Do you use parental controls to limit TV shows?

So I need to preface this with saying that I hate hate using my TV as a babysitter, but being that my Twins are 1 sometimes I need to deal with them without my 4 & 6 year old bothering me, really just getting my twins to bed.

So since this is dealing with my 4 & 6 Year old singletons I hope it's OK that I post here:

anyhow, my 6 year old has outgrown all the shows I used to like him to watch: Diego, Dora, Backyardigans etc. we are still working on finding shows that I think are appropriate for him and his 4 year old brother to watch. SO first of all I am open for suggestions, for some nice clean (no violence, bad words) etc shows that he would enjoy. But also sometimes in the evenings he wants to be able to relax with a TV show and I dont have time to find something that is on for him, so I have been trying to play with the parental controls settings, but I dont understand how they rate shows, for now I have only allowed TV-G, TV-Y settings, and they said that the Sprout channel was locked, but then I see shows like SpongeBob, which I would prefer my kid NOT watch are rated G.

So does anyone have any good advice on either good shows, we have a DVR, so I can record stuff, or how to set some sort of parental controls so that they still have a good choice of shows?

 

Timothy still loves Backyardigans at 6.5. His other favorites are Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Curious George and Lilo and Stitch. Some of those are on PBS kids. Sarah loves Horseland and Kim Possible in addition to Timothy's list.

We don't use the parental controls. We don't have cable so the option for them is PBS kids. We do have Netflix on demand with a Roku box. The kids only get to watch what I put on there for them to watch. Given the age of all of your kids you really might like it. Our current queue includes: Diego (3 seasons), Backyardigans (3 seasons), 12 shows of Sid, Kim Possible (2 seasons), Lilo and Stitch, and the old Pink Panther Cartoons. For your younger ones, they have several seasons of Dora, Blue's Clues, Wonder Pets, Thomas the Engine, Bob the Builder, and The Wiggles. I like it because there are no commercials and I control what they can pick from. The kids know how to work it, so they get to pick what they want from the approved list. (There is also lots of stuff for mom and dad available with instant.) There is also a lot of Scooby-Do and Marvel Comic super heroes cartoons, but Timothy isn't into those.

Marissa

 

My guys who just turned 6 aren't into ANY TV shows, really. But we have Netflix for the Wii and I let them watch certain things like the Scooby Doo movies and certain cartoon series. I wouldn't even have cable if I didn't enjoy my morning and evening news programs.

 

Ditto this. WE do 90% PBS shows with some Disney/Nick thrown in. Dinosaur train is one of the current favs. We DVR almost everythign so no commercials and it is available when I want it.

We also use DVDs for longer times. That way I can let them choose from preselected videos. Our library offers some great rentals.

Other shows that are liked here are Magic SChool bus (DVD),Electric company (made for ages 5-9) on PBS, Umi zoomi (they are bit old, but they still like it), Big Big world, Little Einsteins. Zoombafoo is a good animal show that we record now and then.

some of the Animal Planet shows may also be good...

 

We don't have cable or the dish so I can't help with setting parental controls. We do have roku from netflix and love it. All three of my kids love Scooby Doo and right now they are into watching Godzilla (an older cartoon). Like others have mentioned I like that there is no commercials on it and we pick what they can watch. My girls can pick what show they want on their own. Right now besides scooby, we have Dora, Diego, super why, blues clues, care bears, and we used to have mighty machines but netflix took that off of the watch now list. They also have Arthur and other pbs shows that you can choose from too.

 

I do exactly the same thing -- when I am putting Amelia to bed, I let the girls watch a show or play a game on the computer or the Wii. I actually never let them watch TV, simply because I don't approve of all the shows, and I don't really want them watching all the commercials. So, we have a healthy collection of DVDs, and we go once weekly to the library to rent things. TIVO is another option. Could you just put in a DVD for your boys? My girls know that they will only be watching a portion of the DVD. So it usually takes several nights before they've made it through a movie. They're fine with that. Another option would be to let them play a game on the computer or other gaming device if you have one. The Disney website has a lot of free games that are kid friendly.

 

thanks, i guess I just have to load up the DVR, we were watching magic school bus, but for some reason I dont know if it's showing anymore, I will have to check it out again

 

I don't use the parental controls with my oldest DD, but I do have a few shows that I don't like her to watch and she knows this and is very good about not putting them on. Even my twins know shows they can't watch, such as Sponge Bob. Unfortunately, my 4 year olds do see some shows that are a bit too old for them with having a big sister. But so far, it's all been fine.

 

I don't use any tools, I just have rules.

I will say I don't get the whole Spongebob issue. Spongebob is unfailingly happy and polite and he has a fantastic work ethic. I have no problem with SB. Hannah Montana and iCarly get no airtime for my girls (who are 7.5). Generally they are limited to PBS, movies I've chosen or Spongebob/Simpsons. I don't have any premium channels (because I don't watch movies myself), so I don't have to worry about that. I don't have a DVR, either. My teenagers have a TV in the basement, so the girls don't wander into the room when they are watching something inappropriate. They know that their programming is not to be shared with the girls.