With the recent orders across the nation to stay inside, you are probably seeing a lot more of your kids than you normally would. Many parents long for extra downtime with their kids, but with the little ones being around so often you may have exhausted all of your ideas to keep them busy. 

Many parents naturally turn to handing children the iPad or remote with access to streaming services. However, it can be tough to monitor everything your kids watch, especially when you want to take a much needed minute to yourself. Luckily many streaming services offer kid profiles and custom restrictions so that you can occupy your kids for a couple hours without having to worry about what they consume.

What to Stream for Your Kids

Watching TV is a household activity that many families use to bond and share moments together. It is also used largely for personal entertainment for all ages. Kids typically watch a lot more than their parents so it is nearly impossible to track everything your children watch. For this reason, many streaming services made it easier to control. 

For example, Disney+, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video all have kid profiles that only allow certain shows to be displayed. Disney, Netflix, and Prime also have rating restrictions that prevent children from watching anything that you do not permit. Knowing this might help you make an easier choice about what streaming service to let your kids use. Now we’ll touch on some different services and what parental controls they offer.

Disney+

This service is one of the newest and most popular streaming services on the market. The service includes access to Disney classics, to new shows of today, and because Disney owns large franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, nearly every movie in each series is available to stream. Also note that once contracts are up, Disney+ will be the only streaming service to offer many of these movies. As for parents, you should know that kids profiles block all PG and PG-13 content and because you can use Disney+ from any device, you can start and stop what your children watch anywhere.

Netflix

This is one of the most popular streaming services since it’s been around for so long and has established a name for itself. Netflix offers shows and movies of all kinds, but tends to be more movie and documentary focused. Netflix recently has begun to put most of their efforts into creating their own shows and movies that are exclusive to their service. 

Parents have a lot of customization options with the service. To start, there are two kid profiles to choose from depending on your child’s age. Accounts must also be set up on the computer, so there is no way your children can use your phone to start an account. Parents can also block specific shows and movies with a pin number. This feature is very useful for optimizing the service for your children so that you won’t have to constantly monitor it.

Hulu

Although Hulu is owned by Disney, they have completely different content. Hulu is very focused on television shows, so if you are looking for one of your old favorites, you should try here first. 

Hulu offers kid profiles to be set for those 12 and under. However, it is important to caution that kids can switch to other accounts without restrictions. If you want to block all mature content, you will have to go into the settings to update them.

Amazon Prime Video

This service is included as part of Amazon Prime, so if you already pay for that service, then you are ready to start streaming. Prime Video has some great original content, as well as many movies and TV shows for the family. This is a great option for playing old cartoons and finding some gems that other services might not include.

For Prime Video, parents have the option of choosing what to block based on ratings. So, if you want to block content, you must block a category like PG-13. Once you make these settings, your children will not be able to access the account without the pin you set.

Apple TV+

Although this streaming service does not offer many of the old classics that you love, it does offer a lot of original content. So, if you are looking to watch something new to watch with the family, this might be the service for you.

This service is also great for those parents looking to block specific content from their children. With the ability to block specific apps and shows, your children will have a selection they can still choose from. Individual profiles cannot be created for the service, but you can use a pin to access what you block.

In conclusion, if you are looking to keep your kids busy while you can get some relaxation, then you should think about using parental controls for your streaming services. This will allow you to find escape in your home and occupy your kids simultaneously.