No kids: I could wake up at 8:30 and be in the office by 9, but generally preferred to wake up at 8 and have time to slowly get going.

1 kid: I could wake up at 7:45 and get the toddler dropped off at daycare by 8:45, then be in the office by 9. It would usually be a harried morning, not at all relaxing.

2 kids: I wake up at 7 and try to get a few things ready for the slog of getting the kids to eat their breakfast, brush their teeth, get their clothes on, and on their way to a daycare and an elementary school. I roll into work at 9:30, and I take like 30 minutes to make coffee and get ready for the day. I’m now senior enough in my office that I can refuse routine meetings/calls before 10am, and nobody cares what time I come in or leave.

Note that I live within a 10-minute bike ride to my office. Most parents I know chose to move further from work so that they’d have more space for kids and maybe better schools, so many people have added even more time to their commutes for their kids. I consider myself lucky and privileged to be able to not have to wake up before 7, and still be able to pick up and drop off my kids.

I’m fully aware that I sound like a snob when I say this, but the world building in Paw Patrol seems like a mess. And sure, I get that people get bored of the same rescue plots over and over, so they had to introduce a villain (Mayor Humdinger and all his cat allies trying to cause trouble), and then some kind of supernatural meteor that gives the dogs super powers, and then some mermaid dog society in the mix. Like, pick a lane: is this show about first responders or superheroes or mermaid dogs? And what should I make of the fact that cats are inherently villainous, unless they can talk, at which point they’re good guys?

Just seemed like it’s sloppy world building and I don’t like it, so I don’t need my kids watching it, either. Not a particularly good reason, but my kids aren’t really clamoring for it.

I gatekeep my children’s access to YouTube/Netflix/Disney content, basically only allowing certain channels.

Super Simple Songs is one that my kids basically learned a bunch of songs from, and remain part of the audio playlists that I put together for my kids. The affiliated “shows” (Bumble Nums, Mr. Monkey) seem OK by my standards. They seem professionally produced and not geared to manipulate kids’ attention spans. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they’re truly educational, but they do introduce some concepts that I can flesh out on my own with my kids.

Storybots on Netflix is probably my favorite thing for them to watch. Good educational content that is actually accurate without being overwhelming. The songs are pretty fun, too.

Bluey is great. There’s a genuineness to it that is pretty unique in children’s programming.

Octonauts is good for teaching about animals in the ocean, but I don’t enjoy watching it myself. They don’t really bake in stuff to keep the parents engaged, in my opinion.

PBS content (and Sesame Street content wherever licensed) seems pretty good. My kids don’t actively stay as engaged as with some shows, but they have enjoyed Wild Kratts, Daniel Tiger, Curious George, and some other programming.

I actively avoid Paw Patrol, and Cocomelon is outright forbidden in the house. Also, a bunch of colorful kids channels on YouTube are banned, too. I don’t need that short attention span brainrot, especially when my kids already likely have mild ADHD (just as I do).

Things will get more challenging as they get older, but while they’re still in toddler and elementary age I can still largely keep them away from the vast majority of YouTube and steer them towards professional/studio produced programming, especially by nonprofits.

Disney licenses the distribution/streaming rights to Bluey, and just signed the theater and streaming rights to the upcoming Bluey movie (scheduled for 2027) but doesn’t own merchandising rights. They did, however, just recently sign a deal for rights to use the characters in theme parks and cruises.