Smartphones, tablets, and TVs give kids nearly unlimited access to the world. Parents do their best to monitor their kids’ digital consumption, but it’s not always easy. Even the most careful moms and dads find their children watching things they’d rather them never see. One TikTok mom shared a warning after her son told her something scary he’d picked up from YouTube.
Kristin Knighton, who posts as @kristinknighton, explained in a now-viral video that her son, Troy, began behaving oddly. At first, she didn’t think much of it, but when she prodded, Knighton found out her son had been influenced by something on YouTube. A video apparently told him his mother needed to “die happy.” The interaction spooked Knighton, who shared her experience to warn other parents.
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It started with Troy coming into his mom's room to tell her he loved her.
Knighton explained that Troy has visited her room late at night for the last few months. “He’s crying, and he gives me a hug, and when I ask him what’s wrong, he says, ‘I just love you,'” Knighton said. “I started thinking he was sleepwalking.”
Things got weirder one morning when Troy asked her a question.
During breakfast, Troy asked his mom, “Can you die happy?” This concerned Knighton, and then Troy asked her something even more disturbing. “Then he said, ‘Can you die happy so I don’t have to kill you?'” she said in the clip.
She asked if Troy wanted her to die, and he responded, “No, but the show says you have to die happy.” Knighton asked him what show, but all Troy could tell her was the dragon show on YouTube.
The mom acted fast.
She said she’d had a problem with YouTube before and told Troy not to watch it.
“Now he’s not supposed to be watching YouTube. Last time he was on YouTube Kids, there was a little cartoon telling my son to go run and jump in front of cars,” she said. “Pay attention to what your kids are watching.”
She uninstalled YouTube from Troy’s devices, hoping that would be the end. It was certainly a stark reminder to parents to be diligent about monitoring their kids’ screen usage and content.
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Knighton's video struck a chord with many parents.
Some don’t want their kids to watch YouTube at all. This person said they’ll go old school: “Ya i think my kids will only have access to dvds at this point because wtf.”
This person agreed and wrote, “Yeah, no, YouTube needs to have better surveillance of what ppl put on their site. cause like poppy playtime and huggy wuggy are preteen-early teens genre. NOT children.”
Some worry about the long-term effects of the programming.
One mom wrote, “I stopped my daughter from watching yt bc she’s now scared of the dark and she wasn’t before and she’s always talking about monsters.”
Someone else wants Knighton to get Troy to help to work through what he saw, commenting, “Please take him to therapy, not because he will do something wrong but It will help him so he doesn’t will have to fall in the night terrors, be aware of his mental health. You are doing amazing.”
