The Top 3 Kids’ Videos on YouTube — and What They Tell Us About KidMin

Want to know what kids like?

Sometimes it helps to look at what they’re already watching.

So I took a look at three of the biggest kids’ videos on YouTube. And while I’m not suggesting we turn Sunday morning into YouTube Kids, I do think there are a few things children’s ministry leaders can learn from them.

1. “Baby Shark Dance” – 17.4 Billion Views

You knew this one was coming.

“Baby Shark” became a worldwide phenomenon and eventually became the first YouTube video to cross 10 billion views. And let’s be clear: nobody is confusing this thing with a musical masterpiece.

The lyrics are ridiculously simple. The melody repeats. The motions repeat. The whole thing lasts only a couple of minutes.

And kids absolutely love it.

What does that tell us?

Kids love repetition and participation.

Adults tend to get bored with repetition long before kids do. We think, We already sang that song. We already said that phrase. They already know the Big Idea.

Exactly!

Kids enjoy knowing what comes next. Repetition gives them an opportunity to move from watching to participating. By the third “doo doo doo doo doo doo,” nobody needs to tell them what to do.

That’s worth remembering when we teach Scripture too. Repeating a Big Idea, memory verse, motion, response, or key phrase isn’t lazy teaching.

For kids, repetition is often how learning sticks.

2. “Wheels on the Bus” — 9.5 billion views

“The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

And round.

And round.

And apparently around several billion more times.

There are countless versions of “The Wheels on the Bus,” but CoComelon turned this familiar nursery rhyme into a digital phenomenon. Why does it work? Because kids don’t just listen to the song. They get to do the song.

The wheels go round and round. The wipers go swish, swish, swish. The doors go open and shut. The babies go wah, wah, wah.

What does that tell us?

Kids would rather participate than spectate.

That’s something we can easily forget in children’s ministry. We prepare a lesson and then ask kids to sit quietly while an adult delivers it. But kids aren’t miniature adults attending a lecture. They want to move, answer, shout, act, touch, pretend, and discover.

So whenever you’re planning a lesson, ask yourself: What are the kids doing? If the answer is mostly sitting and listening, it might be time to rethink it.

3. “Johny Johny Yes Papa” — 7.25 billion views

If you’re unfamiliar with this one, congratulations. You’ve somehow escaped a significant corner of the internet.

The song revolves around an extremely complicated plot:

• Johny is eating sugar.
• Papa asks if he’s eating sugar.
• Johny says no.
• Papa asks him to open his mouth.
• Johny laughs.

That’s pretty much it. And somehow, kids have watched this little drama billions of times.

Part of the appeal is the music and repetition. But there’s something else happening too: there’s a story. Granted, we’re not talking Lord of the Rings here. But there’s a character, a problem, suspense, dialogue, and a reveal.

What does that tell us?

Kids are wired for story.

That’s especially important for those of us teaching the Bible because we happen to have the greatest story ever told. Yet sometimes we take an incredible Bible story filled with danger, emotion, conflict, surprise, and redemption—and turn it into three bullet points on a screen.

Don’t just give kids information about the Bible. Tell them the story. Help them wonder what happens next. Let them feel the tension. Give them characters to care about. Help them experience the surprise.

Because story has an incredible ability to carry truth into a child’s heart.

Bring All Three to Sunday Morning

And if you’re looking for a curriculum that puts these ideas into practice, that’s exactly what we’ve built into GO! Curriculum. Every lesson uses age-appropriate repetition to help truth stick, participation to keep kids actively involved, and storytelling that brings the Bible to life.

We figure if those things can generate billions of views on YouTube, they might be worth using to help kids fall in love with God’s Word too.