Netflix Saves Our Life
Yesterday I reported that Channel Four is now gone. Replaced with Bravo, a new reality TV channel. Which means that most of the awesome morning shows, are gone – Sesame Street, Emma!, Chuggington, Fireman Sam, etc. A few, like Sticky TV, have been moved across to TV3 in the afternoons. But basically there are no young-child-appropriate kid’s shows in the morning.
Netflix isn’t free, but is a great alternative if you need one. We have Netflix, because my parents have given us access through one of their accounts. We also have a Google Chromecast because we got sent one last year by YouTube, when the YouTube Kids App was released. What this means is that I can use my smartphone (or computer) as a remote control – and can use the Chromecast to access video content from Netflix, YouTube, etc and stream it direct to the TV ????
So what I’m saying is that – whilst I think Netflix is great, we watch it for free thanks to my parents. Not everyone has this luxury. You can trial it for free for a month, but after that it’s $9.99 a month. Which works out to roughly $2.30 a week over the year. In my personal opinion, it is worth every cent.
Personally I prefer my kids to watch the TV, which is why the Chromecast is so great. It means they’re not sitting on a device hidden somewhere – it’s on public for us all to see.
Some of you have asked me on Snapchat (happymumnz) what shows my kids watch. My girl is 4 years old, and my boy is 2. My 4 year old is the most impressionable, and my boy just copies her. So we have had some hit and misses over the years, when it comes to shows. For example, Horrid Henry was a GREAT (and I still think it is) show that my daughter loved – however she was picking up some of the attitudes and I wasn’t happy with it.
Of course, as a parent, you correct these attitudes, but I wanted to nip it completely in the bud. So I stopped the show from being watched altogether.
So here is a list of the shows my kids watch on Netflix:
NETFLIX SHOWS:
- Dinosaur Train
- Pingu
- Masha’s Tales
- The Wiggles
- Thomas The Tank Engine (any of them)
- Mister Maker
- Chuck & Friends
- Caillou
- Charlie & Lola
- Maya the Bee
- Pocoyo
- Pokemon
- Tayo The Little Bus
- Team Hot Wheels
NETFLIX MOVIES:
- Megamind
- Cars 2 (would have been the original but Netflix removed it)
- Wreck It Ralph
- Mr Bean’s Holiday (dear Lord save me)
- Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (1 and 2)
- Tinker Bell (any of them)
- Bedtime Stories
- Rise of the Guardians
- Robots
- Ratatouille
- Toy Story (any of them)
- Over The Hedge
- Flushed Away
- Arthur Christmas
- Nanny McPhee
- Horton Hears A Who
- Meet The Robinsons
- Bee Movie
- Hook
- Ant Bully
Some of my FAVOURITE kids movies have been introduced to me thanks to my kids – Megamind, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Rise of the Guardians, Wreck it Ralph. There are definitely some greats out there, and then there are some duds (Anything Mr Bean HAHA).
What do your kids enjoy watching the most?
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