountability option, Covenant Eyes still allows parents to block websites based on the age. This protects kids from being exposed to explicit material by mistake.  It comes preloaded with at set of obvious sites that should be blocked but may decide you don’t want a person to access a particular social media site and only access safe apps.

Basic Covenant Eyes Account Set Up

• Covenant Eyes downloaded to a computer or smart phone.
• Covenant Eyes keeps a complete and accurate record of all web usage.
• Filtering, blocking  and Monitoring can be set up according to age.
• Accountability Partners, selected by the user, receive reports by email about internet activity.
• Unique dynamic scoring system highlights questionable sites, making the report easy to read.
• When an accountability partner is removed, that partner previously set up to receive activity reports is notified.
• Create Your Covenant Eyes Account

Screen Accountability

Covenant Eyes has responded to the growing need to their software to work as the internet privacy and security protocols evolve.  Therefore, they have redefined accountability as screen accountability.  Basically, it’s not as easy now to determine the content of a website based only on the url or written content on the page.

Screen Monitoring:  The software periodically captures screenshots of screen activity and stores them securely.

Screenshot Analysis:  Advanced artificial intelligence analyzes those screenshots, on your device, for explicit imagery.

Screenshot Processing:  The software rates the images, blurs them to protect your privacy, then prioritizes them based on content.

Activity Reporting:   A report of concerning activity, circumvention attempts and other activity is sent to you and your ally.

Safe Search

Safe Search Kids recommends the use of parental control software to implement internet filtering. If you decide not to subscribe to internet filtering and blocking via software, we still encourage families to use Google Safe Search.  Just know that while filtered search engines such as ours do a great job of blocking offensive and dangerous websites, they only work while the child is using the safe search website to conduct searches.  A program such as Covenant Eyes is a tool that combines greater restrictions to internet access.  In either case, parental guidance on safe browsing behavior is always best to teach kids safe browsing habits.

If you have a computer gamer in the house, a parental control program is not the same as anti-virus software.  Many gamers complain of reduced speed while running anti-virus for protection and now there is a new solution to that problem.  It’s Performance + Security in One for gamer security.

Covenant Eyes Accountability Reporting

Covenant Eyes analyzes each website visited and blocks or allows them according to each user’s sensitivity settings. The parental control filter requires an ‘uninstall code’ in order to remove it from the computer. If the program is uninstalled, all users and accountability partners receive an email that the Covenant Eyes is no longer tracking usage.

As mentioned, you can choose to not have a lower level of filtering for older family members. At it’s most basic level, the software program instills positive browsing habits through accountability and reduces the risk of developing addictive behavior. Parents should also consider controls for very young children spending time online.

Simply create an Covenant Eyes account and download.  The software provides an economical solution to internet filtering for the entire family.  For adults, it offers freedom with the ability to set up accountability with trusted friends.   Typical adult users are those who choose to resist temptation on the internet by remaining accountable to a friend or spouse.

Give it a try and if you are not completely satisfied with how the program is working for you, simply request a refund within 30 days for a guaranteed 100% refund.

Families!  Take the Covenant Eyes 7 Day Digital Detox for Free!