When it is too hot to play outside, telling my son to watch movies and play video games makes me a responsible parent and “the best dad ever” all at the same time. For the most part, my son has been playing outside in the fort he built with the neighbor kid. But in the afternoon, when the temperatures reach their peak, there is no better place to be than indoors watching a movie.
My son likes to watch cartoons on Netflix and I have been trying to introduce him to a few of my favorites from childhood. Scooby Doo and Inspector Gadget are his new favorites along with Danger Mouse and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
I also made him watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with me, which he didn’t completely hate. He liked the part where Edie McClurg lost the pencils in her hairdo and he liked the big parade dance scene at the end. I’m just glad that he will now understand why I say “Bueller…Bueller…” every time when he doesn’t seem to be listening.
Netflix says that 85% of Dads around the globe are passing down the shows and movies they loved as kids to their own children. These shows are Dad’s 2015 version of a “family heirloom.” Not only does this new trend let dads feel like a kid again (75%), it helps them teach life lessons (76%), and allows dads the role of keeping alive the pop culture references from their childhood.
There’s something pretty neat about connecting with your child over something you loved when you were a kid, whether it’s a classic movie or TV show or a game you enjoyed like mahjong – or anything else you want to share. And best of all, it is a great excuse to enjoy the A/C when it is too hot to play catch in the front yard.
