When folks ask us if we’ve seen a particular film or know of a certain actor, our response is frequently, “Huh? Nope… never heard of it/him.” This is because we don’t watch TV. Okay, let me explain… we have a Television, don’t get me wrong. I actually quite like our television. Mostly, however, because it connects to our Netflix account. We are technically hooked up to cable, or our house is – that is, but we don’t watch cable television (the cord isn’t even attached to the TV.) We don’t have local tv, or bunny ears. We very rarely use the DVD player. Our primary source of entertainment on the media front is Netflix.
I have to give the company kudos… My kids are the main reason we have an account. With shows like “Bo on the Go”, “Super Why”, “Justin Time”, “Rescue Bots”, “Word Girl”, “Kipper”, “My Big Big Friends”, “Pinky Dinky Do” and more, and NO commercials EVER, we simply don’t need anything else. My son’s vocabulary (he’s 3) amazes me. He says things like “This is super delicious, Mom!” or, “That is humungous!” DELICIOUS? HUMUNGOUS? I love that the shows he watches have so much to offer in his learning and I love that he isn’t getting impulsed through commercials.
We had an incident which required a trip to the ER. Kiddo had a glass shard under his toe… long story. While we were waiting for the doc, cable TV was playing in the room. We weren’t going to turn it off just because it was regular television, since the kid was in pain… but OH MY GOSH… I can’t tell you how many times he got sucked into a commercial and asked us for something he saw. For that matter, Sesame Street characters on the front of Cereal boxes is just obnoxious (especially since the cereal isn’t even tasty…) and the monsters that advertising brings out in our children is crazy! That one incident was enough to reassure us that NOT inviting that into our home was TOTALLY the way to go.
Why am I writing about Netflix? Because I run into families all the time who wonder how they can censor some of the junk their kids see. No, you can’t watch that one show that you absolutely need to see to find out who is cheating on who and whatnot… (Eeww, right?) because it isn’t on Netflix yet… and yes, you are right, you’ll miss the previews and won’t know what is in theatres… (you know what that means? Less $$$$ spent on movies!). BUT… You won’t spend 20 minutes of an hour show (minimum) watching ads… and you won’t have to rush to the television or tivo (is that still around?) those shows you are addicted to… AND you control your tv… not the other way around. Awesome right?!
For the record… As of a few days ago, I found out that Netflix FINALLY upgraded their Streaming options and you can now have 4 devices for $3 more a month than the 2 device plan! Sweet!!!! BUT… they also changed their parental controls. Right now, whatever you set it on goes on all devices. So… you and hubs want to watch a PG 13 show… you have to disable the controls on all devices. YUCK. And… they didn’t give us many choices to begin with. I can allow only Y shows… OR Y-PG (Huge range there!!!) or PG-13 or R-MA (Again, range!!!) Apparently, they will be improving these options in the coming months – as well as allowing the controls to be based on users. I’m not holding my breath… but I am looking forward to changes. Meanwhile, I have to be a parent and keep an eye on what my kids watch on my own. Sheesh Netflix… way to make me be responsible. 
Long story short… if you want an option for your family that frees you of some of the world drama that comes with conventional tv, this is what we did… Netflix. Period. 
