Netflix and Cartoons

Recently we decided to add Netflix into our lives. We don't have cable or satellite or anything, but we like to watch movies, and the late fees for rentals were getting ridiculous, so Netflix was a good option for us. We still have all the control over what the kids watch, and the opportunity to budget better our rental fees.

We have a Wii, so we have been using the streaming option a lot. This allows you to watch on your TV several different movies or old television shows.

I'm starting to sound like a commercial. I don't mean to, I just want to make clear what I'm talking about before I explain what is happening in my house.

Because of the ease and availability, Tony has introduced several old cartoons into the lives of my children. I now have Becca asking to watch the Super Mario Super Show (a show that wasn't worth anything when it was on the air the first time, and now is worse) or Fat Albert. Ali is asking to watch Pink Panther shorts. Zoe asking for Tom and Jerry.

I sit and I watch, knowing how much physical comedy was in the old shows, and I start wondering why I am allowing my kids to watch them. Some are fine. I don't have any problem with Fat Albert, but Tom and Jerry and Pink Panther get pretty violent. I usually keep my kids from that kind of stuff. In the name of "classic cartoons" my kids are watching things that warped the minds of many in my generation. Not that cartoons are any better now. That's pretty much why we don't pay for TV.

I also think that Micah and Becca are mature enough to understand the difference between real and pretend, so I'm not terribly worried about them. It's really the twins that I am having issues with. My girls will be 4 next month, and they still have problems with that difference. Becca had it down by then, but I really pushed it hard for her because she really likes to watch TV. Ali and Zoe don't care as much about TV, so I really haven't pushed it that much. Not that they don't watch TV, but they don't get sucked in like Becca does. I literally have to turn of the TV to get her attention. Ali and Zoe watch, but they can be easily distracted from it. They would much rather play a game with a real person than watch the television. This makes it harder for me to get other things done sometimes, but I'm still glad. When Becca was little, if I needed a shower all I had to do was turn on the TV to a cartoon and I knew that she would be sitting there the whole time. With the twins, I have to get up before Tony leaves to shower or put food and TV in front of them and get in and out in 2 minutes or less or plan on cleaning up some mess.

Well, it looks like I'm going to stress the difference between real and pretend with them now. I talk with them about it some, but I've not been as diligent as I was with my older two. Until they get that concept, I'm going to go back to the 30 minute TV rule.