Kids and YouTube: What you need to Know and Advice from a 7 year Old

Online video stardom has replaced big-screen fame as a goal for many people, including kids. Setting up a YouTube channel takes less than 5 minutes and voila! you have a platform to literally talk about anything (within reasonable limits of course).

We're living in the digital age and even some 7 year olds are more tech savvy than your average adult. Kids are out here making lots of money from YouTube and hitting millions of views on the video sharing platform.

The decision to let your child(ren) join any social-media platform is a personal one and depends on many factors including: your child's age, their emotional intelligence and their reasons for wanting to put out content. Before allowing your kid to start a channel, here are some important questions you can ask:

Why do you want to have a YouTube channel?

What kinds of videos do you want to create?

What are your favorite YouTube channels? What do you like about them?I

Important to note is that YouTube is intended for users who are at least 13 years old. People are taking Google to task for failing to enforce this rule to protect children's online privacy. Parents can let their kids use their account and make all uploads through them. This will allow you to supervise the channel.

If you have a pre- schooler who loves YouTube and shows potential of being a content creator, check out this gem we found on the video-sharing platform for some inspiration.

Alvin Mwirigi Kirimi is a cute seven year old Kenyan lad who gives life skills advice to kids his age. But who says adults can't learn from him? Alvin has 433 subbies and over 4,000 cumulative views. And his channel Smart Kids Living Guide is only a month old. Do you have other Kenyan kid Youtubers you'd like us to highlight? Please send us an e-mail to editor@kenyabuzz.com