Stuff Parents Need

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

Bedtime Negotiations: The 5 Minute Win from Netflix

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I’m a proud member of the Netflix Stream Team and will be sharing the best new content my favorite at-home entertainment company has to offer! My streaming service is being provided as part of my participation. All opinions (and my lovey dovey feelings for Netflix) are my own, as always. 

I’d love to hear which of these strategies your kids use to put off bedtime.

netflix bedtime excuses I see 4 on this list that my girls try on the regular. And please, NOBODY inform them about the “King Julian” strategy because I’m honestly shocked that they haven’t pulled that one, yet! I think the most popular excuse in our home is that they want just a few more minutes to play. Here are some other excuses you may have heard (watch out for the one about socks!).

Netflix knows that many parents out there are dealing with their little ones asking for “just one more” show on Netflix streaming before it’s time for the lights to go out. And they know that there are some nights where you are so tired that you just might cave (and you best believe that your kids know that, too!). So Netflix has created a way for you to say yes to the request for a little bit more fun without getting kids off their bedtime schedule. Check out the 5 Minute Favorites, 3 new DinoTrux mini-episodes that will be a delight to watch, and best of all, will be over soon!

dino trux

So on those nights when you just don’t have it in you to stand firm, you can actually grant your kids permission to watch an ENTIRE show before bed…only that show you are letting them watch is just 5 minutes long. 🙂

Take back your night, parents. If you are like me you still have another season left of Friends to watch after the kids are in bed (yes, I’ve been working on it ALL YEAR!), and it’s more fun to get to watch your shows if you didn’t have to do epic battle with your kids first.

So what other funny excuses have your kids given in an effort to stay up past their bedtimes? Share it with us all on social media and be sure to tag it with #5MoreMinutes. Go search for the hashtag while you are at it if you need a good laugh.

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.