About 60% of parents in the United States say their child under two watches YouTube. This rises to 84% for children aged two to four. These figures come from a 2025 study among more than 3,000 parents. And, although YouTube was never intended for the very youngest children, the platform now carries large volumes of content aimed at infants and toddlers. The scary thing is: much of it is not made by artists, educators or even humans. It is churned out by AI tools that can generate characters, voices and animations in minutes.
You can see this simply by searching for videos aimed at young children. Alongside trusted names like Ms Rachel, you will find unfamiliar channels posting animated clips where characters glide awkwardly, speak in flat AI-generated voices or repeat the same phrases in endless loops. These videos are easy to spot once you know what to look for, yet they sit in the same feed as high-quality, human-made content, labelled as ‘educational’.
A recent Bloomberg report found that an increasing number of YouTube creators now see babies as an ideal market for AI-generated videos, often described as AI slop. Some creators are even posting tutorials that teach others how to make low-effort videos for babies as a quick way to earn money. This content easily slips through the cracks of YouTube’s moderation and parents’ supervision. And young children will often sit through anything that moves and sings.
“Babies and infants are flocking to YouTube in droves, and that is not lost on content creators, who see in this audience an incredibly valuable opportunity.” — Alex Levine, Bloomberg reporter
For parents, this creates a difficult dilemma. Screens may offer a needed breather, and YouTube can feel like the simplest option. But the rise of AI-generated children’s content is a reminder to look closely at what young children are watching and to choose platforms with real oversight, clear quality standards and content designed with children’s development in mind.