Kids and social media: how young is too young?

My kids spend a good time of their youthful life in social media. They particularly love channels where kid YouTubers would unbox toys, try new candies, show some life hacks, and most of all do pranks. Of course, they try to imitate most of them, including making their own YouTube channel. The million dollar question is, how young is too young for kids to be spending time in social media, as audience and as contributors? Is it healthy?

[Check out this YouTube channel: Paula & Karla's Life - Sister Adventures - my kids attempt to be YouTubers]

Kids nowadays are seemingly more aware and are definitely more at ease with technology. The question remains, how young is too young? What channels are they suppose to be viewing? Most, importantly:

"If kids are learning from other kids online, isn't that a good thing?"

In this blog, I will try to attempt to understand the success behind the top 10 YouTubers under the age of 12 getting insights primarily from my kids. Note that these kid YouTubers are now earning millions of dollars and with that amount of money, I can bet that there is now an important amount of investment on how they produce their videos, therefore we can conclude that there is definitely “the hand that rocks the cradle" for each of these kid YouTubers.

The top 10 kid YouTubers under 12 & the secret sauce behind their success

1. Ryan Toys Review — 9.4 Million Subscribers

Ryan, a 6-year-old boy who unboxes toys on a regular basis, to date is the most subscribed child YouTuber with a whooping 9.4 million subscribers and more than 16.5 trillion video views. Nowadays, Ryan’s youtube channel also includes vlogs and prank videos.

2. EvanTube HD — 4.6 Million Subscribers

Evan is also a 12-year-old toy reviewer. He became popular due to his charisma and hilarious facial expressions, with 4.6 million subscribers. Evan’s channel now includes challenge videos and science experiments.

3. Kids’ Toys — 2.4 Million Subscribers

Quincy Faye and Laurice are the sisters behind the Kids’ Toys channel fame.

While their channel focuses on the latest children’s toys, they now incorporate vlogs with their family and friends as subjects. In total, the Philippines-based sisters have garnered over 2.9 trillion video views during their 4.5 years on YouTube.

4. Seven Awesome Kids — 1.8 Million Subscribers

Seven Awesome Kids features the lives and thoughts of girls ages 0-12 on a daily basis. This channel showcases the girls’ wild imaginations through funny antics and kid-friendly skits. With their seemingly candid moments and funny skits, the girls attracted their 1.9 million subscribers to explore with them the adventures of a pre-teen life.

5. EthanGamer — 1.7 Million Subscribers

Ethan Gamer channel has around 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube and is famous with online gamers focused on Roblox, Minecraft, and other mobile games. Ethan’s content is wholesome and appropriate for kids his age.

6. Babyteeth4 — 1.6 Million Subscribers

Jillian (12) and Addie (9), reviews candies with about 1.6 million subscribers in their YouTube channel called babyteeth4. The sisters are funny and often make hilarious but honest comments on candies they review.

7. B2cuteCupcakes — 1.6 Million Subscribers

Bee is a 12-year-old social media star famous for the B2cuteCupcakes channel with 1.7 million subscriber. Bee demonstrates new DIY’s, trendy challenges, toy reviews, and kid life hacks. She a bubbly personality and colorful videos that focuses on a pre-teen lifestyle, and her channel is a great resource for both children and parents alike to learn about the newest kid products.

8. Hulyan Maya — 1.4 Million Subscribers

Hulyan (6) and Maya (3) runs the YouTube channel called Hulyan Maya with over 1.4 million subscribers famous for testing toys.

9. Hailey's Magical Playhouse — 1.2 Million Subscribers

Hailey’s Magical Playhouse is starred by a 6-year-old girl Hailey. Hailey’s kid-friendly channel focuses on unboxing toy, surprise eggs, costume dress-ups, and other indoor and outdoor play activities. Hailey has 1.3 million YouTube subscribers.

10. Naiah And Elli Toys Show — 1.2 Million Subscribers

Naiah (5) and Elli (6) Toys Show garnered 1.2 million subscriber. They focus on silly skits and making hilarious comments during toy unboxings. Naiah and Elli Toys Show now includes a family vlog showcasing their family life.

I believe that the secret sauce of success of all these kid YouTube chanels is: content-appropriateness, authenticity, and overall ability to engage their viewers.

Maybe it’s not only our kids who should watch and learn from these kids YouTubers, but also parents to learn how to entice their kids to do the thing they love the most and earn money while doing it. Isn’t it what we usually preach our kids after all?