Raising men: The ultimate children's viewing collection. Part 1: Family & Kids Movies

It has taken me quite a while to build up a seriously awesome movie collection for Noah and Benjamin. I would say that this list is for kids aged 2 - 10, but some of them you'll need to fast forward though tricky or 'scarier' bits. We don't have DSTV - it's just a decision that we've made at home. TV is a huge distraction and for a long time (until we got the giant one) we didn't have a TV in our lounge at all. We rely on things that we've rented, purchased or erm, found.

So I've been collecting various movies in different formats for the past four years that I think the boys will enjoy - some now, some later. I do prefer having this sort of control over what they're watching at this age, and I love how Noah's movie preference is developing. He loves Ponyo, Matilda and Edward Scissorhands the best right now. Also Dora the Explorer and documentaries on the human body. Benjamin really only ever wants Spider-Man, Superman, Ironman, Batman - anything with 'man' at the end, actually.

So here is my little list of happy, family movies that I've been putting together for the boys. These are mostly old movies and classics. In my next posts on children's viewing I'll list our favorite kids art films, anime, cartoons, classic Disney and Pixar.

If you're stuck on what to rent or ask for at your local DVD store, then these are great options for your littles - depending on what they're in to. Benjamin (2) watches a lot of these 'older kids' movies because Noah really does have mature taste and Ben sort of has no other option sometimes. My boys do NOT like The Neverending Story or Annie which breaks my heart but I'll keep trying every year. I haven't shown them The Goonies yet either. Saving that one for the big time, boys.