7 Things on TV You Can Watch With Your Kids

It’s yaaaay, SNOW DAY!!!!!

That is, if you’re a kid. If you’re an adult it’s more like, big groan, Snow Day.

Because there’s only SO much sledging/snowman building/snow fighting you can do on a snow day before everyone gets soaking wet and cold (i.e starts whining) and wants to come inside and sit in front of the TV.

Now, I like a good sofa snuggle as much as the next 7 year old, so I love to join my kids in front of the box when they’re getting comfy. But in my later years I’ve found myself getting frequently fussy about what I will and will not watch with them lest I go insane: this means no Paw Patrol, no (more) Spider-man and definitely no Inspector Gadget (it just isn’t what it used to be).

But there is TV suitable for both you and your kids and TV that isn’t, even more in our internet-driven ways of watching our entertainment where the 9pm watershed isn’t such a thing any more. All too often I find shows and movies I thought would be suitable for kids viewing pre-children (Love Actually…) are actually quite inappropriate when you sit down and fire up the TV.

So here you have our list of tried-and-tested TV that’s suitable for the whole family. No more watching Peppa Pig until your ears bleed and you can’t look a Percy Pig in the gummy eye, no more Frozen or Moana ear worms on repeat.

What are your family favourites? Share below!

TV you can watch with your kids

Despicable Me/Minions
Ah, our family staple. We love ALL the Minions movies: Despicable Me 1, 2, 3 AND Minions itself. Plenty of jokes only grown-ups will get, loads of jokes for the kids, really funny storylines and loveable characters. Minions are weird but by gosh do we love them. Find the first Minions film on Netflix and the rest on iTunes or Amazon.

Modern Family
Not strictly for the kids but there’s no bad language, family feature heavily and my two understand the odd joke. The adult themed stuff goes completely over their heads (thank goodness) and we can usually manage at least one of these 24-minute episodes together as a family. Phil Dunphy would approve: find it on NowTV.

The Oldies
I absolutely LOVE the oldies! Think Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Bedknobs and Broomsticks: anything with a jolly old song and a magical storyline. I’ve been watching them since I was a kid and love doing the same with my two. I’d love to start on Grease next, though the themes are a bit adult the entertainment is off the scale. They’re on iTunes and NowTV.

Harry Potter
Well, duh. Of COURSE watching (and reading) Harry Potter is one of the most important rites of passage a kid must go through. The movies are a little bit long for Hux but Elfie and I absolutely love them. We bought all the films as a bundle on iTunes.

Ugly Betty
A comedy with a moral message, is Ugly Betty. We love the busy city scenes, the colourful outfits, the crazy office… it’s a great show for slightly older kids. It’s on iTunes.

Gilmore Girls
I can only get away with one episode of this with Hux before he gets bored, but Elfie loves watching the Lorelai Gilmores with me. She’s fascinated by the single mum family set-up and I think it’s a great example of a hardworking single parent family. We’re on our second viewing of the entire boxset together on Netflix.

Home Alone 1 & 2
Perhaps these are most suited to the festive season, but we ALL love watching Home Alone. They remind me of my happy childhood, make me laugh and my prank-loving kids can’t get enough of Macauley Culkin’s mischief. Both movies are on NowTV.