Here's Why Your Kids Are Obsessed With YouTube

It's called ive Play and it can be frustrating to children of the eighties and nineties who are raising their own children today because ive play was not an option for them. You can imagine how even older generations weigh in. Childrens' obsession with watching others play on YouTube is becoming more and more common each day. YouTubing can actually be called a career thanks to the many tiny loyal watchers. My children are doing their part, (when they can get away with it) How about yours?

Using my own daughters as willing research subjects, I began to track which videos they were watching and how long they would watch without interruption (Stopping them at 30 minutes unless they stopped before because...well, can't risk their brains now, can I?) The results were not hopeful. Here's how it broke down in my house.

Surprise Egg Videos

These videos are ubiquitous on the internet. My children, one of whom cannot even read yet, have no problem at all 'searching up' (as the young ones say) videos of people opening Surprise Eggs. Here is an example as if you need one. If you do click that link, just make sure your kids are not in the room.

Time Watching: 30 Minutes +

Blind Bag Videos

The next most watched videos in our house are the Blind Bag videos. Much like the Surprise Egg videos children watch people open Blind Bags over and over...and over. Seriously, that's it.

Time Watching: 30 Minutes +

Toy Opening or "Unboxing" Videos

Third on the list are videos of children (and grown-ups) opening up toys. In fact "the most famous unboxing host, DisneyCollector, is a 21-year-old former nanny, who is originally from Brazil but now lives in New York, and is thought to be worth several million dollars." ( Telegraph.co.uk)

Time Watching: 30 Minutes +

Toy Playing Videos

Finally, my children, and some of yours, will spend hours watching other people play with toys. This is a seriously depressing form of ive play with little to no benefit for the child, as far as this mom can see.

Time Watching 30 Minutes +

Why are our children so immersed in watching videos of others actively playing with toys? In a screen obsessed time it can come as no surprise that our children are choosing the screen over the toy. They are virtually experiencing the toy and they seem to be just fine with that.

Do your kids enjoy videos like these? How do you manage their screen time? Please share in the comments below.