Not-Netflix Natters Series Two: Building Children’s Media Choices — Authentically Episode 1 What Do We Mean by Authentic?

Series Two of Not-Netflix Natters shifts from observation to construction. If Series One examined what felt missing in family viewing, this series asks how children’s media choices might be built more authentically.

Authentic storytelling does not mean chaos or carelessness. It means emotional recognisability — characters who make mistakes, feel awkward, misjudge situations, and grow imperfectly. Children repeatedly return to stories that allow exaggeration, humour, and emotional risk. They drift away from stories that are overly smoothed or heavily explained.

Across books and television alike, the evidence is consistent: children engage most deeply when stories trust them.

In the episodes ahead, I’ll explore how manufactured perfection shapes children’s media — and how confidence in content might be restored.

Because children don’t need perfect stories.

They need honest ones.