My family regularly watches NETFLIX, and today I’m sharing 5 reasons why we LOVE it. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of NETFLIX, but all opinions are my own.
Several years ago, my family ditched our cable TV for NETFLIX. Really? We couldn’t afford cable anyway, and Netflix allows us the opportunity to view lots of family-friendly shows without going in the hole financially.
Check out 5 reasons why we love Netflix so much that we will never go back to cable!
1. Netflix is affordable.
OK, this one is a no-brainer. I think even basic cable in our area costs upwards of $35+. Our Netflix membership is $7.99 per month. That’s for unlimited streaming of a wide array of TV shows, documentaries (one of my favorites!), movies, and, especially, quality programming for kids.
2. There are NO commercials on Netflix!
I don’t think it really hit me that my kids had never been exposed to commercials until they were watching TV at their grandparents’ house one day, and they got upset that the show had “gone off”! It was really a commercial!
It was then that I became so thankful that they are not inundated with the latest toy or gadget big businesses are marketing to kids–not to mention all the junk food commercials! (Or commercials for adult TV shows that can be inappropriate for little eyes–to say the least!)
3. We can watch Netflix on-the-go.
I have the Netflix app on both my phone and Kindle (we don’t have an iPad, but you can get it there as well!). I cannot tell you how convenient it has been to let my girls enjoy a family-friendly and educational TV show while waiting in doctor’s offices or on long car rides.
You can watch your favorite TV shows and movies anywhere, any time you want. Netflix is available on hundreds of devices, which you probably already have at home!
4. Netflix provides family-friendly and educational programming for my kids.
Netflix has recently added new content from Hasbro, Disney Jr. and Cartoon Network. The dedicated kids section has family favorites appropriate for children ages 2- 12. All content is selected with help from Common Sense Media to provide ratings, reviews and information so parents can easily make choices for their kids!
Some of my girls’ favorite shows include My Little Pony, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Angelina Ballerina and Curious George.
My Little Pony teaches about friendship and how to resolve conflict in relationships. Some of the values the show teaches include honesty, loyalty, kindness and generosity. It’s my oldest little girl’s absolute favorite show, and in a couple of weeks she will have a My Little Pony 5th birthday party!
Curious George is another favorite for both my 2 1/2 and almost-5 year old. Curious George teaches children about exploring the world, and the show is actually where my husband and I first learned about composting several years ago. (Not that we have ever been caught watching it after the girls have gone to bed or anything. 😉 )
We will sometimes watch these shows together as a family, which allows us the opportunity to discuss with the girls what they are learning.
To read more about kids watching TV, check out Emily’s post on Managing Screen Time for Young Kids.
5. Netflix allows you to watch programming on more than one device at a time–for no extra cost.
Now, I’m not saying that we use this very often, but, in theory, my husband and I can be watching a Netflix show on the TV, while someone else can be watching a different show on a phone or on a Kindle Fire.
Streaming is easier than you think. Download the free app on your iPad, click on the Netflix app on any gaming device or visit Netflix.com on your computer – and you’re in business. Check it out here!
Netflix has family favorites from Disney, Disney Jr., Hasbro, Cartoon Network and Dreamworks that are available to stream anytime, anywhere.
What are you watching on TV with your family? Do you have Netflix? Why do you love Netflix–or what has kept you back from getting a Netflix membership?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of NETFLIX.
Kimberly
We are a proud Netflix family. My husband and I have been married almost 4 years and we’ve never had a TV in our home. Mostly because he was taking exams and studying 100’s of hours until a few months ago. But like you said, I like that we can feel safe about what our 2 year old sees. He has “ipad” time every morning during my 10 month old’s nap, and we both look forward to this time. 🙂 It has also come in VERY handy on the go!
Erin
Glad I’m not the only one who loves it so much! I’m so thankful my girls can watch their shows commercial-free!
Beth
I love netflix. I have been using it for years. Late night nursing would have been horrible if I didn’t have netflix. And really, for $8.00- there is no reason why one cannot afford it. Cut eating lunch out one day a week, or cut out 2 coffee drinks.
YAY FOR NETFLIX!
Erin
Love your point about just cutting out one meal away from home can pay for it! It really is amazing how cheap it is!
Cheryn
My husband and I decided when we got our first place together that we’d never get cable, but stick with Netflix. At first we got the dvds, but we enjoyed the switch to live streaming. My kids have lots of favourites on Netflix… at least they did until we recently moved to Italy, and Netflix hasn’t come here yet. We’re sure missing it!
Erin
I hope it gets to Italy soon!
ricardo
You can use unblockus it works on all devices I have it in portugal
ricardo
You can use unblockus it works on all devices I have it in portugal it costs 5 bucks month
Lois
You are so right. I love the fact that we really have control over what we watch without commercials trying to get us to buy things we do not need. It is wonderful not having a cable bill. On wintery or rainy days, my husband and I have marathon dates where we watch an entire season of a show we have never seen. We make popcorn and snuggle in…lots of fun. Great article!!
Erin
Glad you love it, too, Lois! I’m glad my kids don’t know what the latest gadgets are! 😉
Tasha
I love no commercials, there was one on Nick that was a little sexual and my kids saw it and that made me decide to turn off cable. Netflix is wonderful. 🙂
Erin
You know that is horrible that they have commercials like that on Nick & ABC Family (as someone else mentioned). So glad we don’t have to deal with those!
kristen
we got Netflix wen we finally bought a computer /internet, we had cable too, but soon found that we didn’t even wach the cable , it was much easier than cable just put on dora (every show every show ever made =) I actually never thought of the commercials, we had dvr toy story around Christmas time on our dish and the kids had been watching it on there (but I had to run in and fast forward through commercials because they were very inappropriate (ABC “family ” mind you! ) =) but I told my husband we should just save money and get rid of cable because the kids don’t watch it anymore and the little time we watched tv at night e found ourselves putting on old re runs and documentaires =) I LOVE NETFIX, its saving us $70 a month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erin
Uggg–I hate commercials like that! Yay for Netflix!!
Chris
We fell in love with Netflix a few years ago. When people complain about their cable bills I always tell them about Netflix. It helps that they can try it out for FREE for a month 🙂 I’m wondering how you can watch it on 3 devices ? We’re only able to watch in on up to 2 devices at a time.
Erin
You know I need to re-check that! Maybe it is only two.
Jocelyn
We have been a netflix family for over 10 years! My husband and I have NEVER had cable and it’s wonderful!
Erin
We love it! Not sure why anyone would still opt for cable!
Stacy @Stacy Makes Cents
Imagine me over here smacking myself in the forehead. I never even thought about the plus side of NO COMMERCIALS! 🙂 I hate commercials….this is a great perk. Today I just found out that Roku added a PBS Kids app! 🙂 🙂
Erin
Awesome! We got roku last Christmas. Will have Will add PBS kids! I can’t figure it out myself! Lol
shelly f.
Exactly!!!! Very affordable, plenty of shows FAMILY friendly, no commercials, etc!!! Because my son doesnt see all the commercials he isnt asking for the newest “thing” on the market! I had tried cable — day one my son was 3 at time picked up remote and started pushing buttons. All of a sudden he comes running in. He had accidently put porn that was “on demand” program..on WOW. I was beyond horrified and called cable company they removed charge. And recommended “just put parental control on remote” I cancelled at the end of the 3 month special I had signed up for. We have been cable free since!! NO THANK YOU!!! We have netflix and Hulu all together under $20!!!!!
Erin
WOW! That is one of my biggest fears! We must do all we can to protect their innocence! Not so easy in today’s world!
Greta
I know this is sponsored by Netflix, so I will tell you that we used it for a long time and loved the price savings over cable, yea, yea, yea for saving money! : ) But, the money-saving thing is why we actually decided to switch from Netflix to Amazon Prime. I think they have fairly comparable programming (We did have to give up Curious George…though we watch it through our good ole antenna, on PBS), but Amazon Prime Video is included with a $79.00 Prime membership, along with free 2-day shipping from Amazon.com….I’m not trying to sound like an Amazon commercial. We liked both services, but couldn’t pass up the (basically) free programming. There are shows that I miss from Netflix, but Amazon has others that Netflix doesn’t, so it ended up being a wash, for us…I just thought I’d pass on this info, in case it was helpful! : )
Erin
Wow! Thanks for the input! Does that include the prime lending library? Between Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, it looks like the cable companies will have to eventually come down on their prices! Does amazon have commercials?
Greta
No commercials…it’s pretty much just like netflix. I think you can do a free trial. I’m not sure what the lending library is…I’ll have to look into that!
Erin
Very cool!
Jennifer
If you have an iPad, you can download the PBS Kids app. They update it with pbs kids episodes, including Curious George! And Target always had their multiple episodes Curious George DVDs for $5, which is still cheaper than Netflix 🙂
Kate
I’m with you on the commercial free. When we travel it is always a surprise to my own girls to see commercials, and I love not being constantly asked for the newest toys. My oldest (5 yrs too) had her My Little Pony Party last year and is still a huge pony fan. It’s a great show! I even enjoy it.
Erin
Our oldest will be 5 in two weeks & she is soooo excited about her My Little Pony party!! I think they have totally redone the ponies, but I think it’s neat that she is into them when I played with them when I was a kid! The show teaches lots of great values, too!
Shelly F
I am so glad to not been the lone “protective mom” !! My friend in MT got me turned to Netflix through our wii 🙂 Now what is Roku and Amazon Prime?? It’s hilarious I have been criticized for doing the Hulu and Netflix… I have been told I am warping my son ! No I will not have tv or computer in his room! no I don’t give in to every whim and wish. He knows the phrase ” we can’t afford it”. Because of being frugal and protective I don’t have a gimmie child. He appreciates what he gets! he thinks nothing of second hand or inexpensive treats! It’s amazing for the amount I don’t judge others how much I am judged for my religious beliefs… I just give it to God and press on 🙂
Erin
Wow! Thank you for sharing! I did get a very negative comment about the pic of my daughter watching Netflix…and my husband deleted it.;)
Mary
Good for you! I’ve told my kids on many occasions that no they can’t have their own TV and we will only ever have one TV. I don’t plan on ever going back to a subscription service like cable or satellite. We have an antennae for the news once in a while but the rest is Netflix through our Wii as well. When my kids do get the occasional gimmees, I remind them of certain things we’re saving for and how much longer it would take to reach our goals if we don’t watch out money (a farm is the biggest goal!). Most of their clothes have come as hand-me-downs or thrift stores. The only thing they get new at times is jammies at Christmas, shoes, an occasional new dress for my daughter and jeans for my son when I can’t find any at the thrift store in his size. Most of my clothes are from the same places! I am proud to be a protective parent who’s teaching my kids the values that are important to me.
Jessica Ballard
We do like Netflix and have had it 6 years. It has allowed us to get rid of cable. We have hulu and amazon prime as well and total only 22 month with so many options. We have 3 kids and use more devices regularly. We were surprised with the plan changes that popped up. We can now only stream on 2 devices at a time or upgrade to another plan that will still only allow 4 at a time. This did not go over well at bedtime this week. It would have been nice to have heads up or email about the changes coming.
Erin
You know, I had to go in and edit my post because I didn’t realize this change! 🙁 it’s a bummer but still a great deal overall!
Mary
We had Netflix and satellite for a while but then when furloughs hit, one of my first money saving decisions was to cut the satellite out. We did increase our Netflix subscription from the basic package we had when Netflix first came out the the streaming plus one DVD per family member but it was well worth it. We all have our own DVD queue and it is still half the price we were paying for Dish. I especially like that the kids can watch their shows when they want and then once they go to bed I can watch mine. I don’t have to worry about the commercials or them seeing something I don’t want them to. We homeschool so the DVD portion works really well for us, especially for science and history. I see something coming up in the lesson plans that I think my kids might enjoy a bit more in depth information on so I get a documentary or two on the subject and we watch it together and then do the lesson and any quizzes or tests.
We used to use Hulu Plus as well but found we rarely watched it since Netflix already had most of the shows we liked and we’re fine with waiting until the season is over to get new episodes.
I would like to recommend another product that is for kids and is awesome for parents as well: Zoodles! It is an app to be downloaded on your computer, phone, or tablet and it requires a password for the kids to log out so once they’re logged in, they have no access to your computer files, etc. Also, you can fine-tune your preferences such as blocking specific characters or shows that you don’t want them to view, set time limits for both weekdays and weekends and set which learning subject you want the games to focus on (reading, math, life/cognitive skills, etc). In addition to this, there are ebooks that your child can have read out loud for themselves when you’re not available to read to them. Many of them have someone from Zoodles reading but you can record the stories yourself or have a favorite friend or relative read it for the kids. Each child has their own account and games are geared for their age. Lastly, you can send an email to relatives and friends that your child is close with and then that person can send video mail back and forth with your child. There is a free option that doesn’t include a lot of the above features but is still good but the pay option is still really reasonable at $5/month to around $40 a year.
Erin
Thanks for the input on zoodles! I’ll have to check it out!!
jp
Me and the misses cut cable back in 2006. From that time on, we would use DVD kiosk like red box or buy DVDs from Walmart for entertainment. Even go to the local library to get movies. Then we got bluray player with wifi in 2012. We got Netflix a few months later, but our connection was slow so we decided to upgrade it. Now we love it and very rarely go to redbox or any other DVD kiosk. Also we save a ton of cash on gas. Great deal for 8bucks a month.
Dan
Last week, for about the 5th time, we cancelled cable. I have always enjoyed cable TV but the cost of it was not worth the money in my opinion. I tried to watch free TV, with an antennae, with my wife out of town and it was plain terrible, even MORE commercials than pay/cable TV. Yup, more of them. No selection either. Sooooo, by Sunday night I signed up for my free month of netflix.
I can’t get enough, I have already gone through “Vietnam in HD” which was superb, and am now watching the movie “Jobs.” I don’t even know if I will ever rent a redbox again, no need. I am sure we will, but honestly I could live without it. Netflix has SOOO much and because there are no commercials, I can watch more content in the same amount of time I was watching cable TV.
Erin
Glad you love Netflix too! It’s the best!
Kristie
We stream shows from Amazon prime for the kiddos but we don’t have a lot of common Disney ones or educational shows..how does Netflix compare to Amazon? Anyone have experience with both?
Kaylee
I used to love Netflix, but we are also paying for an Amazon prime membership (mainly for the free 2 day shipping we use religiously) but it comes with so many perks! Prime members get Amazon prime unlimited streaming as well, also available on devices. Prime music as well. Then also books–kindle first, which allows you to read a new release for free every month (you get to pick from 4!) Plus, my daughter has a kindle. And kindle unlimited you have to pay for, but prime members receive a discount. When added all the benefits up, it was worth it! For about the cost of Netflix, we get all these perks Amazon offers. Shortly after, we stopped using Netflix and only use Amazon prime about main source of TV and movies. The shows are pretty decent. My daughter is happy with her bubble guppies, veggie tales, and curious george. What I love most is that if they don’t offer a TV shownor movie you want, you can rent or purchase it right there! Hubby and I sometimes rent movies on occasion for movie night so we love this! Also, we can buy movies or tv shows and have instant access to them at any moment. No DVDs to mess with for kids that want to watch the same movie over and over. I love Amazon prime. I’m hoping they get to Netflix level one day with the amount of shows they have available on prime–but for now, I’m satisfied.
Steph
Our family of four loves Netflix. But, There are a few downfalls we discovered, though they are not enough to make us change our current set up.
First, the Internet companies here in small town Iowa are few and so the best choice for streaming tv is somewhat pricey (we currently pay $80 for Internet, through Mediacom cable). There are cheaper options , but oftentimes resulted in a lot of lag in shows, annoying buffering, bad quality picture, etc.
A couple years after we got Netflix, they also implemented data usage limits. So watching too much (in conjunction with standard web usage like paying bills online, any online gaming, etc.) would put us over the limit, resulting in extra fees. We eventually had to upgrade to higher data use package for $10 more a month.
The Internet co. is also the cable tv co. so they are always trying to get us to “bundle” in cable tv, and now charge a small fee for Internet only service. They obviously know they lose a lot of cable tv customers to Netflix so they make it difficult.
I don’t want to be negative when people ask me about how much Netflix costs (because we do love it), I’m just sure to explain all those “little” things that can add up, too. There are probably more Internet options in other areas as well.. But like I said, it’s still cheaper than cable tv, and the benefits of Netflix are still worth it. No commercials alone are worth it – I can’t even stand regular tv anymore, with all the commercials every 5 minutes! 🙂
Kristi
We have Netflix too. Have you heard of Pureflix.com? They have an awesome selection of family movies, tv shows, and educational programs. I really love the torchlighter films and all the God-centered cartoons! 🙂