"You might have seen those flashy thumbnails on YouTube of kids with shocked faces, with captions in all caps saying, “CAMMY'S 13th BIRTHDAY! *The Ending is SO Emotional*” or “DROWNING YOUR BROTHER ?!” These videos, more often than not, come from family channels. " -- Amara Deanes and CeCe Burger, 6th Grade
You might have seen those flashy thumbnails on YouTube of kids with shocked faces, with captions in all caps saying, “CAMMY'S 13th BIRTHDAY! *The Ending is SO Emotional*” or “DROWNING YOUR BROTHER ?!” These videos, more often than not, come from family channels.
Family Youtube channels have been around since 2003. When father of five, Shay Butler, started recording his young kids’ childhoods and posting them on Youtube. It’s been roughly 15 years since their first upload, but miraculously, they are still posting regularly.
But what happens when the camera shuts off? It turns out what was once Youtube's most loved family wasn't as happy as they seemed. The mother, Colette, was a struggling alcoholic, and the father, Shay, had been cheating on his wife for a while. Instead of a happy, TV perfect childhood, the kids of this channel, Daxton, Brock, Emmi, Avia, and Gavin, grew up with an unstable parent relationship, and an added layer of stress on their lives.
But none of that mattered to the viewer, who didn’t know. Subscribers to their channel continued to mindlessly watch “wholesome” family content. All the while, the Shaytard family were raking in millions of followers, and revenue. “There's so many lies behind the camera,” said Zanthe Jones-Gerachis, an 8th Grader from the Literary Arts sub pathway on the duplicity of Family Channels.
Now, Family Channels are sprouting like weeds after parents figured out they could get crazy clout, and cash, off it. But over time, these family bloggers realized that videos showing their everyday lives weren’t getting them the attention they wanted, and thus, content went from “Magical Family Hike” to “ My MY DAUGHTER’S EMOTIONAL FIRST DATE.” Eye catching titles and inappropriate ideas are what usually make up the Family Channel algorithm.
Many are becoming aware that there is a massive problem with how these videos are produced. The parents of these channels often go out of their way to embarrass their kids, putting personal and sensitive information on display. The whole idea is yucky, and the parents have to know part of the reason they're getting so many views is not because they have crazy ideas, but because creepy people online want to see the inappropriate situations these parents put their children in.
“I feel like these family channels are opening their children up to be criticized by absolute strangers,” said Patrice Reynolds, a mother and a frequent viewer of family channels. ”These are sensitive childhood years and any criticism can do irreparable damage to young minds.”
These families are getting online fame, but at what cost?
“Parents putting their children on display to the world for the sake of money cannot possibly be loving or caring. To them, their children are clearly nothing more than a cash grab,” reported the UC Irvine School Newspaper.
Views and money often cloud influencer parents’ judgment in how their actions are affecting their kids. They need more outlandish, more crazy, and more inappropriate ideas to gain more views, and gain more money. It’s a cycle, until eventually they go too far, landing them in hot water for mistreating their kids for views.
Most recently, Ruby Franke, the mom behind the YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” is facing allegations due to a horrific discovery regarding her children's health and safety.
Franke was a Mormon mother of six. In early 2015 she started posting like any and every other family blogger, about her six kids Shari, Chad, Abby, Juile, Russell, and Eve. And just like every other family blogger, she realized that those videos weren't bringing in the big views. But unlike most bloggers, she didn’t start making inappropriate and personal videos about her children. Instead, she thought that if her children appeared perfect online it would get her the clout she craved. And she was completely correct. Her new family vibe boasted that her children were successful and perfect because of her amazing parenting. And it got her a crazy amount of followers. At the channel's peak, between 2020 to 2021, she had 2.5 million followers and had millions of views per video.
Ruby Franke (far right) and her family
But the children's sudden angelic behavior was odd, and unlikely for a bunch of young children to be perfect role models. In 2020, there were multiple calls to child protective services from concerned neighbors and viewers about the health and safety of her children. One viewer called child protective services when they saw her at the time, 15 year old son claim he slept on a beanbag for seven months
In August of last year, Franke’s son had escaped and ran down the road to a neighbor's house, where a 911 call was made. Apart from the boy’s malnourishment, wounds, and duct tape bounds, he looked shook up and scared. He explained he had run away from home after escaping from a window.
Some of the other children were at a neighbor’s house because they were scared of getting in trouble with Franke. Franke was tracked down to her Utah house where she was detained and arrested. Jodi Hildebrandt , Franke’s business partner and creator of ConneXions, also had a role in the children’s abuse. She was also arrested and they both went to trial earlier this year. Both women pleaded guilty to four of the six alleged counts of child abuse. Franke could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Jodi Hildebrandt
In August of last year, Franke’s son had escaped and ran down the road to a neighbor's house, where a 911 call was made. Apart from the boy’s malnourishment, wounds, and duct tape bounds, he looked shook up and scared. He explained he had run away from home after escaping from a window.
Some of the other children were at a neighbor’s house because they were scared of getting in trouble with Franke. Franke was tracked down to her Utah house where she was detained and arrested. Jodi Hildebrandt , Franke’s business partner and creator of ConneXions, also had a role in the children’s abuse. She was also arrested and they both went to trial earlier this year. Both women pleaded guilty to four of the six alleged counts of child abuse. Franke could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Jodi Hildebrandt
Influencer parents rely on their children for income. That’s one of the reasons why Franke went so far. Their children end up acting as free workers. Once parents realize how lucrative this “business” can get, they quit their jobs and film full time. They use their children’s experiences and milestones for views and money. Events such as birthdays, graduations, hospitalizations, and emotional conversations. The children often end up uncomfortable and have their privacy violated. They put in years of work, and the parents often put the heavy responsibility of providing for the whole family on them.
“... she told her dad she didn’t want to do YouTube videos anymore and he told her they would have to move out of their house and her parents would have to go back to work, leaving no money for ‘nice things,’ ” wrote Teen Vogue in an anonymous interview with a content kid.
To solve this, many states are considering laws that protect children from exploitation without earning anything. “Under the proposed legislation, children would be guaranteed payment for being featured in certain monetized content, in which they appear for a certain amount of time. The compensation would be held in a trust account, which the child would gain access to upon turning 18,” reported Teen Vogue in another article focusing on Maryland’s new law, House Bill 0645.
Activists Cam Barrett, a former “content kid,” and Chris McCarty, 19 year old advocate behind Quit Clicking Kids, both gave testimonials in support of the Maryland bill. “‘I plead with you to think about this generation of children who give their parents free labor to maintain a social media presence,’ [Barrett] said. ‘Maryland has the opportunity to protect the child influencers who reside in this state from facing a monetized childhood, only to be met with nothing in return at 18, along with having no say in a digital footprint they never asked for.’ ”
Jones-Gerachis agrees. “They are wasting their kid’s childhood for money.”
“... she told her dad she didn’t want to do YouTube videos anymore and he told her they would have to move out of their house and her parents would have to go back to work, leaving no money for ‘nice things,’ ” wrote Teen Vogue in an anonymous interview with a content kid.
To solve this, many states are considering laws that protect children from exploitation without earning anything. “Under the proposed legislation, children would be guaranteed payment for being featured in certain monetized content, in which they appear for a certain amount of time. The compensation would be held in a trust account, which the child would gain access to upon turning 18,” reported Teen Vogue in another article focusing on Maryland’s new law, House Bill 0645.
Activists Cam Barrett, a former “content kid,” and Chris McCarty, 19 year old advocate behind Quit Clicking Kids, both gave testimonials in support of the Maryland bill. “‘I plead with you to think about this generation of children who give their parents free labor to maintain a social media presence,’ [Barrett] said. ‘Maryland has the opportunity to protect the child influencers who reside in this state from facing a monetized childhood, only to be met with nothing in return at 18, along with having no say in a digital footprint they never asked for.’ ”
Jones-Gerachis agrees. “They are wasting their kid’s childhood for money.”