What should we watch on Netflix? A Family-friendly Reality Show Edition

I don't know about you, but I see many Facebook posts asking, "What should we watch next on Netflix?"

This month I thought I would save you the ask and share some of our favourite reality shows to watch as a family.

These are the shows that we watch when I don't want to watch any more Naruto or Dicky, Ricky, Nicky and Dawn (or whatever order their names go in), Victorious, and Richie Rich.

These reality shows are a good compromise for us because there isn't too much adult content for the kids, but still interesting enough that the adults don't want to immediately leave the room. :)

Note: My kids are almost 9 and 11 so some of these shows might not be appropriate for younger kids.

Reality TV Shows We Love

We've watched a lot of cooking shows lately and there are some really fun ones:

Zumbo's Just Desserts makes us all think we can become incredible pastry chefs, and we love the drama of the "mean guy" - because there's always a mean guy in a reality show with eliminations right? :)

The Big Family Cooking Showdown - Teams of three people, all family members, come together to compete against another family to create a meal for under $10, family favourites (made in their own kitchens) in under 90 minutes, and a meal to 'impress the neighbours' in an hour and 15 minutes. They may be good cooks, but are they good cooks under pressure and on a timeline?! Is Gramma helpful or just bossy? Was bringing the teenager to help you a good idea or should you have brought your cousin instead?!

Skin Wars - While there is a bit of nudity in this show, it is all very tasteful and the artistry is FANTASTIC. My only concern with the show is that the kids wanted to see RuPaul's other reality show, and RuPaul's Drag Race is not appropriate for my kids yet (though I watched it after Skin Wars and admit, it is totally fantastic).

Beastmaster - This is kind of like American Ninja Warrior. We love watching the competitors from different countries try to make it through this race that we couldn't make it through the first four feet of!

Are there any other family-friendly reality TV shows on Netflix that you watch that we should add to our list? Have you watched any of our favourites?

Disclosure: We are part of the Netflix Stream team and receive perks (like Netflix giveaways!), but all opinions are our own.

TV for kids : Netflix

by Lara

Although I don't like to admit how much we rely on tv when things get crazy, we do. Sometimes you just need an episode of Backyardigans or Barney to get you through until dinnertime.

If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever consider getting rid of cable you would have heard a resounding NO! The main reason? Because I couldn't do without the children's programming.

We still have basic cable but I'm leaning closer and closer to getting rid of it altogether now that we've found Netflix.

Netflix is a company that offers streaming video via the internet (they will also mail dvds and bluray to your house although I'm not sure that service is available in Canada.  If it's something you're interested in, zip.ca does offer it here).

What does that mean? You can watch what you want when you want to.

The content on Netflix is limited to a certain extent, but the kids' content is really great! They have all the seasons of Backyardigans, they have tons of Barney, Blue's Clues, Sesame Street and other fun things like Pingu and Pink Panther (+much more!). My kids can always find something they would love to watch.

You can stream netflix through your tv by using your wii or xbox, or by getting a device like Apple TV. You can also log in from your mobile devices or from anyone else's wifi (although you'll be eating up their bandwidth).  The best part is it only costs $7.99 a month (and they do a month free trial)! Try it out and let me know what you think!

This is not an ad or in any way paid for by Netflix - I just really like the service. :)

Lara Wellman is mom to 4 year old Kiernan and 2 year old twins Quinn and Juliette. You can read her personal blog at Gliding Through Motherhood, about her weight loss journey at Losing it in Ottawa, and her social media blog at Larawellman.com