> a lot of times I use Youtube is to show something to my kids.
Do your kids use to click on that lowball content maybe? My Shorts and all the recommendations are focused about what do I really use to watch. I do not want to watch Shorts at all, to be honest, but at least they seems to be really interesting. For achieving this level of quality of the recommendations, sometimes I use to "watch" in a background tab with no sound some videos from [1] for letting Youtube think about me as a little bit smarter than I actually am.
> Youtube ads
Why not to learn your kid about how to use adblockers and/or discuss why adwares from Internet are so bad?
Regarding ads, yeah I use the Youtube app mostly because it's a better experience than watch on Firefox for Android or using Newpipe. I kinda wanted both to work, but the native app is so much better...
Also, since I turned off targeted advertising in Google settings, Youtube ads shifted from "random insurance company and macho soap brand" to "cheating dating apps, Mr. Beast click-to-win-$1000 scams, fake GTA6 for mobile and fake Kids gaming stuff". I'm even considering turning those privacy features off again due to this...