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?

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.

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?