Think back to all the things you went through during puberty—the acne, love conflicts, confidence issues and the journey of discovering yourself. Now imagine having a camera shoved in your face during that time, whether you like it or not. 

This is essentially what family YouTube channels are doing. They are making millions from YouTube videos at their children’s expense, all in the name of documenting their childhood.

Family YouTube channels should be closely monitored by YouTube and there should be strict guidelines about filming children who either don’t know what’s going on or just don’t want to be filmed.

Some channels, like “8 Passengers,” have gotten heat in the past three years over the lack of privacy they give their children. “8 Passengers” mother, Ruby Franke, was called out for vlogging details of her children’s lives that would normally be private, like conversations about puberty, even though the children kept telling her to put down the camera.

Aside from the fact that most of the children featured in these videos have no control over their digital presence, some of the children featured on these channels are not taken care of and are neglected by their parents.

There’s so much emotional and mental abuse in the social media world. Even adults find it difficult to cope with trolls and negative comments online. It is even more difficult for children because they do not understand what is happening.

According to Candid Orange Magazine, it was not until 2018 that California introduced the “kid influencer” bill that requires child stars under 18 to obtain a child performer service permit to work in traditional media. But this does not to apply to influencers whose performances are unpaid or shorter than an hour.

This raises the question—How are they holding YouTube channels accountable? 

Another family that has repeatedly posted content with sexual undertones featuring children is the ACE family. 

One video among their many questionable contents was one where the father, Austin McBroom, took his niece to an adult store. He then proceeded to video himself joking about and handing her a phallic lollipop.

There is no way this child understood what the object was or what was happening at that time. Exposing young children to these kinds of situations lays the foundations for future trauma or mental issues.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to document your children and capture every moment to remember. But a whole other shade is cast when content that should be private is made public for financial gain.