YouTube Kids generally does a good job at keeping the videos it shows to children appropriate for their age range. However, sometimes you might decide that a video or entire channel isn't suitable viewing for your child.

In that case, you can block the video or channel on YouTube Kids. We're going to show you how to do that, along with how to unblock content.

How Does Blocking Work on YouTube Kids?

YouTube Kids lets you create different profiles for your children. Blocking a channel or video applies on a per-profile basis. If you want to block something across all profiles, you will need to enter each profile in turn and repeat the action.

Blocking only applies for that profile within the YouTube Kids environment. If you or your child access YouTube via the standard website, the content will be viewable.

You can also report a YouTube channel or video if you believe the content breaks YouTube's terms; if you're signed in when reporting, it will automatically block the content.

Finally, these instructions are for YouTube Kids only. If a video you block also appears on other video sites for kids, you will need to look into those individual sites' parental controls.

How to Block a Video on YouTube Kids

If there's a particular video that you don't want your child to see, you can stop it from appearing anywhere within YouTube Kids.

If your child tries to access the video directly via its URL, they'll see the following error: "Sorry, this video cannot be played. Try watching something else."

To block a video on YouTube Kids when on the home page or channel page:

  1. Select More (three vertical dots) next to the video thumbnail.
  2. Select Block this video.
youtube kids block video on homepage

To block a video while watching it:

  1. In the top-right of the video player, select More (three vertical dots).
  2. Select Block video.
  3. Select Block this video only.
  4. Select Block.
youtube kids block video

How to Block a Channel on YouTube Kids

You can also block an entire channel on YouTube Kids. This blocks access to the channel and all of the videos hosted on it.

To block a channel on YouTube Kids when on the channel page:

  1. In the channel header, select More (three vertical dots).
  2. Select Block this channel.
youtube kids block channel on channel page

To block a channel while watching a video:

  1. In the top-right of the video player, select More (three vertical dots).
  2. Select Block video.
  3. Select Block entire channel.
  4. Select Block.
youtube kids block channel on video page

How to Unblock on YouTube Kids

If you've accidentally blocked a video or channel on YouTube Kids, you can reverse that immediately—just select the Undo button that appears at the bottom of the screen. It's only there for about four seconds, so don't delay.

But what if you want to unblock something later? Or remind yourself of what you've blocked? Unfortunately, YouTube Kids doesn't offer a way for you to see a list of everything you've blocked. If you want to unblock something, you must unblock everything for that profile.

It's a cumbersome limitation and something that YouTube will hopefully improve in the future. As such, you may want to maintain your own list of what you've blocked—that way, if you unblock everything, you can go back and block specific channels or videos as needed.

To unblock every video and channel on YouTube Kids that you've previously blocked:

  1. Select Parental controls (lock symbol).
  2. Beneath My children, select your child's profile.
  3. Enter the password to your Google account.
  4. Beneath Privacy, click Unblock videos.
  5. Click Yes, unblock to confirm.
youtube kids unblock all videos

Keep Your Children Safe Online

YouTube Kids is a great place for youngsters to learn and be entertained, but that doesn't mean you should let them roam unsupervised. Thankfully, YouTube makes it easy to block channels and videos in an instant, so you can be sure that your children are safe online.