One of our readers emailed us with an interesting problem: He’s the father of three boys, ages 6, 10, and 12, and they love watching gaming streamers on YouTube, but all the gamers they watch are white dudes. Guys like DanTDM and Ninja make fantastic content that really connects with kids, but they do it from a white man’s point of view, and don’t represent the diversity that exists among people who actually play games. YouTube’s “recommended” algorithm offers little help, as it tends to serve up videos like the ones you already watch (in this case, more white guys), so I put together this list of five awesome game streamers who are not straight, white, men, but who are appropriate for kids.
There are more than 85 million-bajillion streamers on YouTube, so this list is far from comprehensive, but it’s a place to start. Please add your own favorite streamers in the comments.
RadioJH Games
Audrey is the friendly, funny host of RadioJH Games, a YouTube channel that focuses on kid-friendly games like Slime Rancher, Minecraft, and a ton of Roblox. She also creates Roblox role-play videos with “The Taco Crew” a group of well-known YouTube streamers. RadioJH Games has over a million subscribers, and it’s easy to see why: Audrey’s passion for video games and her friendly personality shine through in all her videos, for example this play through of indie horror game “Granny.” She’s very relatable and unpretentious, and comes across like a regular person who loves games instead of like a person trying to be YouTube famous.
Felicia Day
An O.G. in the gaming and nerd worlds, Felicia Day has broken out of the geek circle and into mainstream entertainment in recent years, starring on shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000, and lending her voice to cartoons like Adventure Time and Three Bare Bears, as well as racking a ton of writing and producing credits. Even with all her work, Day still manages to stream video game playthroughs on YouTube channel occasionally. She might not update as often as some game streamers, but her charisma and lighthearted style are infectious, and the way she straddles the line between creator and consumer of geek media is fascinating. For instance, check out this video of her interacting with herself in Dragon Age: Mark of the Assassin: It’s totally meta. Caution: While Day’s personal style is strictly PG-13, she does stream some M-rated games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
GamingWithKev
If your kid plays Roblox, have ‘em join GamingWithKev’s over 4 million followers. GWK updates constantly, highlighting all kinds of interesting Roblox content, with occasional streams of other games like Happy Wheels, Raft, and even Super Mario Maker, and he does it all without cursing or negativity. GWK’s appealing, open style is instantly relatable no matter what he’s playing, but he is at his best when playing Roblox horror stories. Check out this this video of a walkthrough of “The Cute, Little Doll” to see what I mean. A word of caution: Kev’s channel contains some older “prank” videos, and while they’re not especially egregious, if your kid is the type to imitate what he or she sees on YouTube, you might want to steer them away from this content, or your laptop might end up in the swimming pool.
Shubble
I love Shubble! Her charming channel completely ditches “edgy” humor in favor of funny, fresh content that is appropriate for all ages. Shubble’s gaming videos are mostly Minecraft and Roblox, with a smattering of “Let’s Play” videos of weird Internet games and indie titles. Along with the gaming streams and Let’s Plays, Shubble lets viewers into her life by posting videos of her attempts to cook, her cat StarLord, and lots of other fun stuff, all while maintaining a super-upbeat and infectiously bubbly attitude. Check out this video from her “How to Noob” series where she tries to teach a friend to play Minecraft.
Fernanfloo
This one is for older kids, as the games Fernanfloo plays are often mature. Fernanfloo, A/K/A Luis Fernando Flores, is an El Salvadoran YouTube streamer known for his Lets Play videos and comedy sketches. He’s one of the most watched YouTube streamers on earth, with over 32 million subscribers, and 6.8 billion views. Fern only speaks Spanish, but his videos are subtitled in English, so you can tell yourself your kid is learning a second language or at least improving their reading skills while they watch his hilarious videos. Fernanfloo’s over-caffeinated style and frenetic energy isn’t for everyone, but kids seem to love it and it’s undoubtedly made Fern quite a bit of money. Fern has recently switched a lot of his gaming from YouTube to Twitch, where he streams regularly, so check him out there for more up-to-date streams, after you’ve plowed through his hundreds of YouTube videos.
Updated April 24, 4:49 p.m.: [Editor’s note] We identified Markiplier as white, but his mother is in fact Korean.