Sometimes being a parent can feel like being a broken record. I feel like I say the same things over and over again, but the kids rarely (if ever!) listen.
I’m sure this happens to a lot of parents, but without meaning to I often find myself lecturing my kids. I talk and I watch their eyes glaze over; I know they’ve tuned me out just like I often did when my parents lectured me.
The better choice of course is to have discussions with them about difficulties or challenges they might face or other things that I think they need to learn or have some guidance on. This becomes much easier when the topic comes up naturally in our daily life, rather than when I sit them down specifically to talk to them about something.
Thankfully, Netflix Streaming has a huge variety of shows that are great conversation starters. Peer pressure? There’s an episode for that. Potty training? There’s an ep for that. Sibling rivalry? There’s an ep for that.
Campbell is three and he could definitely be described as a “threenager”. No matter what comes out of my mouth, he strenuously disagrees. Whether it’s the cleaning up his mess, eating vegetables, or the sky being blue, he disagrees. Fortunately, he’s much more receptive to Daniel Tiger. I can ask him to clean up or share toys, but it seems much more fun when Daniel Tiger and his friends do it (and sing about it). It makes it much easier after we’ve watched an episode together to remind him of it when we talk in the future and he’s much more likely to be interested in what I’m saying.
Netflix has some great suggestions for episodes that will start great conversations with your kids:
What conversations do you really need to have with your kids? What shows help you start important conversations with your kids?
