Imagine you’re hosting a family gathering, and your kids are eager to listen to some fun tunes in the living room. You want them to have a great time without worrying about any inappropriate lyrics popping up. That’s where Spotify Kids comes in handy. It’s a perfect solution to ensure the music stays kid-friendly, giving you peace of mind while the little ones enjoy their favorite songs.
What Exactly Is Spotify Kids?
Spotify Kids is an app made specifically for young listeners. It launched in 2019, starting in Ireland, and has since expanded to many countries. This app provides a fun, safe space for children to explore music and audio content that’s designed just for them.
Why did Spotify create a separate app for kids? Today, kids are growing up in a world filled with music, and it’s crucial they have safe, curated options. Many songs on Spotify contain explicit lyrics, which aren’t appropriate for young ears. Spotify Kids solves this by offering a selection of family-friendly songs and podcasts. Parents can relax, knowing their kids won’t accidentally hear content meant for adults. With just a few taps, they can switch between kid-friendly playlists, allowing children to enjoy music designed for them.
The app includes about 8,000 songs, stories, and audiobooks, organized into more than 120 Spotify playlists. These playlists are curated by experts from well-known brands like Disney, Universal Pictures, and Discovery Kids, ensuring that content is both entertaining and safe.
With its colorful, easy-to-navigate design, Spotify Kids is perfect for kids aged 3 and up. In the next section, we’ll explore its features and how to get started with the app. Let’s dive in!
Where Is Spotify Kids Available?
Wondering how to get Spotify Kids for your little ones? The app is currently available in several countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. While it’s not yet accessible everywhere, Spotify is actively expanding to reach more families worldwide.
You can download Spotify Kids on a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets, so your kids can enjoy their favorite tunes no matter where they are.
How to Access Spotify Kids Through the Family Plan?
Spotify Kids is designed to give children under 12 a safe, ad-free listening experience. To use it, you’ll need a subscription to the Premium Family plan, which allows you to create sub-accounts specifically for your kids. This ensures they can enjoy music, stories, and podcasts curated just for them, without any explicit content.
While Spotify Kids offers family-friendly content, it’s always a good idea to review your Explicit Content settings and check the Privacy Center on the family plan page to ensure everything is suitable for your household.
Setting Up Spotify Kids:
- Upgrade to Spotify Premium Family Plan:
Head to your Spotify account settings and subscribe to the Premium Family plan. This allows you to create sub-accounts for each child. - Create a Sub-Account for Your Child:
Add your child’s name and age when setting up their account. This helps tailor content based on their age group. - Download the Spotify Kids App:
Install the Spotify Kids app on your child’s device. It’s available for both tablets and smartphones. - Log In or Create a New Account:
Open the app and log in using the sub-account you created. Alternatively, you can create a new account directly in the app. - Customize Content Preferences:
Choose what content is appropriate for your child by exploring different playlists and audio options together. - Pick a Fun Avatar:
Let your child select an avatar to personalize their account and make the experience more enjoyable. - Add Another Kids Account:
To add another account, tap the avatar, navigate to Settings, and select Add Account. You can also edit or remove accounts from this section, making it easy to switch between profiles or log in on different devices. - Explore Kid-Friendly Audio:
Once everything is set up, your child can explore a world of kid-friendly music and stories. They can browse through playlists designed to engage and entertain, all in a safe environment.
How to Safely Share Spotify with Kids Without Paying for the Family Plan?
If Spotify Kids isn’t available in your area or you don’t have access to the Premium Family plan, it’s important to take extra steps when setting up Spotify for your children. Spotify’s content is generally designed for users 13 and older, and some songs or podcasts may contain explicit language or discuss adult topics. Here are two simple ways to help make Spotify safer for your kids:
Option 1: Block Explicit Content
A quick way to make Spotify safer for children is by turning off Explicit Content. This will prevent songs and podcasts labeled as explicit from playing, creating a more child-friendly environment.
How to do it:
- Log into your account on the device your kids will be using.
- Turn off Explicit Content:
- Go to Settings in the Spotify app.
- Scroll down to find the Explicit Content section.
- Toggle off the switch to block explicit content, which will filter out most inappropriate material.
While this method blocks a lot of unsuitable content, it’s important to remember that it relies on Spotify’s tagging system, so some explicit content may slip through.
Option 2: Use Custom Playlists
If you want more control over what your kids listen to, creating custom playlists is a hands-on way to ensure that every song or podcast is appropriate.
How to create a kid-friendly playlist:
- Create a playlist: In the Spotify app, go to Your Library and tap Create Playlist. Name it something fun, like “Kids’ Favorites.”
- Add safe content: Choose songs, stories, or educational podcasts that are appropriate and fun for your kids.
- Share the playlist: Let your kids listen to the playlist you’ve curated, or play it for them to ensure everything stays kid-friendly.
Option 3: Use External Devices
For extra control, you can download kid-friendly music from Spotify and transfer it to a device, which doesn’t have access to the Spotify app. This way, your kids can enjoy the music you’ve selected without accidentally stumbling upon inappropriate content through recommendations or searches.