Kid-friendly sites screen videos for inappropriate material

[Brian Warkoczeski]

Kid-friendly sites screen videos for inappropriate material

August 13, 2009

By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY


There are tons of great videos for your kids to watch on the Internet — 
and plenty that are totally inappropriate. Even Mom and Dad may 
initially have trouble determining which is which. Two video sites my 
children and I have been testing — ZuiTube and Totlol — can keep the 
small ones entertained while removing worry for parents.

Awhile back, my little girl wanted to watch Dora the Explorer videos on 
my laptop. I clicked on a Dora link through Google, and the familiar 
cartoon character appeared — only some idiot had dubbed in a 
foul-mouthed voice for Dora's, and it quickly became apparent that the 
video was unsuitable.

Parents and kids can avoid that scenario inside ZuiTube and Totlol. The 
video hubs promise only age-appropriate material. They're powered by 
YouTube, but operate independently. Parents can find these videos 
directly on YouTube. But ZuiTube and Totlol have collected safe 
kids-related stuff in one convenient destination.

ZuiTube was launched a week ago by KidZui, a San Diego start-up whose 
free child-friendly Web browser of the same name has been around nearly 
a year and a half. Aimed at 3- to 12-year-olds, the latest service is an 
offshoot of the KidZui browser, but you can access it from any browser. 
The site provides access to 60,000 YouTube videos that have been 
prescreened by parents and teachers.

For the rest of the article, see:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2009-08-12-kid-friendly-streaming-videos_N.htm