We all know that the internet can be an evil place, and parents have to be hypervigilant about the content that their kids are viewing. One of the places that offensive and dangerous videos can be found is YouTube.

Although the company launched their YouTube Kids app several years ago with an aim to be family-friendly, inappropriate content that is violent and exploitative still finds its way onto the platform. Free Hess, a pediatrician, learned there were videos showing kids how to commit suicide on YouTube Kids and after further digging, found more.

In one video, the footage interrupted a cartoon. After she and other parents flagged it, it took YouTube a week to remove it. Months later, she saw it was back on the site along with others that contained graphic depictions of abuse, suicide, and violence.

Some of the videos are disguised as Minecraft scenes and other familiar kids-related games or shows. You may think your child is watching an innocent animation, but he may be exposed to something more sinister.

Hess and other parents are concerned about the time it takes YouTube to pull harmful content from the kids’ app, but they have decided to ban the site in their homes. Adults are encouraged to monitor what their children are watching but also to be in the know when it comes to tech.

Listen to this video to hear YouTube’s response to the recent spate of suicide-related content on the kids’ platform and learn what parents are doing to protect their children.

Do your children use YouTube Kids? How often do you monitor what they watch online? Were you aware the kids’ app had so much inappropriate content?