Or rather, internet alternatives for kid-friendly cable programming...............
We're considering cutting our cable( and a few other items ) to lower our monthly bills. I'm having issues finding shows online we allow our son to watch, like Sesame Street, Little Bill, Olivia etc. I'm considering downloading all of our shows via mythtv or some similar product, but am wondering what others w/ kids have done if they've taken this route.
Any info would be appreciated..............
tv.Blinkx.com is where I go for most of my television shows. That and Hulu.
Not sure about kids shows but they both have a lot.
Netflix may help. I don't know about finding Sesame Street outside of buying DVDs.
Nick jr has lots of their programming available on dvd, much of as compilations of several different shows. If your cable bill is like mine one months cable bill will buy six months of dvd entertainment for a pre-schooler, if you shop smart. Netflix could probably help with this too. I hate the cable bill too, if it was up to me it would be long gone SWMBO doesn't see it that way though.
my kids are a little older but netflix seems to have plenty for the kiddos (ours are 6 and 8)
looks like olivia is only on DVD, but backyardagins, caillou, blues clues, dora, diego, wonder pets, super why etc all are...
but for that age DVD's are prob the best way to go... or even VHS (goto goodwill or other 2nd hand stores) and you could easily find them for next to nothing...
we dumped cable a month or 2 ago... most everything we watch we can catch on hulu... and what I can't it's easy enough to find online... we use netflix streaming for just random watching (been watching though the wonder years the last few days lol) always something you can watch if you want to waste some time... and for DVD's we now use blockbuster (when they mail a vid to you and your done with it run to blockbuster and exchange them for a movie at the store... then return and they'll send you more dvds)... seems to work pretty well for us... and we see A LOT less commercials and pay a lot less then we did with cable.
also plan to get a decent antenna here soon... should give us about 10-15 local stations if I get a decent antenna... all for less then the cost of what we where paying in cable
We ditched cable and got a roku box with a subscription to netflix, saves us about $50 a month or so..
they have most of the kids shows on DVDs, but we only really let our 2 year old watch about a half hour every couple of days anyway...
Netflix does pretty good, but since we dropped Direct TV, the thing is off most of the time. That's not a bad thing.
Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers are still on PBS.
Buy an inexpensive ~FTA~ dish and watch Free To Air satellite shows.
A lot of it is non-English language or religious but pretty sure PBS is available in FTA.
PBS is available with an antenna. We use Netflix - TONS of kids' programming (and a good amount of Discovery content - much of which is at a minimum older kid suitable).
get an antenna and a digital decoder box if you have an older tv.. unless, of course, you live in an area that has no tv stations in your area or where the geography for some reason kills all the tv signals.. then it's time to go old school and buy the kid an erector set or something.
Netflix has a decent selection of kids shows. Get something like a Roku2 and it'll run directly over your broadband with very very little fuss and has the side effect of being super easy to use.
Hulu.com and Netflix.
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One issue I had with hulu for kids shows was that the ads they play are not always kid friendly. The last little kids show I watched on there had some raunchy show advertised in the middle.
A lot of that stuff is available to watch online. My kids aren't Sesame Street age anymore (ages 4,4 and 7), but I'd bet it may be available on PBS website. My kids watch lots of stuff that's on Cartoon Network online. I think Nick Jr. has some programming online too. Check out each stations' website.
No TV for us. I have no problem paying for entertainment (spotify, netflix, amazon, itunes) but the last thing I need is them realizing how many sugary foods and awesome action figures are out there. Ads suck.
I use bittorrent for anything not on Netflix Instant or Amazon Prime (which now carries a lot of PBS programming).
I've looked on Hulu but had trouble finding anything age appropriate for him( ie Dora, Backyardigans, etc.. ). Sesame Street is one of the few shows that he will actually stop what he's doing and watch. The rest are just background noise while he's tearing stuff up. Right now, we have cable( w/ dvr ), broadband and phone through the same package. Trying to get things around $60/month. We have a few dvds for him, but the main issue w/ that is the misses wants something that she won't have to maintain( ie switch dvds ). I'll check the info you guys gave me again.
Thanks. Will
I have Netflix, the library, Family video (had older VHS and some DVD kids stuff for FREE) and over-the-air TV. With all those options, I have no need for cable. My radio shack (mounted in a 6' pole on my single story ranch) pulls tv stations from nearly 100 miles away! Most of them are 50 miles or closer. That still gives me 40+ stations to choose from.
how old are the kids?
My son is almost 3. No cable/satellite. We do Netflix streaming for $7.99/mo. and he watches lots of Caillou and other PBS shows via streaming. Also full length movies like Toy Story 3 and Curious George on Netflix streaming.
Otherwise almost every morning we do PBS over the air for all the kids shows.
Our kids watch the SonBeam Channel at 3ABN.org. Very kid friendly programming.
No problem in our house doing without cable.
PBS is our #1 over the air free tv program. You could almost leave the TV tuned to it.
Redbox for a movie on movie nights. For a buck, you really can't go wrong.
On the web, Youtube, BBC, PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, etc. You'd be surprised at what you can find on Youtube.
