We live a very busy, full life. We could not be happier. The reality that my children live as equal parts of of a big family, is that being one of four children means there are unique compromises within most situations and they often have to take turns being the center of attention. Unless there’s overlap, our whole family attends most baseball, soccer and basketball games and other performances with one star of the show in our eyes. Various different doctors appointments, open houses at their schools, even going to an amusement park means there is ample time to practice patience and turn taking.
For the most part, they’re all used to it and I see the benefits of living within a situation that demands accommodation for other peoples feelings, interests and choices in each child, every single day. There are lots of frustrating times though, mostly when they argue over choosing a board game to play, who gets to speak at the dinner table first, and when it comes to watching movies or television. We only have one television in the house and usually one designated time to use it, so those arguments happen generally around that time of day. As much as I try to control what they watch, the reality is that my 9 year old’s interests are far different than my 4 year old’s, and I don’t always love the options the older one’s choose. With the introduction of Toca TV into our lives and repertoire, I am comfortable knowing that they’re watching specifically curated shows for kids in an ad-free system-and shows they (mostly) all enjoy at the same time.
For as long as I’ve held out in introducing different platforms for streaming entertainment for our kids, they’ve recently discovered the vast black hole of internet accessible shows and how to access them through our television. It makes me more than a little bit uncomfortable knowing that while I have parental controls installed, I don’t fully trust that they won’t come across something they shouldn’t. There is very little time during the day that we allow for this type of entertainment, but when it provides some calming down time in between school, homework and sports I think we all appreciate it. Making sure that this time isn’t spent in a harmful or otherwise stressful way is imperative to all of us, so I particularly appreciate certain qualities that Toca TV offers. Not only is it specifically curated for kids, it has no sponsored content at all and features thousands of videos including kid-hosted shows (they LOVE that stuff), Minecraft gameplay, DIY crafts and recipes as well as Toca Boca videos only available on Toca TV that feature the familiar and wonderful Toca Boca characters.
It isn’t all that often that we find things that all the kids will love at once, being that they range in age from 2 to nearly 10. Most of the time, we plan for each and every situation accordingly, like bringing Evvie’s baby dolls to her brother’s baseball games or packing bracelet making supplies for Zoe when we’re at a doctor’s appointment for one of the other kids. Parenting for as long as it feels like we have means that we have a well stocked arsenal of options, but mostly guiding the mindset for patience and empathy within each child through the years. It isn’t always perfect (never, really), but I certainly welcome programs that help bridge those gaps without compromising on quality, especially when it comes to digital entertainment. Toca Tv has been a comforting and fun space for all of us lately and I, for one, and grateful for options it provides. I’m happy to offer a code for you to try Toca TV for free — Click here to download today on the App Store to get three free sessions!
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