Our daughter will be 7 next month. She’s recently come to a point where going to bed between 7 and 8 is too early. Which means that she’s still awake when I’ve used up all my energy for the day and I’m ready to collapse. So I thought it might be nice to spend a little time as couch potatoes together.
I’m not too concerned about “adult content” as long as it’s not scary stuff. Examples: she likes to rewatch the Lady Gaga episode of Glee over and over, and we watch Futurama and The Simpsons together. Scares aside, the reason to rule out more grown-up stuff is if it is too boring for her. As hilarious as they are to us, Better Off Ted and Arrested Development are not going to hold her attention. We’ve watched a few nature shows, but it has to be something she’s really into, and preferably not too brutal (I regret watching a Nature where a rival wolf pack starved some pups to death in their den!).
On the flipside, I don’t mind watching kid stuff, if it’s fun. Phineas and Ferb was entertaining (but we don’t have cable anymore). Muppets rule. I haven’t minded watching Fantastic Mr. Fox 10,000 times this month.
I’m going to try So You Think You Can Dance. She enjoys The Amazing Race, and I think dancing would interest her. Other than that, I’m not sure. We can watch the major networks and Hulu, and use Netflix.
My kids and I watch it (12 and 15) and we all laugh uncontrollably. Sorry, it’s just funny. If you have cable, cooking shows are fun, too.
Also- see if Netflix has Kid Nation. It was a fun reality show with kids. No one gets voted off, kids who worked hard get voted a prize. We talked a lot about how the kid interacted, showed leadership etc.
Animated:
If you’re Christian (even nominally) and/or religious, Veggie Tales is clever and has well-written songs. Backyardigans has catchy tunes that you may find yourself humming throughout the day. Little Bill often offers topics that can be jumping-off points for discussion (social awkwardness, learning new skills, etc.)
Non-animated: if she’s ‘older’ than her years (she seems to be more of a 'tween than a little kid): iCarly is often amusing/entertaining, not painful to watch together. My 10YO enjoys some of the cooking/Food Network shows like Man vs Food, and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and Good Eats. She also likes shows like Food Detectives, Unwrapped, How It’s Made, and Dirty Jobs. Because she’s a geek, and something of a tomboy.
Find her interests, find things that appeal to those. Even if the shows are a tad above her age level, she may well enjoy them.
My girls (9, 7, 5) love, love, love Avatar: the Last Airbender (note: not Cameron’s pile of CGI fluff crap; it was a NickToons animated series). It’s about 61 episodes, each about 20+ minutes long. The first season (of 3 total) is on Netflix Watch It Now, and you can get the others by disc. It’s a good mixture of action/humor/world saving/the importance of being a good guy/redemption. It’s also pretty good for adults, and very good for watching it together with the kids and talking about it. Highly recommended.
Rocky and Bullwinkle! I’m 26, so it was produced well before I was born - but I loved watching reruns on PBS with my parents as a kid. To me, Rocky and Bullwinkle the The Muppet Show are the pinacle of children’s entertainment.
Oh my, you have no idea how many :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I would see if I suggested Veggie Tales or Little Bill. “That’s *baby *stuff.” (The likes of which will easily mesmerize her if I have it on for little sister, but she would never admit it or set out to watch this stuff.)
I like the idea of Good Eats - I will add those to my Netflix queue.
And Hamlet, we will probably try Avatar: The Last Airbender tonight. It sounds great (all praise Netflix Watch Instantly!).
And I think I even have some sort of promotional Rocky & Bullwinkle DVD - I’ll have to unearth it. good ol’ Wassamatta U. heheh.
A lot of old 1990’s Nickelodeon stuff is on Netflix now, pete & pete, salute your shorts, hey arnold. Kids like them and they’re funny enough for adults to enjoy.
Hmm. Would Doctor Who be out of line? While it’s pretty much a geek cult here, it’s considered a mainstream family show in the U.K. and is pretty much tailor-made for young kids to watch with their parents and grandparents. It does have scary moments and deaths (although people often get better), but there’s no gore, and British 6-year-olds at least seem to handle it just fine.
But if that’s still a little too intense, there’s the totally child-friendly spin-off “The Sarah Jane Adventures,” which is available on DVD from Netflix. It has an appealing cast of youngsters (along with one responsible adult) who fight monsters and win every week. (And it will prepare her to start watching “Doctor Who” when she’s 8.)
My 8 yo daughter likes watching Man vs. Wild aka the guy who drinks his own pee. 2nd cooking shows. Good Eats is entertaining. We also like Mexico - One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless.
I’m not super proud to admit this, but I got hooked on the last air bender while watching it with my nephew and then proceeded to watch the rest of the series sans child present. While the humor in it is definitely angled towards kids, the overarching storyline is extremely well done and will keep you watching as an adult.
I have an 8 year old and she likes Dr. Who, though we feel the need to pre-screen the episodes before she sees them, so no Blink for her. She also likes Sarah Jane Adventures.
Wallace and Gromitt are very funny with humor aimed at both the kid’s and parent’s level.
My (almost) 3 year old is nuts for Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends right now. The three of us have been watching that and Spectacular Spider-Man online, but I don’t know how interested your daughter would be in that.
The Penguins of Madagascar on Nickolodeon. It’s adorable and the comedic timing in the animation is excellent. I don’t have kids but am not ashamed to admit I watch this when it’s on and it makes me laugh out loud more than many sitcoms.
