Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Netflix: To Kids Corner Or Not To Kids Corner

With the introduction of Kids Corner, parents are given such a GREAT way to allow their little ones to explore technology without surrendering their phones completely to their kids' wiles, watching them call Hong Kong, or send gibberish texts to Grandma.
 
But, one conundrum I'm facing is whether or not Netflix should be pinned to Kids Corner.
 
On one hand, Netflix is a lifesaver. I can't tell you how many dinners we were at with our daughter as a toddler when she would launch into "meltdown mode", and our only savior was Blues Clues on the Netflix app. During downtimes when she's required to sit still, having Netflix has been a huge blessing...but also a curse.
 
 

The downside is if left unattended she might be inclined to launch the Netflix app and watch something I DON'T want her seeing. Things like South Park and Family Guy and Futurama. Having access to Netflix (or YouTube even) through Kids Corner could provide her the opportunity to expose herself to things she's much too young for, and if I'm not 100% present in the situation, what's to stop her?
 
I wish there were a Netflix Kids app. We watch Netflix through our Xbox, and are in LOVE with the separate sections for adults and kids. At four she's able to launch my Xbox live account, go into Netflix, and then the Kids section, and she loves that she has her own Netflix all to herself. I wish something like this were available in mobile app form for putting in Kids Corner. It would ease my mind knowing she's limited to what she has access to.
 
~credit: techonthego.uk.co
 
 Until then, I've chosen not to place Netflix in Kids Corner. If she wants to watch something she'll simply have to wait until I can pull it up and select something for her. I think this is just the only way to protect her from adult content.

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