Youtube

[WhiteLily1]

My son is 12, just gone into y8. I don’t allow him to have normal YouTube on his phone - he has a fixed amount of time on kids YouTube but not the regular app.
He is so cross that everyone else seems to have it and even now the new year 7’s are on the bus watching it (he can see them in front of him)
He won’t use kids you tube when peers are around as it looks babyish. Most of the other mums I know with similar age kids let them have it. I seem to be almost the only one left saying no.
I just don’t get it. Why are parents allowing preteens and younger to watch this crap? I watch you tube a lot and some of the stuff on there is just totally inappropriate for kids. Scary stuff, violence, awful language, sexualised stuff, just 1000 things I wouldn’t want my child graphically exposed to at 12. Do parents just not realise what their kids could be watching? Don’t they care? Am I in the wrong or too protective? What’s going on here. Please be gentle, parenting is hard at times particularly as they grow up. I’m not a stranger to teens- I have a 16 year old also but this doesn’t seem to have been so much of a problem with her!

He’s not being kept away from any normal activities that don’t involve free access to content and open access to the internet. He’s very sociable and is out often with friends playing football etc.
I am all up for allowing him to use it in a sensible way but besides watching with me in the room how do I achieve this?
Weve had all the conversations dozens of times about e safety and what you can’t unsee. He knows all of that but he is a curious boy and doesn’t always do what i ask him.
My DD thinks all sexually innapropiate stuff is gross and wouldn’t be interested in violence or scares or gore. Boys are a different breed when it comes to this in my experience. He’s a god boy generally but I think if something was suggested by a friend or someone in class or if videos were suggested at the side then he may well click on them.