How I Helped My Kids Start a YouTube Channel

Over 2 years ago, my kids (ages 5 and 8 at the time), approached me about starting their own YouTube channel. I was a little apprehensive at first thinking, "What kind of a mom lets their kids do that?? Is it safe? What about negative comments – how will they manage that?"

My kids continued begging me and so we decided to go for it. It has been one of the best parenting decisions that I have ever made! My kids are confident, great public speakers, comfortable in front of a camera, articulate and can memorize things very quickly. These skills have translated into better school grades. Both of my kids do very well giving oral presentations at school and are NEVER nervous—they love presentations! They are also able to memorize things quickly for exams as well. Best of all, their confidence carries over into every area of their lives. 

Now that they are getting older (one is a tween now), they are taking an interest in running a video camera, coming up with more video ideas, and my oldest wants to learn how to edit videos. They have even had the opportunity to help other kids get started on their own YouTube channels. To date, they have just under 2,000 subscribers on their channel, Toy Party Kids, and one of their videos hit over 1 million views last summer. In 2017, they created over 100 videos and my daughter started working with Nickelodeon on providing some reviews for a new series before it launches.

Here’s how we did it, and how you can too:

1. First, I sat my kids down and helped them to choose a theme for their YouTube channel. At the time, it was toys, toys, and more toys. As they have gotten older, we have started incorporating more travel reviews, pranks, food/candy reviews, DIY, and character parodies. If I could give you any advice, it would be urging you to be flexible. Your children might decide that they want to branch out and cover more topics, and that’s okay. I’m sure when my daughter gets older, we’ll probably start covering makeup and fashion.
2. Once you have decided the theme for your channel, come up with a name. We use "Toy Party Kids" because our channel was started with a toy focus. Once you’ve decided, you can go to Youtube and create your name. Note – you must have a Gmail email address to create a Youtube account.
   
3. Design your channel's YouTube cover art. Take a picture of your kids and use that as cover art – you can always update/change it later.
   
4. Select a camera. When we started out, we used my iPhone and edited everything in iMovie. The quality is great and there is no out of pocket expense. You can also purchase a lapel mic from a local electronics store for around $30 and plug it into your iPhone to get better sound quality. I also recommend purchasing an iPhone tripod, which will keep your phone steady.
   
5. Choose a background: In the beginning, I hung a colored bed sheet on a shower curtain rod in my office and just filmed against that. Also, use lamps to really light up that area. We made our own DIY studio lights using PVC pipe and shop lights after watching a YouTube how-to video. (Click HERE to see the first video we ever created with our DIY lights and sheet hanging on a shower curtain rod!)
   
6. Be patient. Chances are, you will have to do several takes of your video, especially when you are just starting out. Find a quiet place to film and go for it.
   
7. Once your video is ready, upload it to YouTube. YouTube will pull 3 images from your video to select as the thumbnail – one from the beginning, middle, and end of your video. Select the best image as your thumbnail. Or, create your own thumbnail in PowerPoint.

Advanced YouTube

So you’ve been filming on your iPhone and want to go to the next level on Youtube? I recommend purchasing a video camera. We currently use a Cannon, along with the new GoPro that we have started using when we travel. The Cannon has great video quality and we are able to store more videos. The GoPro is my new favorite because it is unbreakable! Last fall, my kids got to use the GoPro at Busch Gardens and Disneyworld and take it on rides.

Good lighting will make your “set” look more professional. We use a 3-point lighting system along with a green/blue screen that we purchased from Amazon. Most of our videos are shot at our kitchen table, which we call our set. If you are filming outside during the day, you should be fine with natural lighting. 

Music. If you would like to add music to your video, there are several royalty free sites that allow you to use their music. I personally love Incompetech Music.

Editing software is where we made the biggest jump in the quality of our videos. I am using Pinnacle Studio right now and really love it. It cost around $80 and came with a few weeks of access to the training videos. It wasn’t too difficult to figure out and not as complicated or expensive as the others on the market.

Thumbnails. We now use Adobe Photoshop to edit our thumbnails to really make them pop.

In all, I’m so impressed with what my children have been able to accomplish with their YouTube channel. It’s growing and changing as they mature, and it has given them the skills and opportunities that they would not have had otherwise. It has also been a great family bonding experience.

Julie Akiri is a mother of two beautiful kids and is a Houston local. She loves helping other families learn about all that Houston has to offer and find free and cheap family fun through Macaroni Kid Greater North Houston and Macaroni Kid Greater NW Houston. Julie has been featured on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, and loves to give back to the community and help enrich the lives of local families.