Last updated on April 24th, 2021 at 11:56 pm
The problem with being Dad to some of, perhaps, the youngest children I’ve seen featured in the world of parent blogging is that I can’t always align the ever-expansive industry of children’s toys and entertainment with their interests. While I love getting invites to Legoland and cool things to do over “March Break” and the “summer holidays”, with kids as young as mine, these are completely foreign concepts to my family as we struggle to get through each day without a temper tantrum or sleep regression!
And that’s exactly the issue I had for a while as a member of the Netflix Stream Team.
Too Young for TV/Why My Kids Won’t Get the Most From Netflix Until They’re Old Enough to Know How Much Their Friends are Watching at School1.
My kids don’t watch a lot of TV: it’s on some mornings, keeping our toddler entertained with tales of Ryder and his team of pups, but he usually plays with his toys or enjoys the backyard—we’re not about to become “those parents” with their kids’ eyes glued firmly to the screen. (To be fair, my childhood saw a steady consumption of TV, video games and the Internet, so it’d be hypocritical to call screen time the root of all evil—but who am I to put my kids at an automatic disadvantage, amirite?)
That said, when it does come to kids’ programming, we’re thrilled to have Netflix on hand. While it doesn’t have everything (yet), it has plenty of shows that meet our needs, including the new Word Party released in July, a show designed to help wee ones with their vocabulary through songs and a variety of adventures.
But no—it’s Sarah and me who do the bulk of the household Netflix consumption, and I doubt that’ll change anytime soon. And it’s a good thing they added account profiles when they did so we could have our own viewing habits—I’m pretty sure she failed to appreciate the recommendations that came with my Star Wars: Clone Wars marathons when she was looking for her next rom-com.
So when Netflix Canada asked me to write about Netflix siblings playlists or the important life lessons my kids were learning while watching Netflix, it was hard to make it ring true.
Netflix and BINGE: Leave No Show Unwatched!
Personally, I’ve got a lot out of Netflix—I know now that Bill Burr’s hilarious; Archer‘s worth the watch if you’re okay with toilet humour; and though I doubted for several seasons, Orange is the New Black is ultimately worth it for the last four episodes of Season Four alone! (But it’s still no Wentworth.)
The Brits make some of the best TV ever (see Luther, Doctor Who, Sherlock or Black Mirror); Jessica Jones is better than almost any other superhero franchise, and I thoroughly appreciate the unfettered access to the DC Animated Universe. Firefly‘s a work of genius that ended long before its time, everyone should invest the half-hour needed to enjoy the eclectic awesomeness that is Kung Fury, and you’re going to want to make sure your kids are nowhere near the screen if you’re getting down with Spartacus (it makes Game of Thrones look tame.)
In short, I guess what I’m trying to say is that while I haven’t put out some solid Stream Team content for a bit, I’m still at it—I might just need to hit it from a different angle than my peers. There’s an entire world of content out there for my little guys to look forward to, but until they’re mature enough not to have a meltdown every time we turn the TV off (seriously—every. time.), my Stream Team posts might cater to a demographic that’s less about the power of friendship and more about overcoming adversity to become the legal counsel for the unlikeliest kingpin of the methamphetamine game. (Shout out Better Call Saul.)
Netflix: Because Thousands of Titles Aren’t Going to Watch THEMSELVES.
That’s enough of me blathering on—tune in next time for “Revenge of the Nerds”, where after decades, the nerd I was as a kid is finally cool!
Until the next, faithful readers, I remain,
1Because you know they’ll run home to tell me how much of an injustice it is that they don’t watch as much as the kid down the street….
Disclaimer: I wrote this post as the Netflix Stream Team member who’s got something streaming on his monitor just about every night while he takes care of his hustle. If you’ve yet to get behind the idea of consuming quality media whenever you feel so inclined, you should try it out! Netflix is here to stay.
