Netflix has started rolling out new tools that aim to make it easier for parents to monitor what their kids are watching on the streaming service. First, the Kids Activity Report will break down the types of shows your kids are most watching and the top “themes” in that content; it will spotlight their favorite characters (so you can better understand what the hell Oggy and those cockroaches are all about); and it will provide fresh recommendations.
Secondly, a new “family profile” setting will be released to act as a sort of bridge between the kids-only profiles and regular ones. That is, it will include shows with more mature ratings (up to a PG-13 rating for movies, and up to a TV-14 rating for TV shows), but which are commonly considered to be more family friendly if kids are watching with their parents.
As The Verge reports:
Emails sent out to customers who have kids accounts enabled started going out this weekend, letting parents know they could opt into the report. The report also comes with a “joke of the day,” coloring pages (based on Netflix characters and shows) to print out for kids stuck at home, and prepared questions to ask their kids based on their favorite show or character.
Parents will hopefully be able to better connect with their kids by having a more thorough understanding of what they’re watching—even if they don’t want to watch it themselves, Michelle Parsons, who leads Netflix’s product innovation team for kids and family, told The Verge.
Both tools are currently being rolled out in select markets as part of a global test. In the meantime, you might realize that it’s been a while since you peeked in on what your child has been viewing. There is still a way to quickly check your kids’ recent viewing activity:
- Go to the Netflix home page in your browser and sign in.
- Mouse over the account symbol in the upper right-hand corner and click “Account.”
- Scroll down to your kid’s account, click the down arrow, and then click “Viewing Activity.”
- All their activity will appear, starting with the most recently viewed shows.
(Apparently my son has been watching a lot of LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar and Pokémon Journeys: The Series this month. Last month, it was all Garfield, all the time.)
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That list doesn’t give you all the features the new Kids Activity Report promises, such as show synopses or recommendations, but you can click directly to each show they’ve watched from that list if you want to examine one a little more closely.
