Parents' Guide to

Howcast

By Carla Thornton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Free site's top-notch how-to videos include sex tutorials.

Website http://howcast.com
Howcast Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this website.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

aries929
aries929 Adult
April 30, 2014
age 10+

New user not impressed with Common Sense Media

First search for age appropriate websites for 10 year old. Recommended result is Howcast, which apparently offers sexual instruction as well as pointers on "How to get a tattoo". For 10 years olds. Right.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 1 parent review

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (11):

How do you remember a word you've blanked on, help a friend improve her self-esteem, or kiss like Angelie Jolie? Howcast -- YouTube only funnier and smarter -- answers these timeless questions and more. The site boasts 100,000-plus how-to videos and text guides organized by topic including games, health & nutrition, kids, and teens. Each rewindable video is broken out into easy-to-follow steps. The acting is droll and the lessons, serious or not, can be very good. Claymation, stop-action, and the odd farm animal glued to a popsicle stick (see “How to Tip a Cow”) are just a few of the techniques effectively used to get ideas across. Prepare to laugh out loud.

This site will keep any halfway curious eight-year-old engrossed and giggling for hours. Therein lies the rub for parents, who will need to decide whether they're OK with kids stumbling across Howcast's brand of sex education. The videos are tasteful and feature little bare flesh but do contain frank language. And as for Angie? To kiss like her you'll need "full, pillowy lips" and "an inappropriate partner," preferably someone
else's husband.

Online interaction: Leaving comments after videos is the only means of interacting on the site. Most of the comments sections were empty when we visited -- except for the sex videos, which drew some predictably suggestive remarks.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Discuss what satire is. While they usually have a grain of truth, some of the silly how-to videos on this site do not necessarily model ideal behavior.

  • What kind of how-to video or wiki could families try creating for this
    site? Choose something you're knowledgeable about, such
    as teaching the family pet a trick, and write down the steps. Parents
    can help younger kids shoot videos using the site's special enhancement tools.

Website Details

  • Genre: Educational
  • Pricing structure: Free
  • Last updated: November 5, 2015

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