KidWatch › Channel Safety › TheSmithPlays
TheSmithPlays
A decent gaming channel for older kids, but the swearing and constant giveaway hooks make it one to watch with some guardrails in place.
Best for ages 13+
This is a Fortnite and Call of Duty zombies channel run by a guy named Patrick who clearly knows his stuff. He's enthusiastic, pretty knowledgeable, and has a laid-back bro-ish energy that a lot of gaming kids will immediately connect with. The content itself is pretty standard fare: weapon rankings, game lore deep-dives, zombie map guides. Nothing shocking in terms of subject matter.
Score Breakdown
KidWatch Assessment
This is a Fortnite and Call of Duty zombies channel run by a guy named Patrick who clearly knows his stuff. He's enthusiastic, pretty knowledgeable, and has a laid-back bro-ish energy that a lot of gaming kids will immediately connect with. The content itself is pretty standard fare: weapon rankings, game lore deep-dives, zombie map guides. Nothing shocking in terms of subject matter.
The tone is where things get a little uneven. Patrick is generally likable and not mean-spirited, but he drops casual profanity without much thought. It's not constant, but it's there, and it comes out especially when he's being sarcastic or dismissive about something. Not the kind of channel that's trying to be edgy, it's more that he just talks the way he talks.
The bigger pattern worth flagging is the giveaway strategy. He uses subscriber-only giveaways pretty regularly as a retention hook, which is a common YouTube tactic but can feel manipulative to younger viewers who don't recognize it for what it is.
Flagged Moments from Top Videos
Patrick drops uncensored profanity multiple times while casually reviewing weapons, including the s-word and the f-word used as intensifiers. It's not aggressive, but it's definitely there.
Patrick runs a Christmas giveaway requiring viewers to subscribe, like, and comment to enter. The framing makes engagement feel transactional, which is a pattern across the channel.
Patrick uses profanity casually and dismissively throughout, including calling players who use certain guns idiots or questioning whether they're a particular slur. The language is mocking in tone even if it's aimed at game choices, not real people.
The content covers a rated-M game (Call of Duty Zombies) and discusses it in detail as if it's standard viewing for any age, with no acknowledgment that the source material is not meant for young kids.
A giveaway is announced at the start specifically to keep viewers watching all the way through, which is a deliberate retention manipulation tactic that younger viewers won't recognize.
The video is a detailed guide for a Call of Duty Zombies map, which is content from a rated-M game. The guide is thorough and clearly aimed at players who are already deep into the game, with no age framing.
What Parents Should Know
Treat the Call of Duty zombies content as a separate category from the Fortnite stuff. If your kid isn't already playing those games, the channel might introduce them to content from titles rated for 17 and up.
Talk to your kid about the giveaway hooks. Patrick uses them in multiple videos as a way to get likes, comments, and subscribers, and younger viewers often don't realize they're being marketed to.
Expect some swearing, especially in the ranked-list style videos where Patrick is being sarcastic. It's not wall-to-wall, but it's definitely not clean either.
The channel is best suited for kids who are already into these games and can engage with the content critically rather than just absorbing it passively.
Watch at least one video alongside your kid before letting them binge. The language spikes in some videos more than others, and it's worth knowing which style of video tends to be cleaner.
Skip the zombie map guides if your kid is on the younger end. The Fortnite content is generally milder and more age-appropriate than the Call of Duty material.
Recommended for ages 13+.
Is your child watching TheSmithPlays?
See exactly what your child watches, every week.
KidWatch monitors your child's actual YouTube watch history and sends you a private weekly safety report. No blocking. No spying. Just awareness.
Start monitoring free →No credit card required · Privacy-first · Cancel anytime