Photo credit: Peep and the Big Wide World
It’s true! My kids watch TV sometimes, and I like television, too!
However, some of the TV shows my kids have fallen in love with over the years (and by TV, I mean Netflix although I’ve heard they’re on cable, too) are terrible. The good news is when my kids insist on those shows, I can cook dinner, return a phone call or just run far away from the theme music and try not to cry when I find myself humming along.
But I want to share the few shows that I’m all: PAUSE IT! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! And then I order pizza from the toilet so I can watch the next episode with them. (I picked one show, which is either funny or thoughtful but most often both, for each age rating.)
- Peep and the Big Wide World (G): This show is on PBS and Netflix, and you newer parents are lucky because when it was only on PBS, my son asked set a 6 a.m. alarm clock to catch it on Sunday mornings. I can’t even describe the show well enough to not just say, try it out. My husband and I still laugh at references from it.
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Y): This is one of the few times I’ve enjoyed a reboot of a series from my childhood better than when I was a child. The story lines are interesting and the characters have a level of complexity that is still geared towards kids. I always look forward to new seasons showing up on Netflix. If you want to watch them on cable, it’s the HUB network.
- The SuperHero Squad Show (Y7): I’ve only seen this on Netflix, but it is on the HUB network as well. The Marvel Avenger characters like Iron Man and The Hulk drawn and acting a lot more like 8 year olds. The humor and story lines are more palpable than say The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (Y7) although the latter is also excellent (but sadly, canceled).
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (PG): This is definitely for older kids, although as has happened with many things, my youngest watched it much younger than my oldest did. This show started on Cartoon Network so we actually own DVDs of it until it appeared on Netflix this year. Because it is a cartoon, our kids seem to handle the darker motifs better. However, as the seasons progress, some of themes become pretty intense.
I know I’m supposed hate television because I’m parent, but I think a good TV show leads to good conversations and shared jokes. Or at least now we can all watch our less than 2 hours of TV with our kids without dying of boredom.
