Parent Resources
An alphabetical list of trusted official YouTube channels associated with children's favourite characters, plus common fake-search terms and red flags to watch for.
To make any of these channels part of your child's "approved content" selection, use your phone to follow the link (should open in your YouTube app) > click the 3 dots on the top right > click share > click with kids.
Pinkfong! Kids’ Songs & Stories
Be cautious with “Baby Shark scary,” “Baby Shark sad story,” “Baby Shark zombie,” “Baby Shark in hospital,” “Baby Shark evil,” “Baby Shark.exe,” “Baby Shark horror.” Red flags include creepy remixes, horror music, distorted characters, or channels that mix Baby Shark with unrelated characters in “funny” or “scary” mashups.
Barbie Official
Be cautious with “Barbie pregnant,” “Barbie giving birth,” “Barbie surgery,” “Barbie in jail,” “Barbie cheating,” “Barbie sick/injection/dentist.” Red flags include low-quality 3D animation, “real life Barbie drama,” thumbnails showing crying, injuries, kissing, needles, or body changes.
Blippi – Educational Videos for Kids
Be cautious with “Blippi scary,” “Blippi crying,” “Blippi gets hurt,” “Blippi in hospital,” “Blippi sad story,” “Blippi evil,” “Blippi dies.” Red flags include fake “real life drama” plots, injury thumbnails, AI voiceovers, or odd family-drama storylines that don’t match the tone of the real show.
Bluey – Official Channel
Be cautious with “Bluey scary,” “Bluey evil,” “Bluey sad story,” “Bluey dies,” “Bluey pregnant,” “Bluey in hospital,” “Bluey zombie,” “Bluey.exe.” Red flags include horror music, creepy thumbnails, “dark secrets,” AI-voiced stories, or channels posting dozens of unrelated cartoons.
CoComelon – Nursery Rhymes
Be cautious with “JJ scary,” “CoComelon scary,” “JJ crying,” “JJ sad story,” “JJ in hospital,” “JJ evil twin,” “CoComelon horror,” “JJ.exe.” Red flags include low-quality 3D animation, creepy “sad story” channels, fake bedtime or hospital storylines, or channels that use JJ alongside many unrelated preschool characters.
Disney Official
This is one of the biggest problem categories historically. Be cautious with “Elsa pregnant,” “Elsa giving birth,” “Elsa and Spider-Man,” “Elsa sick,” “Elsa dentist,” “Anna injection,” “princess toilet,” “Frozen sad story,” “Ariel pregnant,” “Rapunzel surgery.” Red flags include bizarre crossovers, medical-fetish themes, toilet/gross-out content, romance/cheating plots, or “learn colors with Elsa” style mass-upload channels.
Nick Jr.
Be cautious with “Dora scary,” “Dora lost,” “Dora crying,” “Dora in hospital,” “Dora dies,” “Dora evil,” “Dora sad story,” “Dora.exe.” Red flags include horror-style thumbnails, “dark secrets,” fake “full episodes,” or channels turning Dora into a creepy or punishment-based storyline.
Gabby’s Dollhouse Official
Be cautious with “Gabby’s Dollhouse scary,” “Gabby sad story,” “Gabby in hospital,” “Gabby evil,” “Gabby zombie,” “Gabby crying.” Red flags include creepy fan animations, low-effort 3D content, “dark ending” videos, or thumbnails with injuries or frightening expressions.
Hello Kitty and Friends
Be cautious with “Hello Kitty scary,” “Hello Kitty horror,” “Hello Kitty evil,” “Kuromi vs My Melody fight,” “Hello Kitty sad story,” “Hello Kitty in hospital.” Red flags include horror remixes, creepypasta framing, disturbing edits, or channels that mash Sanrio characters into violent or romantic drama plots.
Masha and The Bear
Be cautious with “Masha scary,” “Masha crying,” “Masha in hospital,” “Masha evil,” “Masha sad story,” “Masha dies,” “Masha horror.” Red flags include thumbnails showing injuries, fear, dark music, or channels using Masha in strange punishment, medical, or family-drama plots.
Disney Jr.
Be cautious with “Mickey Mouse scary,” “Mickey evil,” “Mickey and Minnie pregnant,” “Mickey dies,” “Mickey sad story,” “Mickey surgery.” Red flags include creepy thumbnails, “abandoned by Minnie,” “Mickey in jail,” bizarre family-drama storylines, or videos with many different preschool characters crammed together.
Numberblocks
Be cautious with “Numberblocks scary,” “Numberblocks sad story,” “Numberblocks evil,” “Numberblocks dies,” “Numberblocks horror,” “Numberblocks.exe.” Red flags include creepy edits, horror remixes, fan-made “dark” episodes, or channels mashing Numberblocks together with other unrelated kids’ characters.
PAW Patrol Official
Be cautious with “PAW Patrol pregnant,” “Skye pregnant,” “Chase and Skye kissing,” “PAW Patrol in hospital,” “PAW Patrol sad story,” “PAW Patrol babies,” “PAW Patrol surgery,” “PAW Patrol evil twins.” Red flags include romance plots between pups, toilet humour, punishment/injury themes, clickbait thumbnails with tears, needles, bruises, or “learning colors” mass-upload channels.
Peppa Pig Official
Be cautious with “Peppa Pig scary,” “Peppa Pig sad story,” “Peppa Pig dies,” “Peppa Pig in hospital,” “Peppa Pig dentist,” “Peppa Pig zombie,” “Peppa Pig evil,” “Peppa Pig.exe.” Red flags include distorted character art, horror music, fake “full episodes,” low-quality narration, or channels using Peppa in punishment, medical, or injury scenarios.
PJ Masks Official
Be cautious with “PJ Masks scary,” “Catboy in hospital,” “Owlette crying,” “PJ Masks sad story,” “PJ Masks evil,” “PJ Masks babies,” “PJ Masks pregnant,” “PJ Masks surgery.” Red flags include romance plots, babies/pregnancy themes, medical scenes, crying thumbnails, or channels mixing PJ Masks with Frozen, Spider-Man, Peppa Pig, and similar characters.
The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel
Be cautious with “Pokémon scary,” “Pikachu dies,” “Pokémon sad story,” “Pokémon in real life,” “Pokémon.exe,” “creepypasta Pokémon,” “dark Pokémon secrets.” Red flags include horror reinterpretations presented like kids’ content, “real life transformation” videos, or AI-generated story channels pretending to be official.
Ryan’s World
Be cautious with “Ryan scary,” “Ryan crying,” “Ryan kidnapped,” “Ryan in hospital,” “Ryan sad story,” “Ryan challenge gone wrong,” “Ryan gets hurt.” Red flags include imitation family channels using Ryan-like thumbnails, fake “challenge” content, misleading toy videos, or dramatic clickbait built around fear, injury, or punishment.
Sonic the Hedgehog Official
Be cautious with “Sonic.exe,” “Sonic scary,” “Sonic dies,” “Sonic evil,” “Sonic sad story,” “Sonic in hospital,” “Sonic transformation.” Red flags include creepypasta content, horror thumbnails, red-eyed or “blood” imagery, or channels that mix Sonic with jump-scare or gore-lite content.
Disney Jr.
This is another major high-risk category. Be cautious with “Spider-Man and Elsa,” “Spider-Man pregnant,” “Spider-Man in hospital,” “Spider-Man kissing Elsa,” “Spider-Man sad story,” “Spider-Man toilet,” “Spider-Man surgery,” “Spider-Man injection,” “Spider-Man babies.” Red flags include superhero/princess mashups, nursery-rhyme remixes using Spider-Man, medical or toilet themes, and channels with dozens of unrelated characters in one thumbnail.
Nickelodeon
Be cautious with “SpongeBob scary,” “SpongeBob sad story,” “SpongeBob in hospital,” “SpongeBob dies,” “SpongeBob.exe,” “Patrick evil,” “SpongeBob dark secrets.” Red flags include creepy or “lost episode” style content framed for young children, fake compilations, horror edits, or bizarre relationship/injury plots.
Disney Official
Be cautious with “Stitch scary,” “Stitch evil,” “Stitch sad story,” “Stitch in hospital,” “Stitch pregnant,” “Lilo dies,” “Stitch dark secret.” Red flags include sad-story channels, creepy fan edits, “real life Stitch” thumbnails, or mashups with horror or romance drama.
Nintendo of America
Be cautious with “Mario scary,” “Mario.exe,” “Mario dies,” “Peach pregnant,” “Mario in hospital,” “Bowser kidnaps baby,” “Mario sad story.” Red flags include creepypasta or horror content aimed at young kids, fake “full movie” uploads, or thumbnails with blood, tears, hospitals, or dramatic family plots.
Thomas & Friends Official
Be cautious with “Thomas scary,” “Thomas horror,” “Thomas sad story,” “Thomas crashes,” “Thomas dies,” “Thomas evil train,” “Thomas in hospital.” Red flags include dark crash thumbnails, horror music, “lost episode” framing, or channels mixing Thomas with unrelated characters and nursery-rhyme spam.
