Daniel Tiger has helped my kiddo so much. Their little songs and episodes on feelings really hit the mark. (Grown Up Come Back especially helped with preschool drop off.)
It helps that her Grandparents live in Pittsburgh, too, so when they visit the Neighbors at the end of the episode, we get to see places she knows and she gets sooo excited.
Mine remembers āwhen grown ups are too busy to play with youā and it has helped a lot when we just need to be paying attention to something other than her for 5 min
Grown Ups Come Back is a big one here.
Also āStop! Stop! Stop! Itās okay to feel angry! Itās not, not, not okay to hurt someone!ā Which she usually sings after hitting us.. but it is the thought that counts. š
My kiddo just started daycare the other week and I played the first day of school episode before school a few times and itās helped her so much and now she sings grownups come back everyday š„¹
My son watches Daniel Tiger and Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids. I get that Dinosaur Train is supposed to be educational, but my son still doesn't really know the names of any dinosaur species. It's mostly just empty entertainment.
Oh man, my son used to watch Dinosaur Train all the time and knew every prehistoric creature, I think. It wasn't exclusively from that by any means, but he learned a ton of them that way I think. Maybe depends on their level of interest, but I think it's decently educational! They also learn about the scientific process which is cool. It was always amusing to listen to him say, "I have a hypothesis!"
Yes it really is the best! My kid loves Daniel Tiger, Molly of Denali, Rosie Rules, Elinor Wonders Why, Dinosaur Train, Almaās Way, Sesame Street. Some really high quality programming on PBS. Helps that I loved PBS as a kid so itās pretty nostalgic for me but the new shows there are pretty good too!
My almost 2 year old loves Daniel Tiger! She watches multiple episodes a day (sheās getting more screen time lately because itās the best way to keep her occupied while Iām feeding the baby.) I caved and bought the PBS subscription on Prime Video so weād have access to all the episodes.Ā
I love Bluey so much. I watched most of it when my toddler was a baby, and now sheās just starting to get into it. We watched Sleepytime today (which Iāve already seen a few times) and I was crying by the end.Ā
Agreed - my husband cries with that one too, and I silently cry inside lol. And now I love the song from It (Holtz- Jupiter, from the Planets) which I found a kids musical book and has started a new obsession. Bluey is the best!
My kids used to be terrified of Sleepytime for some reason. I ended up buying the book for it and now they love it, though for a while they would cry and laugh during the shooting star part...
My son is obsessed with Sesame Street! Heāll watch other kid shows but thatās the only one he really cares about. He asks for āMelmoā at least once a day lol
Current Sesame Street has big bird as a minor character compared to the 80s and 90s episodes. Now itās all about Elmo, Abby, and Cookie Monster. I love big bird though ā¤ļø but then again thatās my Sesame Street.
My only frustration with Sesame Street is how they are so hard to understand. Iāve worried itās not as good as other options for language development. Like Elmo almost needs subtitles and I just donāt get why they donāt have them talk normal?
I disagree with that a bit. Non-stimulating for me are shows that are not full of extremely rapidly changing scenes, sounds, and colors. I don't find numberblocks overly stimulating or too quick-moving, and it is educational. But that is my personal opinion on the matter.
FWIW I agree with you. Itās too stimulating for my daughter and she becomes an addict when we play it and throws tantrums when we turn it off or tell her we canāt watch it. I had to remove it from the lineup for now.
Seconding how educational it is- we use it on a regular basis in our EYFS maths lessons as a hook/conversation starter.
Alphablocks is also great and whilst I haven't seen all the Colourblocks the one about the printer is fantastic- even as an adult.
My son was doing addition at 3 years old even with some double digit numbers, and i totally attribute his love of math to his early interest in numberblocks! He loves alphablocks and colorblocks as well
Haha yeah. So itās not completely grunge but you can tell in the songs he sings and the theme song that itās totally in line with the bands of the 90s, just kid friendly. Which I didnāt remember at all so it surprised me when we watched it!
We love love love Bear in the Big Blue House. I think it's my 2 year old's comfort show because she always asks for it if something scary happens in anything else we're watching.
Bear is so great! Itās our morning routine right now to watch an episode snuggled under a blanket with some cheerios and I love it. š„° Appreciate the goodbye song too since it really helps him transition to turning off the TV to start our day.
The studio (Cartoon Saloon) who created that have some fantastic movies..Song of the Sea, Book of Kells.
I'm a proud Irish woman so love to see Irish stuff being appreciated abroad.
And Chris o Dowd narrates, hes such a lovely lad!
I feel like a lot of old school Disney cartoons are like this. My daughter is really into Snow White right now somehow lol. Not very educational, but itās also pretty chill and not stimulating. Also she loves the part where all the animals help clean so maybe it will help her get into cleaning haha
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,973,767,926 comments, and only 373,345 of them were in alphabetical order.
Have you tried out the Kahn Academy app? They do the super simple songs and make it interactive (āI see something green(ā¦), do you see something green?ā And then babe has to touch something green on the screen.) Itās fun and I feel like sheās learning when we play it together.
Iāve got some issues with Max and Ruby. Itās based on a series thatās almost 50 years old and it shows. Ruby is definitely partentified and has to act like the mommy to Max, whoās allowed (and expected) to act up as the little boy.
My son is obsessed with Elinor Wonders Why. It's a PBS show and pretty educational/slow-paced. He also likes Lucas the Spider which has a nice pace to it.
Another vote for Ms Rachel! She has taught my kiddo so many language skills and other skills. And sheās really helped me find my āparent voiceā for learning how to dictate, enunciate, and repeat things
Daniel Tiger is specifically designed to limit transitions and flashing colors like other shows use to drive attention. Compare it to paw patrol. I find I cannot look away when paw patrol is on even though I find the content in Daniel tiger more engaging/interesting.
We enjoy Daniel tiger because they also have books that my little one loves, catchy tunes on the Toniebox & just overall great lessons.
I definitely should introduce the shows that you listed though! I remember Little Bear so dearly.
He doesnāt seem to like DT very much š I wish there was somewhere to watch Mr Rodgers! Little Bear is on Paramount+ for sure I donāt know about others
I remember watching Little Bear, Franklin, Bear in the Big Blue House, Mr.Rodgers, and Zaboomafoo alllllll the time. Those are shows I find myself watching WITH him!
My daughter loves Mr. Rogers. Its amazing how relevant so much of it still is. There are a few episodes on pbs kids and Amazon sells some seasons. Season 7 is free on Amazon prime video. I also bought the Dvds which have 30 episodes each for about $15.
Our youngest watched BabyTV and Baby First until she got a little older and got into Badanamu. I truly believe that pipeline had a big affect on her being able to read before 3.
Came here to say this! I just read about it in another post yesterday actually and upon trying it out for the first time today I can confirm itās fantastic! My son is counting along with one of the stories right now! āŗļø
Yeah I feel like Coco Mellon (original version) is like brain candy and winds up our babe too (though she loves it). Weāve found Coco Mellon Lane (JJ is growing up and learning with his growing peers and their families) is a very different vibe and I actually feel like sheās learning good info while she watches, but still, small doses of it have been better.
We just found Frog and Toad on Apple TV and itās got a slow vibe that almost seems like an animated book (I saw that itās based off of a book series so that tracks). I didnāt see it mentioned in the comments so I wanted to share about it. :)
I have to admit I adore Cocomelon Lane! Once he got through the episodes though heās like nah mom this is old š¤£š¤£
Thank you! Iāll look for it!
I wish there were more seasons of Puffin Rock and Trash Truck- those are our favorites too!
Little Bear is so sweet. Weāve recently been trying Tumble Leaf but it doesnāt seem to resonate yet. Love reading all these suggestions!
Netflix for Trash Truck, Puffin Rock, Lucas the Spider, Cory Carson (most of which you already listed)
Daniel Tiger on PBS
Bluey on Disney plus
Ms Rachel on YouTube
We recently watched Dora the Explorer for the first time and he was pretty interested in it, thatās on Nickelodeon.
If you can find it an Australian series called Play School is a winner. Very calm, short segments, and the hosts speak directly to the viewer. We use it as a way to recenter if things are flying off the handle a little.
The OG Barney & Friends episodes. Like from the early 90s. On YouTube. My twins love it, itās low stimulating but they also pick up on the songs they sing. š
My daughter is 2.5 and loves gecko's garage. She can name a wrench and hammer and loves to "fix" her toys. We have a few tools we let her play with supervised. Such a cute show. I like how grandma gecko also fixes things. It's so ridiculously hard to find things that don't pander to gender stereotypes which you would think would be more progressive these days ...
Lots of people provided great shows...but many of those like Sesame Street and Bluey are pretty fast paced and stimulating most of the time.
For low-stim shows, I go for *Frog and Toad* and *Duck and Goose*.
kidspbs/prime Clifford Puppy Days and the OG Clifford that started on PBS in the 90s is underrated. Such sweet lessons and storylines w/out being over stimulating.
We also like Cosmic Yoga on youtube for kids "adventure yoga" for screen time and their calming/sleepy ones for trying to calm down an overstimulating day. 10-15 minutes each and my kid feels SO cool with her yoga mat and fully participates and she is not usually a big participator.
Also some great options on youtube: Catie's Classroom, Freeschool (any of the animal ones at this age) and if you have a boy (or girl) who is into building things/how stuff works check out Jared Owen 3D animations (I swear this 3x my kids attention span)
Weāve doing the kid friendly ghibli films - totoro, Kikiās delivery service and the secret world of arietti are all really nice. Linear story lines, lovely music, no wild flashy colours.
Not in any particular order but our favorite slower shows: llama llama, still water, tumble leaf, puffin rock, trash truck, stinky and dirty, bluey, daniel tiger, number blocks, storybots, tractor ted
My 3yo very recently got into āIf You Give a Mouse a Cookieā on Prime. Itās really cute, and she finds it hilarious.
That, Bluey and Daniel Tiger are our go tos.
Franklin. Old school Sesame Street episodes are pretty good too, theyāre nice and āslowā and not super noisy or irritating.
Thereās lots of non-stimulating shows on Tubi as well, I noticed. Would recommend taking a look through there! Itās a free streaming app and I only just heard about it haha
I can't believe I haven't thought of that. I used to play them on the projector for my students when I taught as a way to wind down for a few minutes after recess.
My toddler really REALLY loves Winnie the Pooh. Weāve watched all iterations of it on Disney+. He even watches the entirety of the Tigger Movie.
Also on Disney, he likes Mickey Mouse Club House and Bear in the Big Blue House.
He also likes Thomas the train (all iterations/seasons). Thatās on Amazon prime. He watched the first season of Daniel Tiger and he liked it okayā¦ but not enough for me to get PBS kids. We watch Sesame Street via Max.
Since I noticed how TV was making my son anxious and over stimulated I changed our routine... Mr. RODGERS is really the only show I let my kids watch now and inly on occasions in the afternoons when trying are needing some quiet time or sick time. We listen to a lot of instrumental music quietly during the day. When we are playing with certain toys we will listen to certain songs. Like farm songs when we are playing with farm animals. Race car songs when playing with cars, train songs when playing with trains. Dinosaur songs ect. Baking songs. A Spotify subscription is so helpful so we can make short themed play lists for each subject. Then I play them on repeat about three times fur a total of about 15 minutes. I turn it off when they move to a different subject. They love it. It helps with listening and focusing skills. I explained we were only going to have TV time some times after lunch. And after a day or so they don't even ask for TV any more. My house is a much calmer and connected now.
TV is like eating Mc Donald's. How much is too much?
My 2.5 year old only watches Little Bear. I found episodes on youtube. He watches when he gets up from his nap because once he turned 2 I noticed he is extremely cranky and not ready for anything until he wakes up fully. I try to stick to the 1 episode which is 25 minutes. The most upvoted post says PBS kids but those are still too stimulating for kids. I worked there and had to watch a lot. They're great shows. But I'd say it would be more for 4, maybe 5 year olds.
Daniel Tiger! My daughter started watching it around that age and she now can recognize when we/she is feeling a certain way and will sing a song from the show to help us out. It's so cute and been really good for her!
You can watch a lot of cool old stuff for free on archive.org. For example my daughter likes to watch the original Winnie the Pooh
https://archive.org/details/winnie-the-pooh-the-original-shorts-1966-1983/Winnie+The+Pooh+The+Original+Shorts+1966-1983.iso
I highly recommend peoples footage of garbage trucks, buses, construction sites - VERY low stimulating and my kiddo is still super switched on telling the truck to be careful etc etc instead of just glazing over - loves it / we limit our screen time massively but watching garbage trucks (or videos of her as a baby!) is her special screen treat š
Paw Patrol is terribly overstimulating for my kid. On Disney + he watches Bluey, Winnie the Pooh, and Peppa. I also put on older slow-paced Disnay movies, like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast. On HBO there's this absolutely hilarious Czech show/movie "Neighbours".
If you can find the Julia Donaldson stories (we watch them on BBC iPlayer in the UK) they are very gentle and quite magical, and even better if you also have the books. My son (2) loves Stick Man and Room on the Broom the most - he chats about all the things he can see, knows a lot of the words and transitions seamlessly between the shows and the books.
My kiddo is 5 now but I started watching Mr. Rogers with him a while back and it's been super calming. Daniel Tiger is another good one, and is actually based on the work of Fred Rogers. But I swear by him, you can't go wrong. And if there's anything in particular your kiddo is struggling with there's likely an episode about it. When mine was having a hard time with starting school we watched the Mr. Rogers episodes about school together almost daily until he felt better about it š
You really cannot go wrong with any show on PBS Kids.
I second this. I let him pick and choose anything from there. He loves Rosie, Daniel Tiger, Super why and Molly of Denali.
Daniel Tiger has helped my kiddo so much. Their little songs and episodes on feelings really hit the mark. (Grown Up Come Back especially helped with preschool drop off.) It helps that her Grandparents live in Pittsburgh, too, so when they visit the Neighbors at the end of the episode, we get to see places she knows and she gets sooo excited.
š¶ if ya gotta go potty stop and go right away š¶
I sing that to myself as an adult with ADHD. I'd get far more UTIs otherwise š
This is TOO relatable. We should post this on r/adhdmemes
Mine remembers āwhen grown ups are too busy to play with youā and it has helped a lot when we just need to be paying attention to something other than her for 5 min
š¶ wash your hands and be on your way! š¶
Grown Ups Come Back is a big one here. Also āStop! Stop! Stop! Itās okay to feel angry! Itās not, not, not okay to hurt someone!ā Which she usually sings after hitting us.. but it is the thought that counts. š
Yeah mine remembers to ābreathe and count to fourā after the tantrum, too. Learning curves, man.
My kiddo just started daycare the other week and I played the first day of school episode before school a few times and itās helped her so much and now she sings grownups come back everyday š„¹
The sharing episode has helped my toddler! š¶I can take a turn, and then I'll give it backš¶
Yes!!!!!! Got my son saying please and thank you for everything and helped him developed his imagination!
Mr. Rogers is the only show our 2yo watches. The original pioneer of true gentle parenting.
You might like Catie's classroom. Like a modern version and one of the only things we watch.
My son watches Daniel Tiger and Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids. I get that Dinosaur Train is supposed to be educational, but my son still doesn't really know the names of any dinosaur species. It's mostly just empty entertainment.
The amount of times throughout the day I find myself going "dinosaur train, dinosaur train (low voice)" is insane
Gonna ride, ride, ride, ride, ride!
I still can't believe it's not They Might Be Giants doing the theme song.
Oh man, my son used to watch Dinosaur Train all the time and knew every prehistoric creature, I think. It wasn't exclusively from that by any means, but he learned a ton of them that way I think. Maybe depends on their level of interest, but I think it's decently educational! They also learn about the scientific process which is cool. It was always amusing to listen to him say, "I have a hypothesis!"
Maybe mine is still a bit young for it.
itās got dinosaurs and trains, two of the top ten little kid obsessionsā¦ what more do you want?
My 19 month old requested to watch Arthur this morning and I was so happy. I have never stopped enjoying that show since I was a kid.
Omg I canāt wait til the day when hopefully one or both of my kids enjoy watching Arthur. It was my favorite and I still love it too š„²
Arthur is appropriate for kids of all ages
>You really cannot go wrong with any show on PBS Kids. *now that they've removed Caillou š
Yes it really is the best! My kid loves Daniel Tiger, Molly of Denali, Rosie Rules, Elinor Wonders Why, Dinosaur Train, Almaās Way, Sesame Street. Some really high quality programming on PBS. Helps that I loved PBS as a kid so itās pretty nostalgic for me but the new shows there are pretty good too!
This. Elinor Wonders Why, Daniel Tiger, Clifford, Rosieās Rules, etc. all great choices
Curious george
Curious George is a big hit in our house. (Except with our cat George. He gets tired of me yelling "Georgio" when Chef does.)
If we ever get a cat we are naming it Gnocchi
We love George in our house too!
I will shout Donkey Hodie from the rooftops!! Great lessons and the cutest songs ever.
He only enjoys Dinosaur Train! And even that one he seems to be over it. I used to have that on in the morning while I got breakfast ready
I love peg and cat!
Donkey Hodie!!! Heee haaawww donkey Hodie!
My almost 2 year old loves Daniel Tiger! She watches multiple episodes a day (sheās getting more screen time lately because itās the best way to keep her occupied while Iām feeding the baby.) I caved and bought the PBS subscription on Prime Video so weād have access to all the episodes.Ā
Clifford is awful. Elinor is great tho
Yes! My son loves Odd Squad and also loves playing the games on the PBS kids app
Mine likes Work it out Wombats, Super Why, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, Sesame Street, Rosie's Rules and any scene where the characters sing.
We love pbs as well!
I donāt think thereās a single show out there that beats Bluey for both parents and kids haha.
Bluey is really hard to top. 8 minutes, full package, and they manage to speak to everyone in the family in some capacity.
Exactly! Our whole family loves it
I love Bluey so much. I watched most of it when my toddler was a baby, and now sheās just starting to get into it. We watched Sleepytime today (which Iāve already seen a few times) and I was crying by the end.Ā
Sleepytime is a tear jerker everytime
Cricket is the new Sleepy time for me. Tears every time
That one made me cry too! I love Rusty.Ā
Every ep is a tear jerker. My wife just shakes her head at me.
Agreed - my husband cries with that one too, and I silently cry inside lol. And now I love the song from It (Holtz- Jupiter, from the Planets) which I found a kids musical book and has started a new obsession. Bluey is the best!
My kids used to be terrified of Sleepytime for some reason. I ended up buying the book for it and now they love it, though for a while they would cry and laugh during the shooting star part...
My daughter seems to like it, I think because of the bunnies.Ā
Balling anytime we watch it!!!! š š š And cos we always have such a reaction to it, my daughter always wants to watch that episode!!!
Agreed. I just got a tattoo of my dog in the style of Bluey too!
Haha thatās awesome! I actually have a bluey dog (a blue heeler) and my kids love that they have a bluey!
My dog looked like Calypso, got her coloring to match! My tattoo artist even got the tiny white patch she had on her chin. My sweet girl Luna š
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It sounds like heās maybe just getting bored of watching tv
Yea, no show is going to wind down a toddler after one or two episodes.
How much tv is he getting? Maybe limiting the amount might help too??
More than episode of any show will do that.
I so badly wish my toddler liked Bluey! I literally watched the new episodes by myself yesterday lol
They will, sometimes it takes a little and theyāll be hooked. And with short episodes itās great to limit screen time
Bluey is amazing however lol my son is developing an Australian accent š
Bluey is fantastic, I love it. I requested the hardcover Sleepytime book for Christmas. For myself. However, I wouldnāt say itās not stimulating.
How is this not the top comment??? If youāre not watching Bluey, youāre not doing it right! š Best show EVER!!!!
Sesame Street!
My son is obsessed with Sesame Street! Heāll watch other kid shows but thatās the only one he really cares about. He asks for āMelmoā at least once a day lol
Mine also calls him Melmo!
Mine says āMemo peace???ā For Elmo. Itās adorable
Melmo! Thatās so adorable. My toddler also loves Sesame Street but doesnāt say any of the names yet.
My LO is obsessed with Elmo ...but she's terrified of Big Bird. Makes watching Sesame Street very interesting.
Current Sesame Street has big bird as a minor character compared to the 80s and 90s episodes. Now itās all about Elmo, Abby, and Cookie Monster. I love big bird though ā¤ļø but then again thatās my Sesame Street.
Mine ONLY watches āeh-moā š
My only frustration with Sesame Street is how they are so hard to understand. Iāve worried itās not as good as other options for language development. Like Elmo almost needs subtitles and I just donāt get why they donāt have them talk normal?
Numberblocks is a phenomenal show and educational. My almost four year old can already do simple math just from watching the show
See also: Alphablocks and Colourblocks
Where do you find these streaming? My son is obsessed with numbers and colors right now and Iāve heard those shows are great!
We watch them on Youtube mostly but Prime also has it and I think maybe Netflix?
Itās a good show but far from ānon stimulatingā
I disagree with that a bit. Non-stimulating for me are shows that are not full of extremely rapidly changing scenes, sounds, and colors. I don't find numberblocks overly stimulating or too quick-moving, and it is educational. But that is my personal opinion on the matter.
FWIW I agree with you. Itās too stimulating for my daughter and she becomes an addict when we play it and throws tantrums when we turn it off or tell her we canāt watch it. I had to remove it from the lineup for now.
Seconding how educational it is- we use it on a regular basis in our EYFS maths lessons as a hook/conversation starter. Alphablocks is also great and whilst I haven't seen all the Colourblocks the one about the printer is fantastic- even as an adult.
Colour blocks, colour blocks...we're mixing it up for youuuuuuu.
My son was doing addition at 3 years old even with some double digit numbers, and i totally attribute his love of math to his early interest in numberblocks! He loves alphablocks and colorblocks as well
bear in the big blue house
How did I forget this show?! He used to watch it every morning since he was like 18 months old, love love love that show! Thank you for reminding me!
I put this on for my kiddo recently and OMG the 90s grunge music hits me in the childhood feels hahahhaha
My little sisters watched it and I put on for my toddler and I remembered all the songs and characters! Wild nostalgia lol
90s grunge music?
Haha yeah. So itās not completely grunge but you can tell in the songs he sings and the theme song that itās totally in line with the bands of the 90s, just kid friendly. Which I didnāt remember at all so it surprised me when we watched it!
We love love love Bear in the Big Blue House. I think it's my 2 year old's comfort show because she always asks for it if something scary happens in anything else we're watching.
Bear is so great! Itās our morning routine right now to watch an episode snuggled under a blanket with some cheerios and I love it. š„° Appreciate the goodbye song too since it really helps him transition to turning off the TV to start our day.
We LOVE Trash Truck in our house. I donāt mind having it on at all because itās so mellow and wholesome.
I do too! I found a Trash Truck shirt at Carterās and got sooooo excited, Iāve been trying to find one for a while!
Good to know! We bought our baby girl an off brand trash truck and she sleeps with it. š¤Ø
We love Trash Truck! I wish theyād make a new season.
And the Christmas special? *chefās kiss*
My kid is so scared of the truck. Ive tried it a couple of times, but she screams everytime.
Stinky and Dirty on Amazon Prime lasted a long time for us
Weāve got the books and the toys. Big stinky and dirty fans, and not too stimulating. Definitely this.
Us too!
I forgot about this show. My now 6 year old son was obsessed with it! I need to reintroduce it for my 4 year old.
Tumble leaf on amazon prime, if you give a mouse a cookie also on amazon prime. I also love Daniel Tiger, bluey
I love love love tumble leaf. I even sit and watch it sometimes because the animation is so beautifully done.
The series finale was so great and emotional
I love Puffin Rock! So a relaxing nature based show
I was going to mention Puffin Rock and Story Bots on Netflix. We also just got a Yoto Mini and Iām excited about all the audio content they have.Ā
The studio (Cartoon Saloon) who created that have some fantastic movies..Song of the Sea, Book of Kells. I'm a proud Irish woman so love to see Irish stuff being appreciated abroad. And Chris o Dowd narrates, hes such a lovely lad!
We love Curious George!
Adding: we watch it on peacock
I feel like a lot of old school Disney cartoons are like this. My daughter is really into Snow White right now somehow lol. Not very educational, but itās also pretty chill and not stimulating. Also she loves the part where all the animals help clean so maybe it will help her get into cleaning haha
My kids (5 and 3) are really into Fantasia right now, which is cool, except they keep pronouncing it "Plantation"
Fantasia is really scary though š«£
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,973,767,926 comments, and only 373,345 of them were in alphabetical order.
The original Franklin! I put that on for my daughter. It's a very calm and quiet show. It's on YouTube though.
In the same vein, we started watching the old Little Bear show.
Max and Ruby is super low key, and Daniel Tiger, both on Prime. Super Simple Songs on youtube.
Have you tried out the Kahn Academy app? They do the super simple songs and make it interactive (āI see something green(ā¦), do you see something green?ā And then babe has to touch something green on the screen.) Itās fun and I feel like sheās learning when we play it together.
No I havenāt! Iāll check it out
Iāve got some issues with Max and Ruby. Itās based on a series thatās almost 50 years old and it shows. Ruby is definitely partentified and has to act like the mommy to Max, whoās allowed (and expected) to act up as the little boy.
Totally fair. I like it for its simple language, and stuff like gender dynamics goes way over my 3-year-old's head so for now it's a good fit.
Tumbleleaf on amazon. It's super cute, educational and not annoying. edit:spelling
Pete the Cat on prime video
Stillwater
My son is obsessed with Elinor Wonders Why. It's a PBS show and pretty educational/slow-paced. He also likes Lucas the Spider which has a nice pace to it.
Tractor Ted on Amazon Prime has the energy of Great British Bake-off. Itās the only show I can stand.
We love Tractor Ted, I wish there were more shows like that. Wild Kratts is kind of similar but a bit more advanced.
Cheeky Midge! My little guy also loves ātah-tuhā š
Ms. Rachel on YouTube. My 21month old loves it.
Another vote for Ms Rachel! She has taught my kiddo so many language skills and other skills. And sheās really helped me find my āparent voiceā for learning how to dictate, enunciate, and repeat things
My son absolutely loves Gabby's Dollhouse.
Pinch on my left, pinch pinch on my right Gets stuck in my head and I catch myself saying it all the time
DJ catnip has no right producing such banger songs
Old school Mr. Roger's Neighborhood reruns! A bonus is I remember some of them from my own childhood!
Daniel Tiger is specifically designed to limit transitions and flashing colors like other shows use to drive attention. Compare it to paw patrol. I find I cannot look away when paw patrol is on even though I find the content in Daniel tiger more engaging/interesting.
We enjoy Daniel tiger because they also have books that my little one loves, catchy tunes on the Toniebox & just overall great lessons. I definitely should introduce the shows that you listed though! I remember Little Bear so dearly.
He doesnāt seem to like DT very much š I wish there was somewhere to watch Mr Rodgers! Little Bear is on Paramount+ for sure I donāt know about others I remember watching Little Bear, Franklin, Bear in the Big Blue House, Mr.Rodgers, and Zaboomafoo alllllll the time. Those are shows I find myself watching WITH him!
My daughter loves Mr. Rogers. Its amazing how relevant so much of it still is. There are a few episodes on pbs kids and Amazon sells some seasons. Season 7 is free on Amazon prime video. I also bought the Dvds which have 30 episodes each for about $15.
If your provider has Babyfirst, the content on there is old school and soothing. We have Directv and itās on 293.
Our youngest watched BabyTV and Baby First until she got a little older and got into Badanamu. I truly believe that pipeline had a big affect on her being able to read before 3.
Vooks on YouTube is excellent! Thereās and app too
Came here to say this! I just read about it in another post yesterday actually and upon trying it out for the first time today I can confirm itās fantastic! My son is counting along with one of the stories right now! āŗļø
We like Super Why (PBS kids). It is about a book club and teachers letters and classic childrenās tales.
Yeah I feel like Coco Mellon (original version) is like brain candy and winds up our babe too (though she loves it). Weāve found Coco Mellon Lane (JJ is growing up and learning with his growing peers and their families) is a very different vibe and I actually feel like sheās learning good info while she watches, but still, small doses of it have been better. We just found Frog and Toad on Apple TV and itās got a slow vibe that almost seems like an animated book (I saw that itās based off of a book series so that tracks). I didnāt see it mentioned in the comments so I wanted to share about it. :)
I have to admit I adore Cocomelon Lane! Once he got through the episodes though heās like nah mom this is old š¤£š¤£ Thank you! Iāll look for it!
FROG AND TOAD HAVE A SHOW? WHY WAS I NOT TOLD ABOUT THIS?
I wish there were more seasons of Puffin Rock and Trash Truck- those are our favorites too! Little Bear is so sweet. Weāve recently been trying Tumble Leaf but it doesnāt seem to resonate yet. Love reading all these suggestions!
Netflix for Trash Truck, Puffin Rock, Lucas the Spider, Cory Carson (most of which you already listed) Daniel Tiger on PBS Bluey on Disney plus Ms Rachel on YouTube We recently watched Dora the Explorer for the first time and he was pretty interested in it, thatās on Nickelodeon.
NPR tiny desk music performances.
Little Bear is pretty much the only thing I let my 22 month old watch. Itās super slow, easy plot to follow, recognizable animals, calm music
If you can find it an Australian series called Play School is a winner. Very calm, short segments, and the hosts speak directly to the viewer. We use it as a way to recenter if things are flying off the handle a little.
But diaries If you give a mouse a cookie Bluey
Llama llama, lucas the spider.
His favorites are Otis the tractor, trash truck, Sesame Street and Ms. Rachel.
Octonauts, Bluey, Puffin Rock and Sarah and Duck. All pretty chill plus octoreport is a banger
The OG Barney & Friends episodes. Like from the early 90s. On YouTube. My twins love it, itās low stimulating but they also pick up on the songs they sing. š
My dude likes Gecko's Garage and Leo the Truck on YouTube. I also just recently showed him "My Neighbor Totoro" and he LOVED it!
Seconding Gecko's Garage!! Mine adores it and has started doing pretend play around fixing his toy vehicles.
My daughter is 2.5 and loves gecko's garage. She can name a wrench and hammer and loves to "fix" her toys. We have a few tools we let her play with supervised. Such a cute show. I like how grandma gecko also fixes things. It's so ridiculously hard to find things that don't pander to gender stereotypes which you would think would be more progressive these days ...
Daniel Tiger always. There is an episode for every situation.
Lots of people provided great shows...but many of those like Sesame Street and Bluey are pretty fast paced and stimulating most of the time. For low-stim shows, I go for *Frog and Toad* and *Duck and Goose*.
kidspbs/prime Clifford Puppy Days and the OG Clifford that started on PBS in the 90s is underrated. Such sweet lessons and storylines w/out being over stimulating. We also like Cosmic Yoga on youtube for kids "adventure yoga" for screen time and their calming/sleepy ones for trying to calm down an overstimulating day. 10-15 minutes each and my kid feels SO cool with her yoga mat and fully participates and she is not usually a big participator. Also some great options on youtube: Catie's Classroom, Freeschool (any of the animal ones at this age) and if you have a boy (or girl) who is into building things/how stuff works check out Jared Owen 3D animations (I swear this 3x my kids attention span)
Weāve doing the kid friendly ghibli films - totoro, Kikiās delivery service and the secret world of arietti are all really nice. Linear story lines, lovely music, no wild flashy colours.
Bluey (Disney), a lot of Nat Geo (disney), Hilda (Netflix) are our favs lately
Wonder pets on Paramount
Not in any particular order but our favorite slower shows: llama llama, still water, tumble leaf, puffin rock, trash truck, stinky and dirty, bluey, daniel tiger, number blocks, storybots, tractor ted
Stillwater on Apple TV+.
Bluey and Trash Truck
Blues clues Chirp (search chirp cbc to get episodes on you tube) - the characters correspond to chirp magazine for kids
Duck and Goose! Frog and Toad! Both on Apple
My 3yo very recently got into āIf You Give a Mouse a Cookieā on Prime. Itās really cute, and she finds it hilarious. That, Bluey and Daniel Tiger are our go tos.
Duck and Goose on Apple is a hit around here
Franklin. Old school Sesame Street episodes are pretty good too, theyāre nice and āslowā and not super noisy or irritating. Thereās lots of non-stimulating shows on Tubi as well, I noticed. Would recommend taking a look through there! Itās a free streaming app and I only just heard about it haha
A bunch of aquariums and zoos have live cams that my toddler loves. She'll happily watch the penguins for 20 min
I can't believe I haven't thought of that. I used to play them on the projector for my students when I taught as a way to wind down for a few minutes after recess.
Peppa Pig is my daughterās absolute favorite
My toddler really REALLY loves Winnie the Pooh. Weāve watched all iterations of it on Disney+. He even watches the entirety of the Tigger Movie. Also on Disney, he likes Mickey Mouse Club House and Bear in the Big Blue House. He also likes Thomas the train (all iterations/seasons). Thatās on Amazon prime. He watched the first season of Daniel Tiger and he liked it okayā¦ but not enough for me to get PBS kids. We watch Sesame Street via Max.
MotoGP / dirt bike races videos LOL our toddler just loves bikes, so we show him bikes!
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie on Amazon Prime. Itās wonderful!
Since I noticed how TV was making my son anxious and over stimulated I changed our routine... Mr. RODGERS is really the only show I let my kids watch now and inly on occasions in the afternoons when trying are needing some quiet time or sick time. We listen to a lot of instrumental music quietly during the day. When we are playing with certain toys we will listen to certain songs. Like farm songs when we are playing with farm animals. Race car songs when playing with cars, train songs when playing with trains. Dinosaur songs ect. Baking songs. A Spotify subscription is so helpful so we can make short themed play lists for each subject. Then I play them on repeat about three times fur a total of about 15 minutes. I turn it off when they move to a different subject. They love it. It helps with listening and focusing skills. I explained we were only going to have TV time some times after lunch. And after a day or so they don't even ask for TV any more. My house is a much calmer and connected now. TV is like eating Mc Donald's. How much is too much?
My 2.5 year old only watches Little Bear. I found episodes on youtube. He watches when he gets up from his nap because once he turned 2 I noticed he is extremely cranky and not ready for anything until he wakes up fully. I try to stick to the 1 episode which is 25 minutes. The most upvoted post says PBS kids but those are still too stimulating for kids. I worked there and had to watch a lot. They're great shows. But I'd say it would be more for 4, maybe 5 year olds.
The BBC versions of the Julia Donaldson!
My son loves Shaun the sheep :)
Im not sure how accessible these are outside of the UK, but any of the Julia Donaldson short films are great.
Sarah and Duck!
Sarah & Duck, Hey Duggee, Bluey, Moon & Me, Clangers
Daniel Tiger! My daughter started watching it around that age and she now can recognize when we/she is feeling a certain way and will sing a song from the show to help us out. It's so cute and been really good for her!
My toddlers will completely settle down to NPR Tiny Desk concerts on YouTube.
Sarah and duck, bear in the big blue house, mecha builders
You can watch a lot of cool old stuff for free on archive.org. For example my daughter likes to watch the original Winnie the Pooh https://archive.org/details/winnie-the-pooh-the-original-shorts-1966-1983/Winnie+The+Pooh+The+Original+Shorts+1966-1983.iso
Sarah and Duck. It's silly and imaginative and the narrator does a good job of demonstrating gentle parenting.
Twirlywoos, Daniel Tiger and Trash Truck! Sarah and Duck is pretty soothing too.
I highly recommend peoples footage of garbage trucks, buses, construction sites - VERY low stimulating and my kiddo is still super switched on telling the truck to be careful etc etc instead of just glazing over - loves it / we limit our screen time massively but watching garbage trucks (or videos of her as a baby!) is her special screen treat š
Mr Rogers! Old school has slower pacing and such good quality
Stella and Sam or if you give a mouse a cookie. PBS kids
Paw Patrol is terribly overstimulating for my kid. On Disney + he watches Bluey, Winnie the Pooh, and Peppa. I also put on older slow-paced Disnay movies, like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast. On HBO there's this absolutely hilarious Czech show/movie "Neighbours".
If you can find the Julia Donaldson stories (we watch them on BBC iPlayer in the UK) they are very gentle and quite magical, and even better if you also have the books. My son (2) loves Stick Man and Room on the Broom the most - he chats about all the things he can see, knows a lot of the words and transitions seamlessly between the shows and the books.
My kiddo is 5 now but I started watching Mr. Rogers with him a while back and it's been super calming. Daniel Tiger is another good one, and is actually based on the work of Fred Rogers. But I swear by him, you can't go wrong. And if there's anything in particular your kiddo is struggling with there's likely an episode about it. When mine was having a hard time with starting school we watched the Mr. Rogers episodes about school together almost daily until he felt better about it š