YouTuber Saadur Rehman aka Ducky Bhai has responded to criticism that his content negatively influences children, questioning why parents don’t take greater responsibility for what their children watch online.

The comments came during a recent interview in which Rehman was asked about allegations that content creators negatively influence children online.

“Let me ask you something. If a child’s behaviour is being negatively affected, where are the child’s parents?” Rehman asked.

He argued that watching YouTube remains a choice and parents can control what their children have access to, pointing to his own childhood and saying that his parents closely monitored his use of technology.

“My parents never gave me a phone when I was a child. They didn’t give me an iPad either,” he said.

“They used to tell me, ‘Get good marks in your matric exams and we’ll get you a game console, maybe a PlayStation 2’,” Rehman said and added that his father also monitored the family computer by using parental-control software to keep track of his online activity.

He questioned why other parents could not take similar measures if they were concerned about their child’s online activity.

“If my father could put those controls in place, why can’t other parents do the same for their children?” he questioned.

Rehman maintained that he does not believe his own content negatively influences children. However, he added, that even if parents consider some content unsuitable for their children, they should control their children’s access to it.

“Why have they allowed the child to have access to a phone in the first place?” he asked before jokingly offering to take responsibility himself.

“Or give me the child and make me the father. Then I’ll fulfil my responsibility towards that child,” he said.

Rehman also stressed that nobody is required to watch YouTube or his content. “There is nothing mandatory about YouTube. It’s not like you go to school and, before the morning assembly, they show you a Ducky Bhai vlog.”

He continued by comparing YouTube viewing with other everyday choices.