Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Top 14 Shows Tweens Stream on Netflix #StreamTeam

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Gone are the days of sitting down and tuning in to watch your favorite shows live. These days savvy viewers watch their shows when they want and our kids are even getting into the act by streaming favorite content on Netflix. With the ability to set up separate profiles in your Netflix account for your kids, you get more control over the content they’re streaming rather than them having free reign over all that’s available.

What are today’s tweens streaming on their own and with parents?

Yesterday I posed this question to my Facebook friends who were quick to jump in and share their kids’ favorite shows. Using their recommendations, here are the top shows that are most popular among my friends’ tweens.

Top 14 Shows Tweens Stream on Netflix

Top 14 Shows Tweens Stream on Netflix

  1. Once Upon a Time– Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin and Robert Carlyle star in this fantastical series that follows the travails of a young woman who is drawn to a small Maine town and discovers that it’s filled with the mystical elements of the fairy tale world.
  2. Mythbusters– Fearless hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman take viewers on an eye-opening — and often explosive — journey as they examine some of the most commonly held beliefs in popular science and culture.
  3. Cupcake Wars– The best cupcake bakers in the country battle to see who makes the best cupcakes. In this war of frosting and sugar, there is only one winner
  4. Good Luck Charlie– Tiny Charlotte “Charlie” Duncan looks to her parents and three older siblings, who do their best to give her advice about growing up.
  5. H2O– As if being a teen weren’t hard enough, the three gals in this Australian fantasy series must cope with the added burden of growing a giant fin and transforming into mermaids whenever they come into contact with water — a fact they try to hide.
  6. Dance Moms– A group of young dancers’ mothers spar with each other and no-nonsense teacher and studio owner Abby Lee Miller in this drama-filled reality show.
  7. Jessie– Texas teen Jessie moves to the Big Apple to follow her dreams, and finds a job as a nanny for a high-profile family with four high-energy childre
  8. Avengers– The inimitable John Steed himself, Patrick Macnee, selects his favorite episodes of the original British television cult classic, including “Death at Bargain Prices,” “Too Many Christmas Trees,” “Mr. Teddy Bear” and “Don’t Look Behind You.” All three glamourous and resourceful “Avengers” leading ladies — Honor Blackman, Linda Thorsen and the one and only Dame Diana Rigg — are featured at their very best here.
  9. Dr. Who– After more than a decade off the air, this epic sci-fi series returns with an all-new look — and the ninth (and beyond) incarnation of everybody’s favorite time-traveling Doctor, who promptly sets about fighting nefarious aliens and other foes.
  10. Ever After High– The kids of fairytale characters attend a school with two cliques: those who accept their fairytale destinies and those who want to write their own.
  11. Friends– This smash-hit, multiple-Emmy-winning sitcom follows the merry misadventures of six 20-something apartment dwellers as they navigate the pitfalls of work, life and love in 1990s Manhattan.
  12. Gilmore Girls– Lauren Graham stars in this Emmy-winning dramedy as Lorelai Gilmore, a fiercely independent single mom raising gifted, Ivy League-bound daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) amid a continual stream of quick-witted repartee. Forced to accept financial help from her imperious parents (Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop), Lorelai strives to keep Rory grounded in the face of prep-school snootiness, bad-boy suitors and other teen perils.
  13. Justice League– Anything’s possible in this animated series when world-famous superheroes — including Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Batman and Robin — band together to fight crime as the Justice League of America.
  14. Star Trek– With the unflappable Capt. James T. Kirk at the helm of this classic sci-fi series, the crew of the starship USS Enterprise keeps intergalactic danger at bay and delves deep into the exploration of space: the final frontier.

While these shows were among the most frequently mentioned by my Facebook friends, there are many others that parents shared as favorites.

  • I’m Not the Nanny’s Thien Kim Lam said her 9 year old daughter, Sophia, has “become our resident food expert thanks to Good Eats. Thanks to Alton (Brown), I’m only allowed to buy wild caught Alaskan salmon (not farm raised.)”
  • “Cass is obsessed with America’s Funniest Home Videos,” said Honey Badger Mom, Robin Elton. “We watch 2 episodes of Friends together every night. She watches Crash & Bernstein and Lab Rats with headphones bc they drive me nuts.”
  • Laura Franklin from Better in Bulk shared that her kids “love anything reality-based…cooking shows, science shows…”
  • “My girls started on Once Upon a Time and I had to binge watch to catch up,” admits Chrysula Winegar, CEO and Founder of Wake Up World. “Now the three of us are obsessed with it together.”
  • Mary Jardine, aka Fishy Mom, admitted that her kids go old school with shows like Emergency! and The Andy Griffith Show. Mommy Niri told me that her girls just started 90s favorites Friends and Gilmore Girls
  • “My kids love the reality especially DIY stuff,” shared Julie Pippert of Artful Media Group.
Safe Streaming

This list barely scratches the surface on the varied content available on Netflix and besides setting up a profile for your kids that gives you control over their account and what they watch, it’s also important to sit down and screen shows they’re wanting to watch before you turn them loose on their streaming profile. DC Metro Area mom, Sarah, also recommends using “critical viewing skills” for shows like Top Gear that her 3rd grade son loves but features questionable content like language, homophobia, and infantile humor. Rather than saying no, the family watches it together and turns the content into teachable moments to discuss important topics that may arise from each episode.

Melissa Angert from All Things Chic wrote to say that her kids “want to watch Once Upon a Time” but had to screen it first.

But not everyone’s tweens are streaming on Netflix. Some parents like Elena Sonnino from Live Do Grow shared that she’s pretty happy that her daughter hasn’t delved into Netflix as one more source of TV. “I’m sure the days are limited before she asks or figures it out.”

Huge thanks to the following friends for weighing in and sharing what their tweens are watching and while you’re here, visit their sites and like them on Facebook to follow them for advice on travel, parenting, tech, family finance, cooking, fashion, and more!

This post was inspired by Netflix and Ever After High: Spring Unsprung. I received a Storybook Party Starter kit to host a viewing party. No compensation was received but my family does enjoy a complimentary Netflix subscription and other items for my involvement as a Netflix Stream Team Member. Images and descriptions courtesy of Netflix.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andrea says

    Thanks for the mention Leticia! I forgot to mention Good Mythical Morning on Netflix. It’s a YouTube show with two engineers who do silly stuff like taste all sorts of things in taco shells to answer the question “Will it taco?” or the same thing with pizza. Some stuff more suitable for teens, we just screen it.

  2. Kelly says

    This is a great list! We use Netflix to stream shows together or they use their iPads in their rooms on occasion, too. It’s a great way for them to be able to watch the shows they love without having to argue over what show should go on the big family room screen.

  3. Erika C. says

    I just love this list, it is perfect for tweens. I like the ability to set up separate profiles in your Netflix account. This is awesome for families. My children enjoy shows like Good Luck Charlie and Mythbusters.