After what has been a perfect summer break so far, we returned from Italy, and decided we should have a chilled out family day in front of the box. We have hardly watched any TV or movies, we’ve just been so busy…well if you don’t count the 9 hour flight to Orlando that is. We really wanted to have some lazy family time together. You know where you all relax in PJ’s, you pull down the blinds and just veg. Perfect after a hectic summer and just what we all needed desperately. The day we chose just happened to correspond with a very rainy day too, which was excellent *ahem* planning.
Taffy (remember that episode of Friends) from the US, my new favourite movie sweet!
Now we decided to chill in our family room AKA the conservatory, as that’s where our Roku is set up, and because I must admit I love the sound of rain on the roof, I find it really relaxing. So the room was set up, we had drinks and nibbles, my not to be forgotten homemade popcorn and we were ready to enjoy the show. Not heard of Roku? Well let me explain. It’s a really nifty device that’s super simple to set up) and allows you to watch over 2,000 (I know crazy right?) channels. Top channels and providers like Netflix, NOW TV, Youtube and BBCiPlayer. The choice is huge!
Paper Planes
I’m not sure how many of you have Roku, but we love it, it’s so simple to use, I think we’ve had ours for well over a year now. Nothing extra to pay once you have it as well. We decided on a couple of films in the end, firstly Paper Planes – bit of a tear jerker but well worth a watch, on Netflix, which we already have a subscription for. We also watched The Choir, also on Netflix, a great film with people like Dustin Hoffman and Eddie Izzard, it was so uplifting. In between those we watched a real varied mix of shows (see below list for ideas) and that’s what got me to thinking it could be quite daunting as there are SO many things to watch, of course its easy to just watch your old favourites, but I collated together my top TV tips too for kids TV using Roku, to help you navigate.
- Pokémon TV – Honestly, I don’t think Pokémon themselves could have predicted the hit that the app is currently. This is bound to be one too with animated adventures starring Ash, Pikachu, and all their friends.
- Netflix – Firm favourite in our home! Netflix requires a nominal monthly subscription but once set up, you can have up to 5 different profiles including one each for the children, so you they only view appropriate things for their age. Many new series are popping up all of the time (just like the adult version) as well as films, so much so it has its own children’s section.
- NOW TV – Owned by Sky, NOW TV is also available and offers a selection of kids TV channels and movies also with live presentations and on demand TV shows, think big guns like Nickelodeon, Nick Jnr and the Disney Channel. You will need a monthly Entertainment Pass for access to the TV content and a separate Sky Movies Pass for the films, but again because of the huge amount of content that is regularly updated, I personally think its great.
- Kids Food Network
Looking for cooking inspiration? Then this is a great channel! I love the idea of cooking along as you are watching, though I’m not sure I could keep up with the mess!
- Happykids – Lots of music, stories and fun-filled activity guides, for kids of different ages. There is even a Spanish version for all of those linguists!
- Deezer, Spotify & TuneIn – I don’t know about you but I live in a house of music lovers, and the fact we can listen to music through Roku is a huge plus. Just turn it up and DANCE!
- Kids Activities – This channel comes loaded with tons of simple activities to keep your little ones occupied in their leisure time, meaning you can have some time to yourself whilst they get stuck in!
- Animals and Wildlife TV – Again another addiction in our house is nature programmes, anything cute and cuddly also is a must for us as a family. We just need to make sure Bennett the Dog isn’t in the room, or he gets way to jealous!
- Craft Smart – If your little one loves to get messy and make things, this channel has thousands of new, interesting and easy to follow craft ideas for all ages from holiday craft, educational craft and more.
I’ve just double checked and there are 251 standalone kids channels, which is amazing! I hope you enjoyed this round up of our favourite channels available for kids in the UK with Roku. Do come back for more updates soon.
Collaborative Post
Jasmine says
Never use Roku! Thank you for sharing! Do they have a good price?