Raising Stoics Kids' Media Risk Index 2026

Key findings

• A young-kid rating doesn't rule out chat or spending. 22 of the 27 games, apps, and channels rated for young kids have at least one of chat, real-money purchases, or paid random items, including ABCmouse, Animal Crossing, Baby Shark, Duolingo, EA Sports FC 26, Fall Guys.
• Spending is the most common flag in games and apps. 122 of 157 (78%) sell something for real money; 107 (68%) include chat or messaging with other players, friends, or strangers; this flag also counts family-only and parent-approved messaging, as in Messenger Kids.
• Paid random items reach E-rated games. 42 games, apps, and channels (27%) sell loot boxes, gacha pulls, or similar; 3 of them are rated for young kids: EA Sports FC 26, Madden NFL 26, NBA 2K26.
• PG doesn't mean nothing scary. 22 of 58 movies and shows rated for young kids list scary content in their official rating descriptors (MPA, TV, BBFC, or FSK), not counting content described as mild.
• Blind boxes are common in toys. 12 of 23 toys are sold in blind boxes (paid random items), and 5 resell above retail.
• Regulators have acted on some of them. 32 of 180 games, apps, YouTube channels, and toys (18%) have a government lawsuit, fine, ban, or official warning on record. Private lawsuits aren't counted.

Games, apps, and YouTube channels 157 titles

Share of games, apps, and YouTube channels with each flag. Rating descriptors that say mild still count here, because the same rating covers chat and in-game stores.

Movies and shows 79 titles

Share of movies and shows with each flag. Only descriptors without words like mild, very mild, or brief count, and TV shows are counted by their series rating.

Toys 23 titles

Share of toys with each flag. Only the official product counts; warnings and recalls must be on the maker's product or from a regulator.

How many flags titles have

Each title has six yes-or-no flags. More flags means more documented facts worth checking, not a verdict on the title.

Method

• Which titles: the 259 released titles in our Is it good for kids? guides on 2026-10-18. We picked them because parents search for them, so this isn't a random or complete sample, and counts describe this list.
• Three flag sets: games, apps, and YouTube channels; movies and shows; toys. Each set has six yes-or-no flags, listed above, defined in our editorial standards. A fourth set for consoles and VR headsets isn't part of this edition. The sixth flag differs: for movies and shows it's a UK or German rating of 12 or higher; for the others it's a government lawsuit, fine, ban, rule, or official warning, including police warnings. Lawsuits are claims, reported as filed, not proven.
• Sources: official ratings (ESRB, PEGI, MPA, TV Parental Guidelines, BBFC, FSK, app stores), store listings, company terms, recall notices, and government filings. Each title's guide links its sources and shows when it was checked; the full dataset has the evidence behind every flag.
• Not included: Nintendo Switch 2 and Meta Quest 3 (devices use a separate flag set) and 6 titles that weren't out yet. 17 titles have no official age rating; they're left out of the "rated for young kids" figures. For some of them the first flag uses Common Sense Media's age guidance, as in our guides.
• Frozen numbers: this edition won't change. The guides and the safety map keep updating, so their counts can differ. Found an error? Tell us.
• How it's made: the guides are drafted with AI help, then checked against the sources by a separate reviewer; see our editorial standards.
• Method documentation: the codebook and method are also kept on the Open Science Framework, osf.io/z9r2v (DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/Z9R2V).

Get the data and cite

The full dataset is open under CC BY 4.0 on Zenodo, with a permanent DOI: one row per title (CSV), one row per title and flag with the evidence behind it (CSV), and the full dataset with definitions (JSON). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23619163. Questions or corrections: hello [at] raisingstoics [dot] com.

Download on Zenodo

How the files are structured, with example rows and a short analysis: How we built an open dataset of kids' app and game risk flags.

Martiushin, A. (2026). Raising Stoics Kids' Media Risk Index, October 2026 edition [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23619163

Also see: the Kids' Media Publisher Index, which reads what titles from 88 kids' media companies tend to teach.