Publication date: May 28, 2026
Michaela Gordoni
AI content is everywhere, especially in your kids’ YouTube feeds.
“AI-generated videos for kids are becoming increasingly common, especially on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, where content is often auto-generated to capture attention and maximize views,” said Titania Jordan, chief parenting officer and CMO at Bark Technologies and co-author of the book. Parenting in a world of technology.
Many of the AI videos that parents notice are of low quality. Comedian Alex Perlman shared his experience when a video of his toddler’s favorite educational book popped up. The video showed the book’s pages being recreated without the publisher’s permission and an AI voice mispronouncing words.
“If you’re a parent right now, you’re stuck because you need to make sure you know and understand where the information that’s being put into your toddler’s head is coming from,” Perlman says.
Jordan says the more ridiculous or off the video is, the more likely it is to be fake.
Related: What you need to know about AI slop in your social media feeds
“Sometimes the absurdity is the point. If you see a golden retriever making an omelet at a French restaurant, you’ll definitely stop scrolling,” she says.
“For me, the pointlessness of these videos is a big problem because they just get attention,” says Dr. Jenny Radesky, an associate professor of pediatrics and developmental behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan Medical School. “And the worst case scenario is that it’s so fantastical and attention-seeking that it overloads the child’s cognitive abilities.”
Create AI videos quickly. Unedited or monitored videos may contain inappropriate content.
“Until recently, [YouTube was] PEPPA comes under fire for hosting countless videos that look like harmless PEPPA PIG “Although it was a cartoon, it actually contained disturbing scenes, including Peppa having her teeth pulled by a threatening dentist,” said Dr. Scott Collins, a psychologist and chief medical officer at family-run online safety company Aura.
Dr. Michel Ponti, chair of the Canadian Pediatric Society’s Digital Health Task Force and lead author of the screen guidelines for children under five, says AI videos are of no value.
“This is trash and young children cannot learn from trash,” she stressed. “We know what promotes early learning. It’s direct contact with a loving caregiver, back-and-forth interaction with a real human being that can make connections and help children learn. AI slop is just a collection of garbage.”
“Kids need thoughtful pacing, clear language, and meaningful educational value, which many AI-generated videos lack,” said Natalie Vidnick-Andreas, EdD, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Texas at Austin, who teaches and researches AI, digital communication, and media literacy.
You can teach kids how to identify AI videos by showing them what to look for. AI videos can be out of sync or depict strange things such as animals with too many body parts, strange movements, garbled text, and disjointed stories, The New York Times reported.
“Kids are usually amazingly skilled at identifying these types of videos,” Jordan says.
“It’s also worth remembering that, especially for young children, quitting YouTube altogether is an option in favor of trusted, curated streaming services and downloaded content,” Dr. Andreas said.
If your child has to be on screen, it might be best to stick to what you know, like gentle or educational children’s shows like BLUEY or MS. For example, Rachel.
Read next: How YouTube plans to advance in children’s entertainment
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