As a parent, it can be tricky being the referee between your child and the television regarding what’s best for your child versus what they want to watch. It can be equally challenging to weed through all the kid’s shows and movies available and toss the stuff with poor messages, horror skits, or anything else that you do not feel comfortable with your child watching. It can be discouraging to see the amount of harmful content our children are subjected to onsuch platforms as YouTube, where inappropriate, adult content is sneaking into posts titled “Peppa Pig’s Party” or something similar.
As always, it’s so important to pay close attention to what harmful people have tried to set in front of our children. It isn’t always easy to make dinner and watch every moment of what your little one is watching. It is refreshing and massively relieving to find some respectful, educational, and positive role models on TV for our children. You need to have a few go-to shows in your back pocket for the times when you cannot watch alongside your child—so here’s a list of the greatest, most educational, and entertaining children’s shows.
10Doc McStuffins
This fantastic show graced Disney with its presence in 2014, and the show wrapped up its natural ending in 2020, but it isstill available on Disney+and is highly recommended. This sweet show is centered around Dottie, also known asDoc McStuffins, as she plays doctor with stuffed toys belonging to her and her friends. She spends the show teaching us all valuable lessons on love, understanding, manners, and respect.
It also helps to teach children compassion and empathy, something the world could certainly use.
9Tumble Leaf
Anyone who has seen this adorable and imaginative show already knows how wonderful the imagery and lessons genuinely are in this slightly different type of Prime Video show for kids. Unfortunately, we will not see any new episodes, but there are already plenty to keep your little ones busy; the show was first broadcast in 2014 and wrapped up in 2019. It has brilliant lessons for any age group but is written for children ages 2 through 12.
In each episode,the friends ofTumble Leafjoin togetherto solve mysteries, fix problems, throw parties, and other wholesome fun. The show’s main characters include a blue fox named Fig, a pink polar bear named Maple, a brown hedgehog named Hedge, a crab named Ginkgo, and Stick the caterpillar. These friends solve problems by working together, learn to respect nature and their friends, and find the whimsical magic in everyday items.
Related:38 Netflix Shows To Help You Homeschool Your Kids Of All Ages
8Lucas the Spider
Sweet little Lucas, the 4-year-old bold jumping spider inLucas the Jumping Spider, has warmed even the most arachnophobic hearts with his adorably huge eyes, fuzzy little body, and kindness towards others. This show started on YouTube in 2017; its creator was Joshua Slice, a Disney animator responsible for films such asBigHero 6, Raya and the Last Dragon, Zootopia, and many others.
Lucas isn’t interested in eating insects and instead makes friends with them. Some of his best friends are Findley the fly, Avocado the chihuahua, and Bodhi, the iguana. They teach children about kindness, patience, how to work through challenging situations together, and how to be a good friend.
7Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse
The fun-filled seriesMickey Mouse’s Clubhousefirst graced TV in 2006 and ended in 2016, leaving many episodes behind for new viewers. This is a fresh take on an old show, and it really holds the attention of younger children. It’s short enough to put on while making dinner to keep your children occupied and long enough to engage them fully.
Mickey Mouse and his friendsrun into all sorts of problems and obstacles that take some serious friendship and brain power to solve. It is an interactive show that asks your children questions and waits for their replies. There are also tablet games to accompany the show, and kids cannot get enough of them.
6Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
A kind and educational show,Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhoodis a take onMister Rogers' Neighborhoodthat may not strike us as being as well-rounded as Mister Rogers' show was, but it is even better. In this show, we meetDaniel Tiger and some of his friends. The show walks children through different real-life scenarios and guides them on how to make good choices.
Daniel Tiger has many kinds of friends and boasts inclusion. The characters are all very much like regular children, and the problems are all the types of things that children face these days. It pays special attention to social interactions and how to navigate them respectfully and compassionately. There are plenty of tasks where children learn about emotions, how to control them, and what to do when they see another person having such feelings.
Related:Bluey is One of the Greatest TV Shows Made for “Kids”
Blippiis a great guy and spends a lot of time teaching children that they are also great and can do great things if they put their minds to it.Blippitravels across America and the world, showing different neighborhoods and types of children while having plenty of adventures at playgrounds and museums worldwide.Blippihelps our children learnall sorts of things like vehicles, nature, recycling, science projects, and interactive games like “sink or float,” and overall just has a great time teaching our children to be great people.
Blippialso travels to factories, the food industry, farms, villages, construction companies, and many other places. He helps our children be inclusive with their friendships and build strong character to know they can do and become anything they want.Blippi’schildlike wonder and pure excitement make kids everywhere love him.
4Cocomelon
Cocomelonmay be one of the most annoying shows for parents, and it has gotten some bad reviews from parents claiming their children had become addicted to the show. Still, it has so many positive benefits that it’s hard to pass up for our young children.Cocomelonis mostly old-school nursery rhymes, sometimes with a modern twist, and sometimes the songs are entirely original. Some dynamite learning lessons in the originalCocomelonsongs about brushing your teeth, taking a bath, eating dinner, and playing nice teach our youngest minds that doing these otherwise difficult-to-handle chores can be a lot of fun.
Kids respond well to monkey-see-monkey-do, and when they see baby JJ fussing about not wanting to eat his vegetables but then see him trying and liking them, that will help set those little gears in their heads turning and hopefully will help with some of parenting’s most harrowing moments. Other songs, such asThe Boo Boo Song,Yes-Yes Bedtime,The Sick Song, and theDoctor Check-Up Song, can be your friend if you can get past the hard-to-handle parents' voices and mannerisms; plus, young kids LOVECocomelon.
3StoryBots
This show about a group of funny-shaped friends is so charming and educational.Parents and children alike will love it; it is refreshing when a parent finds a show that not only amuses and teaches their child but that the parent also loves. These silly guys make up hilarious songs, talk about science and answer all kinds of questions kids have about everything.
TheStoryBotstalk about things like space travel, dinosaurs, what causes thunder and lightning, and all sorts of cool stuff. They also have books, step-into-reading books, and unique and catchy songs. The songs are available to stream through Amazon, Apple, Google, and Spotify. The best part about the songs is how catchy they are for all ages.
2Number Blocks
This cute counting show is amusing and educational. It can be found on Netflix, YouTube, and Noggin. The Number Blocks are all adorable and whimsical. Each has a different color, overall look, and personality.They make counting funbecause these sillyNumber Blockslook like a bunch of goofy and friendly monsters.
This fun and educational young kids' show started in 2017, and after five seasons, it’s still going strong. The catchy songs might get stuck in your head, so watch out for that, but it is a great show for new mathematicians to sharpen their skills. Some episodes even touch on multiplication and division, which may be advanced for our new little learners.
1Word Party
This endearing show featuring baby animals in diapers teaching everyone about new words, what they mean, and how to spell them is precisely what the youngest sponge-like minds need in their daily diet. As much asNumber Blocksdoes for learning all about numbers,Word Partydoes the same, only for words. This series first debuted in 2017 from the Jim Henson Studio and is currently on Season 5, and we hope to see it stick around for a long time.
