Eating My Words on Screen Time #NetflixFamilies

This post was sponsored by Netflix. Netflix Families makes summer easier. www.netflix.com/families

I have to admit, this summer, Jaye has definitely had more screen time than ever before. It’s one of those things about which I think everyone eats their own words. Before you have kids, you have big aspirations. Your future child will never watch t.v. or videos. Your future child will not even know who those obnoxious t.v. characters are. Your future child will play only with wooden toys and their imaginations. Your future child will be a genius. Your future child will certainly NOT be the almost-2-year-old whining “Ellll-mmmmmmooooo!!!!”

And then after you have kids, you eat your words. And they taste kind of like cardboard. Because it turns out that kids are exhausting. And wooden toys are not actually that entertaining. And when you have kids you have things to do other than spend hours reading your child the great classics of literature. Things like laundry, and even more of it than ever before. So, if you can find a simple, hassle-free way to entertain children of all ages, you go for it.

And streaming Netflix is a simple means to deliver family entertainment. Which is one of the reasons why I was excited to attend a local Netflix Families party last Tuesday. Other reasons included: getting out of the house, an excuse to wear a cute outfit, and a chance to socialize with other moms who are also bloggers!

So Jaye and I headed out last Tuesday morning to the home of Digital Mom Blog. The theme of the party was dinosaurs and there were a bunch of cute dino decorations all over the house! Jaye, in particular, appreciated the mini candy bar in the picture on the far left above and spent a lot of time requesting gummy worms by saying “More ‘Nakes!”

Jaye also loved playing with the “grow capsule” dinosaur sponges, especially moving them back and forth from cup to cup. She kept her safari hat on for quite awhile, determinedly holding it to her head. She was brave enough to pet this dinosaur once, but after that she shied away saying “Nooo.” Other highlights of the party included cooing over Brittany’s new baby, discussing temper tantrums and child development with Arena and Denise.

And of course, maybe the best part, in my opinion, was the photo booth. I LOVE LOVE LOVE photo booths. One of the frames on Jaye’s nursery art wall is two photo booth picture strips from a friends wedding. I love weddings, and I really LOVE weddings that have photo booths. I love that part at the end of the night where everyone has forgotten about the photo booth and my friends and I can just do it repeatedly back to back without waiting my turn again! Whoa, I got off-topic. Back to the photo booth at the Netflix Families party. Jaye was not so interested in actually posing for a picture, but she loved putting the photo booth prop sunglasses up to her face and saying “Cheese.” I, however, had a great time posing for pictures. My favorite photo booth picture is now my Instagram profile picture. BTW, I just joined Instagram, so if you’re not following me there yet, you should!

Jaye’s favorite show to watch right now is Elmo’s World. When she was younger, the only thing that held her interest was Baby Einstein. She’s also enjoyed a few episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba and Blue’s Clues though she’s not as “into” those characters as Elmo. One of the things I love about streaming video entertainment is that we can try new shows easily and quickly or go back and watch older television shows (like Blue’s Clues) that wouldn’t be easily accessible otherwise.

I learned a few other new things about Netflix at the event:

• You can control Netflix from your iPad like it’s a giant remote!
• Netflix costs $7.99 a month to stream all the movies and tv shows you want. That means that a year of Netflix roughly costs less than taking a family of 5 to 2 movies.
• Netflix works on a wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, Smart TVs, Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Wii.
• Families with Netflix can enjoy their favorites – always without commercials – anytime, anywhere. Brittany mentioned that her favorite feature is that they can pause a video they were watching on one device and pick up in the same place later on an entirely different device!
• Netflix has a dedicated section of movies and TV shows for kids 2-12.

Do you guys use Netflix? What are your favorite kids shows or movies? What kids show is the most obnoxious in your opinion?

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 about how other families use Netflix.  This post was sponsored by Netflix. Netflix Families makes summer easier. www.netflix.com/families