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)
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/mistymarie34/status/448603420749221888
The family shares my iPad with time limitations.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/rhoneygee/status/449077816928112640
You’re so awesome! I don’t believe I’ve look at the site anything that adheres to that before. So excellent uncover out somebody with original the thing it individual. Really.. many thanks for starting this up.
My kiddos have their own devices they use, although we also have a shared family computer :)
Tweet!
https://twitter.com/ScoomerBlog/status/452141240939606017
My child uses my laptop, and she has her own iPad mini that she bought with her own money.
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/452542582237577216
We share in our house, I've never believed that everyone has to have their very own everything.
It's enough that we have enough to go around.
My kids use my ipad for videos and games in an allotted time. They also use my phone.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Shiebs24/status/453603300097945601?screen_name=Shiebs24
My children share a Kindle and our laptop with us with password protection.
https://twitter.com/kj20082006/status/453767668365930496
My kids all have an iPod touch that they use a lot. They also have a Kindle that they share.
tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/454075367574093824
they share our iphones, kindle fire, wii, and computers
My kids use a desktop PC for games and homework.
lazybones344 at gmail dot com
They share an ipad.
Laptop 14 year old, ipad mini 8 year old and ipad 3 year old that he shares with dad
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/rosannepm/status/455393955798978560
My son uses my samsong tablet.
We share the ipad and laptop
https://twitter.com/disneyfan40/status/455453322476933120
I don't have kids, but my niece has her own Android Tablet.
austma7@aol.com
My niece (I don't have kids) owns her own iPad but our family only lets her use it to play educational games. We also limit her time with it to one hour a day if she does all her chores. She shares it with the rest of the family.
Used to use the family iPad, but recently abandoned it...
I have no kids. I get internet to myself
Our oldest uses an iPad and our youngest has an iPod Touch. They don't share.
My daughter just got a play tablet. She's only 3.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/455495064257433600
My oldest son (who is almost 8) has a Kindle Fire--a gift from his very generous grandpa.
My 5 year old has a Kindle Fire and loves it :)
he has an iPad
We have a family iPad we all use.
My sons share an xbox and my iphone.
My nephew owns his own Kindle Fire, but shares a computer and video game. He sometimes borrows his mom's iPad.
Tweet
https://twitter.com/clc408/status/455670285140627457
My girls each have their own device. My oldest has a phone and my youngest has an ipod touch. Thank you!
My daughter has a Leapfrog Leappad and I find it to be very educational for her.
my kids love to 'borrow' my ipad all the time pryfamily5@gmail.com
i tweeted https://twitter.com/DaPryz/status/455726326515650561 pryfamily5@gmail.com
My grandchild can use my desktop with me.
My kids share a laptop, and a nook.
my daughter uses her ipod and my son uses an ipad that is supposed to be the whole family's but he is really the only one who uses it
My kids are grown, but I've watched my 2yo granddaughter go from daddy's phone, to mommy's to the ipad. They do limit her time, but it doesn't please her!
The kids have one computer which they share with each other.
thank you
Tweet https://twitter.com/JalapenoMama/status/455893633062166528
My kids have their own laptop, mp3 players and tablet. They share the laptop and tablet, for now and they also use the main, family computer as well :) I think it's important that kids learn to use technology at a young age so they can use if successfully and grow with it as the tech grows :)
Tweeted :) - https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/455902537149710336
My son uses a tablet. :)