Inside: The best YouTube videos for kids will teach your kid important life lessons without being preachy. Next time your kid begs for videos, forget Peppa Pig and load up one of these amazing videos instead.
When it comes to videos for kids, YouTube is full of junk – some of them more disturbing than others. To wade through it all, my personal guideline for what I’ll let my kids watch is this:
Would I sit down and watch this alongside my child?
If the idea of sitting down together to watch a particular video, TV show, or movie makes me want to grab the nearest LEGO and gouge out my eyes, then that show is a big fat no in my book.
My reasoning is mostly selfish because:
- I know I’ll end up hearing the show in the background anyway.
- My child will pick up certain lines and repeat them over and over and over.
- Kids love to take 45 minutes to give you a play-by-play of the 20-minute episode they just watched.
Then there’s the whole “filling their heads with junk” side of things that I’d like to avoid as much as possible.
So when I come across a video for my kids that’s a diamond in the rough – one that makes them think, opens their eyes about the world, or shares a meaningful life lesson without being annoyingly preachy – I will happily watch it with them.
And then I add that video to a special list I’ve been keeping for five years.
24 Best YouTube Videos for Kids That Will Change How They See The World
I first started keeping this list when my oldest was five and I would come across a video I wanted to watch with her. Her younger sister Bailey was just a baby at the time, and I wanted to remember the best videos to share with Bailey when she was old enough.
Not only are these short videos for kids high quality and enjoyable to watch for both kids and parents (no Caillou here!), the conversations we have as a family after watching them are PURE GOLD.
It’s like you can literally see the little gears turning in their heads as they think about the world in a different way.
You won’t even mind watching these videos multiple times because they’re that good. They’re all relatively short, so that’s not too shabby, either.
Watching the best YouTube videos for kids on this list will teach your child how to be a kind and thoughtful friend. Your kids will get proven tricks for how to handle their big, scary emotions. They’ll learn important life lessons like why we should accept others even if they’re different – and more.
The next time your little one begs to watch videos on YouTube, forget the creepy knockoff Peppa Pig videos and load up one of these way more interesting videos for kids instead. (Before you go, don’t forget to pin or bookmark this list and come back to it from time to time because I’ll update it every time I add a new life-changing video.)
But First, a Warning…
Before you set your child up to watch one of these videos, you may want to watch the short video yourself first to make sure it’s the right fit for your family. While I’m 100 percent comfortable with sharing these videos with my children and I have many friends and neighbors who have done so as well, every family is different so your mileage may vary.
Boost Your Kid’s Emotional Intelligence
1. The Power of a Breath
Read more about this short video here: Short Film ‘Just Breathe’ Helps Kids Deal with Emotions.
2. How Mindfulness Empowers Us
3. The Difference Between Empathy And Sympathy
For a practical trick to boost your child’s empathy, check out Empathy Is Tough to Teach, But Here’s One Trick That Will Boost It.
Related: Empathy Is Tough to Teach, But Here’s One Trick That Will Boost It
Teach Your Child Important Life Lessons
1. Consent for Young Kids and Tweens
Read more about this video and the next one in These Videos Teach Kids About Consent in an Age-Appropriate, Non-Awkward Way.
2. Consent for Teens
3. An Important Message About Body Image
Related: 5 Important Steps That Will Help Protect Your Child From Sexual Abuse
Encourage a Growth Mindset
For a practical but powerful trick for encouraging a growth mindset in your kid, check out 9 Best Growth Mindset Posters That Will Inspire Your Kid to Keep Trying.
1. How to Redefine Failure: From a Successful CEO
2. Winning Isn’t Everything
This is perfect for kids involved in sports.
Related: 9 Best Growth Mindset Posters That Will Inspire Your Kid to Keep Trying
Teach Your Child to Accept Others – Even When They’re Different
1. Us versus Them
This is a Danish ad, but it delivers a powerful message.
2. How Kids See Each Other
3. When Someone Acts Different
4. When Someone Looks Different
Related: A Simple Trick to Limit Screen Time – And Get a Happier Kid, Too {Printable}
Raise Your Kid to Be Kind, Thoughtful, And Giving
Check out The Secret to Raising Your Kids to Be Kind to get a free printable that will help you raise kind kids.
1. Choosing Kindness
2. Being an Includer
3. Things We Should Say More Often
This is just one of many gems from Kid President.
Related: The Secret to Raising Your Kids to Be Kind {Printable}
Tackle Gender Stereotypes
1. How Female Inventors Have Changed the World
2. Redrawing the Balance
3. Women Give Advice To Their Future Daughters
4. Like a Girl
If you’ve noticed your tween or teen girl losing confidence as she gets older, this is the perfect video to watch together.
Inspire Your Kid to Make the Most of Life
1. Growing Up
2. The Magic of Going Outside
3. The Time You Have
4. What Society Does to Your Creativity
To read more about this short film, check out How Society Kills Your Creativity – In An Award Winning Pixar-Esque Short Film.
5. What the Holiday Season Is Really About
Download my FREE cheat sheet as a bonus for joining my newsletter: 16 Miracle Phrases to Help You Reconnect With Your Child
Want More?
If your kids are tweens or teens, you may also enjoy this playlist of TED Talks to watch with your kids.
Your Turn
What are the best YouTube videos for kids (and parents) you’ve come across? Share in a comment below!
Usually kids follow what they see on tv and videos and yt. This list is great. We get to choose videos where they learn more about character.
This list is great! Shows how the the internet can be a learning tool for children. Thanks for this!
This is a great list. I had watched the consent video with a teen girl & didn’t realize there was a clean and not clean version. Just a tip make sure it is the clean version if you are watching with a tween for sure.
How did you build this list? Using the search function on yt? I’m excited to add anything of value to their playlist, especially if it pulls them away from toy review videos and kids run yt channels about toys. Thank you!