8 year old uploading videos to Youtube-WWYD?

[MySqueeHasBeenSeverelyHarshed]

I was a nanny previously for two children from when they were 10 months to when they were starting school, and as the family needed a lot of help due to parents' illnesses I have stayed in their lives as more like an older sister/auntie, I don't see them as much as I used to but I still see them a lot.

Their mother is a bit technophobic so it fell to me to safeguard them when using the internet. I decided to log in to my youtube account on their devices so I could keep an eye on their watching histories and unsubscribe/delete anything unsuitable.

So last night I discovered that the little boy has recorded 4 videos and uploaded them to my account. They're not tagged in any way and it's just him talking about his trading cards, his sister skipping, their dog doing dog things. He was asking people to like and subscribe at the end or leave a comment. So far the only person who has seen them is me.

I know the videos are probably going to get buried with no views and I don't really want to ruin their fun (I have fond memories of recording my voice pretending to be a radio presenter when I was little) but I am also aware of how dodgy it could get if I don't monitor it closely. I'm not sure if I should delete the videos or just keep a sharp eye on it and talk to them about appropriate online activity (again.)

What's the consensus here?

You talk to the parent. Even a technophobe can comprehend their child uploading videos that anyone can view.

That his parents need to know what he's doing and his ability to add content should be removed

Delete them immediately but not before you've shown their Mum. It needs to be dealt with properly and that includes telling his Mother, technophobe or not.

I’d talk to them and their parents. Ultimately it’s their decision if they’re happy with their children having an online presence (as obscure as it is). Another internet safety chat wouldn’t go amiss either.

Definitely speak to his parents about the videos, they should know what their children are up to when using the internet.

If tehre is no identifying information I can't see the problem

I don't think you can blame technophobe parents here. Ultimate you gave the child access so the buck stops at you. Even the most tech savvy person would struggle to prevent this happening when you opened the gate for it.

I agree with everyone who's said tell the mother but wanted to add about the recent news articles about comments found on YouTube videos of young(ish) children from all sorts of weirdos. So definitely speak to parents and delete videos.

I'm Not sure why you still are logged onto the iPad when you are not their nanny anymore?

I'd tell the mum

Just to add my DD has her own YouTube account and she uploads videos and things to it, I monitor closely and guide her into deciding what's appropriate and what's not.

It's a good learning tool actually. Kids now are born into a tech world and better teach them how to use it properly than not imo

I know obviously a lot of kids make videos but Youtube is supposed to be for over 13's only so I'd let her know if I were you. She might find it totally unacceptable.

Just an afterthought, I don’t think it is appropriate to have them use your account. If you have registered with your D.O.B they can now watch absolutely anything. Yes you keep an eye on it but prevention is better than allowing them access to more mature content.

My 8 yr old dd likes making these videos but her privacy settings are such that she is unable to share them. Far too young to deal with any comments made on them imo

I think I should add some more details, not trying to drip feed but I left them out to keep the OP concise.

The kids have been allowed to use their tablets unsupervised since they were about five years old, that includes downloading their own apps. I used to go through them to check for inappropriate content but since I don't see them as often I can't do this anymore. Youtube is the one they use the most, they had Kids Youtube installed but bypassed it with their mother's permission and downloaded the main app. I use a burner account to watch youtube videos at home and monitor what they're watching through the main one attached to my main email address. This is done with their mother's permission.

I have messaged their mother and will talk to her in detail when I'm over at their house next. Her husband died earlier this year and she has little outside help apart from me and one other lady and she has said that what the kids are using their tablets for is quite low down in her list of priorities.

I have had multiple talks with the kids about internet safety and so far they have been very good, asking me about certain apps before they download etc. They are also logged in on my Netflix with their own username which only redirects to the kids movies and I have a children's messaging app on their tablets so they can contact me whenever they want safely. If I didn't do these things they would be using the internet completely unsupervised.