Silly parents, Netflix is for kids (too)
The online-video provider is aiming to boost its family-friendly features with a new section for children called "Just for Kids."
Slightly borrowing a line from a breakfast cereal not meant for silly rabbits, Netflix is launching a new division dubbed "Just For Kids."
At first glance, the Just For Kids feature, introduced to some members last week, doesn't really seem all that new at all. Netflix users can find these titles for instant video streaming under the tab by the same name next to the Watch Instantly section. It's sort of similar to the already-existing categories that are already divided up on a user's Watch Instantly page.
However, this makes it much easier for parents, babysitters, and the like to find some age-appropriate content a lot faster without having to sift through one's queue, which might not include any of these titles to begin with.
Selections in this section are targeted toward children 12 and under. Some TV shows and films that appear in the Just For Kids division are quite obvious, such as Sesame Street and Toy Story 3. But to "prioritize these selections," Netflix teamed with Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that provides "trustworthy information and tools so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume." Not all cartoons are exactly made for children; this is another filter to weed those ones out.
Just For Kids is available starting today for streaming from Windows and Mac computers to Netflix members in the United States and Canada. Children will be able to utilize these features on "many other devices" in the near future--specifically Nintendo's Wii and the iPad. It is very likely that we'll see this expand at least to all of the gaming consoles on which Netflix is supported.
This story was originally published at ZDNet's Between the Lines.