Kidoodle.TV to the Rescue (And a Giveaway!)
Once upon a time, there was a toddler who considered TV to be just about as interesting as air, sleep, and mud. That's to say, Little Miss Alexis didn't care for watching television at all. Then she discovered a little Latina menace who likes to yell at viewers, and the good life ended.
The Latina was the gateway drug to a TV obsession.
These days, Alexis will happily stare at the black box 10 hours per day if left unchecked. Sure, she plays while she watches, but she occasionally will stop midway through drawing a masterpiece and stare slack-jawed at the screen. She looks super smart when she does it... or something.
The desire to create a little structure around all of that TV viewing is what prompted me to accept an invitation to check out Kidoodle.TV. Kidoodle.TV is a television streaming service built around kids, which means it has things like parental controls and lots of kid-friendly content.
I started by creating a trial account (which was free and didn't require a credit card) and then set up a profile for Alexis. She joined me so that she could pick an avatar. She, of course, went for the pink My Little Pony. Then she was able to say that she wanted to use the pink background, so her Kidoodle.TV is all up in the pink zone. Next I set her age for her profile. Since she was sitting there, she was able to talk me into giving her access to content intended for children up to 12 years old. I reviewed the titles that gave her access to and didn't see anything concerning, so it was a dual win. Finally, I set her viewing limit at 1.5 hours and she was off.
Alexis took off with the tablet and spent the next half hour watching a National Geographic show on whales. "This is perfect!" she told me. "We're studying whales at school!"
She would have never picked that show if she had been using the TV remote. TOTAL WIN.
There is a fair amount of National Geographic content, which I expect is what she will watch first. If I were to place bets on things like this, I'd bet that after that she will discover the Sabrina the Teenage Witch cartoons. She's never seen any of them, but it's safe to say that she will love them. After that, there's an episode of Jem and the Holograms that I plan to watch -er- plan to invite Alexis to watch with me.
So, yeah, I think this whole Kidoodle.TV thing might just work out. It should mean that I get to regain control over the big TV while banishing her to a tablet she can take anywhere. There are no commercials and no content that makes me want to roll my eyes, so we're coming out ahead.
And the best part? I think I now have a plot for steering the Tiny Human away from the little Latina menace.
If you want to check out Kidoodle.TV, you can go here to set up your 14-day free trial. You can also use the code BLOGHER25 to get 25% off of a 1-year subscription. The coupon code expires June 30, 2014. Otherwise, it's just $4.99 a month. Oh, and you can go here and enter to win one of 3 iPad minis that will be given away in March and April.
As if that's not enough, I also have a $100 Visa gift card up for grabs thanks to BlogHer and Kidoodle.TV. To enter to win the $100 Visa gift card, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what devices your kids use--do they use yours or do they have their own?
For more information you can also check out their Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest!
Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
- Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
- Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#KidoodleTVBH” and “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
- Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
- For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 3/17-4/18.
Be sure to visit the Kidoodle.TV brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!
Monday, March 17, 2014
Reader Comments (167)
My girls love their ipods. Texting and facetime and just being silly with each other.
This is pretty cool. Lord knows Emily can be a TV addict. She has a nook, but somehow is always using mine, which is the EXACT SAME THING!
We got our girls (5 & 7 year olds) their own tabs, a Samsung Tab 3 and a Kindle Fire (which was way better than the Samsung). They still try to play on my phone so I removed the games there but then of course there is still the Camera (I discover about a hundred pictures and videos everyday) and the Stylus Pen they love to draw with and probably know how to use better than me. Oh and of course, calling their dad or grandma, or aunts and uncles and random people in my contacts.
So far, they jointly use an ancient iPod. Occasionally, they are allowed to use my Kindle Fire - but that's what I use for a lot of stuff so it's not always available. We're in the process of budgeting for a mini. Maybe we'll just win one! Even better!
My sons each have their own tablets.
tweet--https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/445660932190896129
My son uses his own laptop and iPod Touch
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/445685036549804034
My son has his own iPod Touch.
I have a Kindle that my kids do not use. My oldest just got a Nexus 7 for her birthday.
My daughter has a Nexus 7 and she also steals time on my computer any chance she gets.
Our household has two kindle fires for the three of us. Generally our daughter uses the free time controls and we have pretty happy with that, only wish there was a way to block certain shows that have on there that we think are a bit inappropriate for her.
I really like that they don't require a credit card for the free trial!
This is such a great thing for kids the kids in my life have their own ipads.
The only 'device' we use is a plain old tv, but I do let my daughter watch Sesame Street. :)
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
My three boys share an original iPad (gasp) that doesn't have wifi but guarantees quiet at restaurants!
My boys have innotabs and as a family we have an ipad and kindle
Well...we started out with one iPad with an infant. Now that that infant is 4 years old, we're up to 3 iPads so we each have our own. Spoiled much?
My son uses my old iPhone. He loves it and then my phone isn't as messy.
Darling 6 year old asked for a tablet for Christmas but our response was no. She has an Animal Jam membership and can use the desktop to access that. Occasionally we'll let her use my DH's cell to play a game but mostly she sticks with our old disconnected cells and the paint/pictures/video functions.
Mine uses our family tablet to play games on, though she plays much less often on it than she would like!
My kids have their own devises, inexpensive tablets.
https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/445922813929455616
My children’s favorite education show is Super Why! They currently use my Husbands phone to watch videos, and an Innotab and a Leappad to play educationally related games! My youngest son is two so does not show much interest but my five year old is rather obsessed and they do share together!
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/445924839639883776
My son has his own Kindle to play games and watch videos. He doesn't share it much with family.
tweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydinpa/status/445937145006784512
I have an iPad that my three-year-old uses about once a week or so and during long trips in the car/airplane. We do have another little nugget who is 16 months and are contemplating a Galaxy or Kindle product purchase before our vacation in August so they could each watch their own movies on the drive.
Oops, forgot to include my email for the giveaway!
I think I may be the only one to respond that my kids don't have their own electronics! They occasionally use my old iphone for music but other than that they borrow my husband's ipad or my phone. We're light on electronics & I definitely prefer it that way.
We all share the TV and playstation.
My toddler uses our.tablet and occasionally my phone to watch Daniel.Tiger's Neighborhood. And then he hits the Share button and attaches a way-too-big-to-send file to an email and starts typing nonsense.
my cat thinks my computer makes an excellent bum warmer.
mine share the laptop.. 30 minutes a day
I've been looking at trying this app for a little while, and you just convinced me to give it a try. Bella has her own Netflix account, and we have parental control of it, so I don't really worry about what she watches.... She too could sit in front of the tv all day long if I let her. I just put the Kidoodle app on my iPad, and she is so excited!
We all share the iPad and laptop. :-)
Kindle Fire, ipods and my oldest just got an iphone.
i refuse to give my phone to anyone under the age of 12.
My boys use a Nexus 7 that we purchased with the intentions of sharing it with them.
We share desktop and TV with kids.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/446848818084974592
My daughter uses my iphone when she's at home. So we have to share the device
She does not have her own -- we share!
My son uses his own laptop and iPod Touch
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/447196406265036800
my little one has a Nabi that we have been really happy with.
https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/447365121833439232
My son uses my iPad and iPhone.
My boys have their own tablet. We all share them:)
My older kids have their own Kindles. My younger ones use mine to play educational games on.