Child-friendly Movies / Movies for Kids

(Ok, I admit it: too much TV is bad. Read about the pitfalls here and let’s get on with the story, deal? :-) )

In our household, we have a tradition: Friday night is movie-night. It’s when we... ok, ok, I admit it... it’s when we all eat in front of the TV. Friday night is when we climb down the stairs to the basement TV room, together with a picnic blanket, water supplies and four dinner plates. (What are the TV rules in your family?) 

When the kids were 2.5 and 4.5 years old, selecting a movie suitable for the whole family was rather tricky. The 2-year old wanted to watch Maisy. The 4-year old wanted My Little Pony. The two adults wanted anything except Maisy and My Little Pony. Over the years, the adults increased their list of exceptions by:

• Thomas the Tank Engine
• Barney (the Beetroot Blob)
• Dora
• Pooh Bear, the Disney version, including
• Lumpy.

In desperation, we turned to

• the Barbie movies (which can be watched once by a normal adult without hurting the TV... too much)
• the animated Flintstones
• The Jetsons
• Asterix
• but not Tintin (the 4-year old gobbled it up even though she didn’t understand it, but the 2-year old got bored and wandered off to watch Maisy), and
• (surprise!) The Princess Bride.

Of course, there were also the usual suspects:

• The Incredibles
• Monsters Inc
• Madagascar
• but not Finding Nemo, because of the upsetting beginning.

It’s easier now, two years later. The 2.5-year old is now 4.5. He cried during the volcano scene in Madagascar 2, not only when the hero got threatened, but also when the baddie fell in, but he can sit through Mamma Mia, Monsters vs Aliens and laugh his head off during The gods must be crazy.

Meanwhile, the 6-year old and I get to go on mother-daughter dates to see Confessions of a Shopaholic.

What kids’ movies can you recommend? We’re out of ideas for this Friday....

PS: I found a useful guide to movie ratings here.

Guess what my mother in law said...

Mothers in law (MIL): the good, the bad and the ugly (figuratively speaking, that is... or not). Sometimes they can be helpful. Sometimes they have too many opinions. Sometimes they are still number one, with you a distant second.

I’ve trawled the Internet for some good MIL jokes, and all I found were bad ones. Still, I couldn’t resist quoting a few, heavily censored, that is.

New story line for some of our favourite TV shows:

• Survivor: Stay at home and vote to keep the MILs on the island forever.
• MIL Hunter: Go Down Under and watch as one man gets close to nature and risks getting his head bitten off by one of mankind's oldest and fiercest enemies.
• Family Law: In this episode, a woman fights to divorce her MIL while remaining married to her husband.
• Unsolved Mysteries - Missing MILs: MILs are disappearing all over the city... and no one is looking for them!
  

(Speaking of TV, have you ever wondered how to make smart TV choices for kids? Have a look at these tips for kids and TV watching.)

My own mother in law is all right... I mean, she must be. My husband always tells me I’m just like her.... But seriously, she and I like the same books and the same actors, we have similar values and life philosophies. Still, from time to time she manages to say something to remind me of the power battle between us.

My favourite has to be the time she asked me when I would get a real job... because a mother of two preschoolers who works from home doing stuff she loves can’t possibly be doing a real job, right? Fortunately my husband piped up in my defence: “She does have a real job: she earns more than I do!”

Do you have a story about your MIL? Like, this uncontrollable desire you get to lock yourself in a room or closet every time she visits? Come share it on Kidspot Social.

Oh, and if you ever feel like selling your mother in law, Kidspot Market is the place other mums go to look for goodies, LOL.