David Farnor | On 05, Nov 2015

Cartoons on repeat. Disney on demand. DreamWorks animations featuring the “I like to move it, move it” lemurs from Madagascar. Netflix has become an invaluable tool for parents looking for a way to entertain their kids and get some rest for 30 minutes.

Now, though, the streaming site is planning to be not just a helpful tool, but your new favourite nanny. Last year, the site released a special All Hail King Julien video for New Year’s Eve to allow parents to count down to midnight at any time of the evening, freeing the adults up for a child-free celebration. Now, it has launched a range of new shorts designed to help with another headache for many grown-ups: putting the kids to bed on every night of the year.

“My brain is playing tricks on me.” “My hair hurts.” “You didn’t kiss my other cheek and now it’s sad.” Little tykes can think of all kinds of excuses not to hit the hay.

In a recent global study, Netflix found that bedtime stalls are a universal problem faced by parents around the world. Netflix polled parents across seven countries (US, UK, France, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico) and found 61 per cent are regularly dealing with their kids’ creative stall tactics at bedtime. Parents spend nearly 20 minutes every single night negotiating with kids to get them into bed.

Mums and dads in the UK lure kids to sleep with bedtime bribes: Although they are reluctant to admit it, a third of parents in the UK say that one of the quickest ways to get their kids into bed is with a bribe (33 per cent vs. 28 per cent globall) with the chance to stay up later on weekends and food the most popular treats on offer.

The most common tactic used by kids is asking for “just five more minutes” (reported by 42 per cent of parents) and so Netflix has created “5 Minute Favourites”, abbreviated episodes of its recent original animated show, Dinotrux – allowing parents to give in to children’s demands for one more show, but get the last laugh when it ends only a few minutes later.

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation engineered the new shows to cater to kids’ love of re-watching their favourite scenes: the three episodes showcase favourite moments from the adventures of construction vehicle-dinosaur hybrids Ty-Rux and Revvit, as they demonstrate important lessons of teamwork and friendship.

To find them, just search for “5 Minute Favourites” on Netflix. Who needs a nanny anyway?

Add to Watchlist