Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

When Netflix Helped Me Fight the Good Fight (Responsibility Real Talk)

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I’m a Netflix Stream Team member and receive complimentary streaming service. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Over the weekend my youngest turned 4 and had her first “friends invited” birthday party. She had quite a specific vision for her celebration: she wanted a red and blue dog party! My little one is ALL about dogs. She probably has 25 puppy stuffed animals of various sizes (including 2 that are larger than her). And I should mention that the pets in our home include 2 cats and 0 dogs.

I think part of her strategy for asking for a dog party was to try to get a real live puppy. After all, what would be a more appropriate gift at a dog-themed party than a dog?

dog themed birthday cakes

Smart kid! Smarter mama, though. 😉

One of the strategies that I used to help my daughter better understand why a puppy would NOT be invited to live with us was to sit her down with some Netflix and to sit myself down right beside her.

We watched the first episode of VeggieTales in the House because it was all about responsibility, and more specifically, about getting a dog! (Spoiler alert!)Unlike countless books and videos where a child requests a dog and gets one, this episode ends with the kiddos realizing that they are not actually ready for all the responsibility.

Veggie Tales

It was the perfect thing to watch with my daughter because we had a nice talk after it was over about why it isn’t time for us to get a dog, and also about what she can do if she wants to get to spend time with dogs (visit dogs at the animal shelter, for example).

I know it’s SO tempting to walk away once your kids sit down to some Netflix, but there’s also some great opportunities to have really good talks with your kids after episodes, especially ones that have valuable lessons in them, like VeggieTales in the House. Check it out with your child this month on Netflix!

Are there any shows you have recently watched with your kids that have spurred on some good conversations?

The Great Netflix Debate: How My Kids Decide What to Watch Next

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I’m a Netflix Stream Team member and receive complimentary streaming service. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

My girls get to watch about 20 minutes of television right after school. They both relish this chill time before launching into homework, and it gives me a bit of time to start prepping the kitchen for making dinner.

But sometimes Darah and Layah, who are almost 3 years apart in age, have a tough time agreeing on a show. They are close in age in the grand scheme of life, but at this stage, they can seem quite different! Layah, for example, loves to watch Little Einsteins and Darah has outgrown it completely.

So how do the girls keep from spending their after school television time arguing? We have a few key strategies!

1. Look for What’s New

Netflix, first and foremost, does an AMAZING job of releasing new content on the regular. At the start of the month there’s a whole new slew of great shows and movies to check out, and throughout the month Netflix Originals hit the scene, as well. When you get to your Netflix dashboard, simply look for what’s new. Often the girls are willing to give a new show a try together. Speaking of which, definitely check out Kong: King of the Apes. It’s a huge hit with my girls, and they found it earlier this week by searching for new content.

2. Search the Curated Lists

Netflix has lists organized by categories that kids can search, but for the month of April, they also have a few special lists with sibling harmony in mind. Check out the Sugar & Spice List which can satisfy the sassy and sweet child at the same time, or A Tale of Two Distant Ages if you have a large age gap between your kiddos. Finally, try Meet in the Middle, which has a little taste from many different genres.

3. Use the Fortune Teller

Still can’t decide? Leave it up to the fortune teller! Look at this super fun free printable that is loaded with fun shows and movies kids of all ages will love.

netflix fortune teller

How to play:

1. Pick a color on the top four flaps and spell out the letters (e.g. B-L-U-E) while alternating a pinching and pulling motion with the teller to reveal a set of four numbers.
2. Pick a number and move the fortune teller the corresponding number of times, revealing a second set of four numbers.
3. Choose a genre and open the flap to reveal what’s up next on Netflix.

I hope the ideas we use can help you keep the sibling conflict over what to watch next on Netflix to a minimum. What are you watching on Netflix this month? 

I Resolve to Watch Fun Stuff: New on Netflix January 2016

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I’m a member of the Netflix Stream team and enjoy free streaming service. I have been a happy Netflix customer for 11 years, now and am thrilled to share about my experience.

I’m usually the type of person who makes New Year’s resolutions (more specifically, my family picks a word as a theme for our year). But we haven’t done it for 2016, and you know what? I’m totally fine with it.

2015 was tremendous in some ways (both Tim and I did some major “leaping” professionally…fitting, since that was our word). But it also was a downright AWFUL year, as we had a very unexpected death in our family that left us all reeling (and continues to do so, quite honestly).

When Tim and I started talking about our resolutions for the year, all we could come up with was, “Nobody we love die in 2016. That is all.” It’s a pretty low bar, but it’s also a bar we have no control over. And it’s also a pretty clear indicator that we need a chill year.

new on Netflix January 2016

And what’s a chill year without some awesome Netflix, am I right? So let’s do a little family-friendly “Netflix and chill” this month and tune in to some great new content. Tons of new stuff is coming out this month on the streaming service, but here’s my own curated list of what I know my family will be watching:

New on Netflix January 2016

Whatever your resolutions are for the year, I hope they include taking some time with your family to unwind with something awesome to watch on Netflix! Any shows or movies you think my crew should add to our list this month?

 

 

 

How Netflix Makes My Life Easier

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Netflix.

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My primary aim at Stuff Parents Need is to show you ways to make your life easier as a parent of young children. Today I’m excited to share with you how Netflix does just that for me.

Our Netflix Journey

My household has been a member of Netflix since 2005. We’ve taken a few breaks along the way (which is easy to do! Gotta love that about the program!). And we’ve even drastically changed what our membership looks like over time. Before we had kids, we subscribed to the 3 DVDs at a time program through the mail, which we absolutely adored. But as soon as Darah hit the scene, we realized we didn’t have as much time to spend in front of the television, so we took it down to 1 DVD at a time.

And finally, we switched to what we currently have, which is a subscription service I refer to as “the steal of the century”. We don’t get any DVDs in the mail now, and only subscribe to Netflix instant videos. This subscription is $7.99/month. When you track that over a year, the cost of a Netflix instant membership is less than the cost of two trips to the movies for a family of 5. And that’s NOT counting any concessions you might want to buy! Here’s what we spent last night watching a movie at home (by the way, the movie cost is the $7.99 divided by 30, since we usually watch one show or movie each day in our home).

netflix families movie night

Flexible to Meet Changing Needs

I really appreciate that as the digital world has so rapidly changed, and as the needs of our family have changed, Netflix has been ready to serve us. We get so much value out of having instant access to so many great viewing options available at the push of a button. I also value the reviews offered by other members. This is especially important for anything I might let Darah watch; I want to know if other parents think it is age appropriate for a preschooler!

I use Netflix Instant every single day. Seriously! Darah has video time every day at 3pm (assuming she isn’t engrossed in another activity at that time). She gets her afternoon snack and gets to select one video. She and I both appreciate that none of that time gets wasted with commercials, as everything on Netflix is commercial-free!

How We Watch Netflix

Netflix is hooked up to our television through the Wii, and we just hop on, select either something that is new to her, or one of her favorites (shout out, Tinkerbell!) and set the timer for 30 minutes. If you have a smart phone, tablet, laptop, Smart TV, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox or like us, a Nintendo Wii, then you’ve already got the equipment you need to start watching Netflix!

Netflix Families

netflix families

Netflix has pretty much thought of everything when it comes to ease of use. I am able to find videos extremely quickly for Darah, and that is largely thanks to a new curated list of options Netflix offers. Check out Netflix.com/Families. This page has great lists of movies and TV shows, and right now those lists are geared toward specific summer needs you might have. I’m especially fond of the “Are We There Yet? Great Titles to Take on Vacation” list. We can quickly browse those on the iPad or iPhone while we are on the road (oh yes, you can watch Netflix in your vehicle!). We’ve had a few trips this summer, and getting to watch a video in the middle of the trip definitely helps break it up for Darah. This list is available for both members and non-members, so even if you don’t have an account, you should check out their recommended list!

Family Movie Night

We are also developing a tradition of a weekend movie night with mom, dad and Darah after little sister goes to sleep. Truly, this is one of the highlights of the week for our oldest, and it is for us, as well. Netflix makes it easy to find great movies to watch with Darah thanks to their movie night list. Yesterday we spent part of the afternoon at the International Towing and Recovery Museum (how’s that for random?) and for that reason, decided to watch Mater’s Tall Tales, featuring Tow Mater, America’s best-loved tow truck!

netflix families mater

Do you use Netflix? Did you know about the Netflix Families page? What are your little ones watching these days? 

A message from Netflix:

Netflix.com/Families is a new destination designed to meet your family’s summertime entertainment needs. On Netflix.com/Families, parents can find lists of movies and TV shows for all kinds of special summer moments.

Visit www.Netflix.com/Families for more information on the best ways to stream as well as videos from families using Netflix.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Netflix.