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Pre-Schooler entertainment!
Romantic Undead
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys!
So my little one just turned 3 on the weekend.
She has begun her "why?" phase and I'm looking to upgrade her entertainment options. We're cord-cutters, so all we have is Netflix and YouTube as options. Please recommend good shows available via those means for a little inquisitive mind. Bonus if they don't drive mom and dad completely up the wall! Oh, and I'm in Canada, in case that makes a difference.
I'm trying to ween her off of those dumb YouTube toy shows where it's just some pair of hands with a thick accent opening up Tsum Tsums.
So far, some of my favorites that we've found are:
Sarah and Duck (love this one so much. There's nonsense in it, but it's of the Alice-in-Wonderland variety, not the baby babble variety)
Paw Patrol (I thought I would hate it, but it's inoffensive, and you could do much worse that cutify and glamorize first responders and the like.)
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (How can you hate on Fred Roger's legacy!)
PJ Masks (Not high on education value, but it's baby's first Avengers, basically, so it gets a pass from this nerdy daddy. Plus I got her the plush toys and she absolutely loves them!)
Sesame Street highlights on YouTube (minus Elmo if I can help it)
Some of the ones I don't care for too much are:
Caillou (Clearly written by adults who don't actually know how children talk or act)
Elmo's World (Sesame Street is great, but anything Elmo-centric is grating, plus I'm not a fan of the infantile language)
Teletubbies (I don't want her picking up the Gibberish talk just as her language is developing)
Baby Jake (again, too many nonsense words, plus every episode is exactly the same, with slight variation, with a 10 minutes intro. No educational value at all.)
So, now that you know my tastes, please let me know what else is worth checking out!
Thanks guys!
So my little one just turned 3 on the weekend.
She has begun her "why?" phase and I'm looking to upgrade her entertainment options. We're cord-cutters, so all we have is Netflix and YouTube as options. Please recommend good shows available via those means for a little inquisitive mind. Bonus if they don't drive mom and dad completely up the wall! Oh, and I'm in Canada, in case that makes a difference.
I'm trying to ween her off of those dumb YouTube toy shows where it's just some pair of hands with a thick accent opening up Tsum Tsums.
So far, some of my favorites that we've found are:
Sarah and Duck (love this one so much. There's nonsense in it, but it's of the Alice-in-Wonderland variety, not the baby babble variety)
Paw Patrol (I thought I would hate it, but it's inoffensive, and you could do much worse that cutify and glamorize first responders and the like.)
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (How can you hate on Fred Roger's legacy!)
PJ Masks (Not high on education value, but it's baby's first Avengers, basically, so it gets a pass from this nerdy daddy. Plus I got her the plush toys and she absolutely loves them!)
Sesame Street highlights on YouTube (minus Elmo if I can help it)
Some of the ones I don't care for too much are:
Caillou (Clearly written by adults who don't actually know how children talk or act)
Elmo's World (Sesame Street is great, but anything Elmo-centric is grating, plus I'm not a fan of the infantile language)
Teletubbies (I don't want her picking up the Gibberish talk just as her language is developing)
Baby Jake (again, too many nonsense words, plus every episode is exactly the same, with slight variation, with a 10 minutes intro. No educational value at all.)
So, now that you know my tastes, please let me know what else is worth checking out!
Thanks guys!
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Dinosaur Train - Dino facts
Wild Kratts - Animal facts
Octonauts - Fish facts
PBS Kids content (The first two) is available on Netflix, or through it's own streaming service if you have a roku / Amazon Fire deal. Much of it's pretty decent.
E: BE WARNED Dinosaur Train comes at a cost on Netflix. You WILL get suggestions for Dino Squad and Dinosaur Kings.
1 star these immediately.
E2: Clarity
octonauts for sure though the song is way too catchy
I really enjoy phineas and ferb, but might be a touch too old.
Story bots is good.
justin time
Sorry, not understanding what you mean about the "cost". Dino Squad and Dinosaur Kings I take it are not kid's shows? Would they also show up if I'm using the "kids" portion of Netflix? Does one-starring shows cause them to stop showing up on your recommended list? Didn't know that!
I'm a fan of Justin Time because there is usually a mild history or cultural lesson involved. As well as some kind of small moral too the story.
Origin: theRealElMucho
Justin Time is Canadian too, is it not? Ok, I'll try integrating him into the rotation more for sure.
Origin: theRealElMucho
Oso is ok as well but i find him annoying.
They have the leap frog frog letter factory type stuff which is not too bad.
little einsteins is in the same boat, lot of classical music in them.
transformers rescue bots, not violent
Magic school bus
chuggington but i find them annoying
Re: Dino-crimes.
They are mind poison, but technically child appropriate.
Dino Kings is essentially pokemon with dinosaurs.
Dino Squad is... I don't know. Plucky youths turn into dinosaurs to stop other people who are dinosaurs from making more dinosaur things, precariously unaware that the moustache twirling Dr. Veloci of Raptor Industries was actually the villainous velociraptor (Deinonychus!) mutant the whole time!
Also Dinosaurs didn't go extinct, they turned into humans because they embraced love and intelligence as virtues.
STOP MAKING ME REMEMBER.
Netflix:
Paw Patrol
Transformers Rescue Bots
Octonauts
Puffin Rock
Super Why
I'd check out https://www.knowledgekids.ca/ . (If you had cable) this is sort of like PBS in the US. No product commercials (toys, cereal, etc) just commercials for other shows. They've got the Canadian "rights" to a bunch of shows and have 1-4 episodes of different shows that refresh occasionally as well.
He watches Shutterbugs, Digby Dragon, Wild Kratts, Astroblast, Kate and Mim-mim, Zerby Derby, Doozers, Shawn the sheep, Daniel Tiger are all age appropriate. Check them out.
Sorry, I'm still recovering. Otherwise, it's okay, if very formulaic. Blue's Clues is the superior option by the same ... "inventor."
Daniel Tiger's good, but prescreen the episodes if you can. There are a couple that teach ... uh, "questionable" behavior. (Like, "If you can't get what you want, stomp three times!" No, thank you.)
Wild Kratts are fantastic and fun, and they've always got some live action parts with real animals. You can even go see them live, if they're in the area - my oldest son and I did that and he loved it; they're a pretty fun show. Seconding suggestions for Dinosaur Train ("I have a hypothesis!") and Octonauts (which is aggressively cute; "Creature report!").
I and my sons like Thomas the Train - the older ones with the voiceover and the static faces are sometimes the best ones.
It's a bit harder to find, but Peep and the Big Wide World is a good show, narrated by Joan Cusack of all people.
I think all rational people agree that Caillou is poison.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Puffin Rock
Wild Kratts
Tumbleleaf
DinoTrux (may not be her jam, but construction trucks that are also dinosaurs and do engineering things)
Dinosaur Train
Nature Cat isn't too obnoxious
Magic Schoolbus
Clifford the big red dog
Sesame Street
curious george movies on netflix
daniel tiger's neighborhood
furchester hotel (may want to avoid this one as it features elmo)
thomas and friends
charlie brown specials
movies she is obsessed with:
beauty and the beast
wreck it ralph (watched this about 12 times last week when she was sick with a double ear infection)
ponyo
hope that list helps
Zack and quack
Beatbugs
Peppa pig
Paw patrol
Fireman Sam
Assorted Disney.
Paw patrol isn't on Netflix here in nl
edit: He loves Transformers: Recue Bots though and also Octonauts.
DinoTrux (Netflix, has some fighting/ violence but he really likes this show. Dreamworks makes it so it at least looks like decent CG).
Puffin Rock (Netflix)
Tayo the little bus (Netflix and Hulu, I think Hulu has more episodes. Talking Korean bus dubbed over by Canadians.)
Billy and BamBam (Hulu, and I personally don't like it. Similar to teletubbies, but at least no baby talk. He likes it a lot and seems to learn from it though.)
Transformer Rescue bots (Netflix, agree it's basically a nothing show)
Dino Train (PBS)
Team UmiZoomi (Nick, not sure where else it is available. Lots of math, shapes, etc.)
I think I might try Transformers Rescue bots because Transformers :P
I cannot stress how awesome Phineas and Ferb is, for all ages.
I'm 37 and I love that show to death (as do my kids, 4 and 6).
I wish I'd have showed my younger one more of those before he got sucked into dinosaur shows and nature documentaries. A lot of nature documentaries are good. I'd say anything by David Attenborough. My youngest knew Attenborough by name and voice before he hit 4. Except you will want to prescreen. Sometimes you'll get uncensored takedown of prey and it can get gory.
Popular Mechanics for kids is on YouTube I think.
Wordworld is on PBS Kids Roku App at least.
So we start that one up. Boy, they really get into trains in that one, don't they? Describing their functioning, their mechanics, their jobs. Never realized it was so hardcore!
Anyways, Little Undead squeed every time Thomas came on screen, but whenever another train would show up she'd point at it and look at me and say "Daddy, name?". I didn't know them... daddy fail :bigfrown:
Just wait until they do the puzzle picture at the end of the episode, and your little one identifies the engine before they even start putting the pieces together.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Treehouse is pretty good for variety and I like most all of the shows. Especially peg plus cat and Jane and the dragon.
If you have Telus Optik on kids plus preschool you should find babar, Timothy goes to school, Roly poly olie, miss spiders sunny patch, Maggie and the ferocious beast, little bear, George shrinks, Franklin, berenstain bears. All excellent shows I remember and enjoyed with my now 15 yo.
You can YouTube up mighty machines and the official channel has them all.
Transformers rescue bits is pretty great and my son and I watched some of gen one since I own the whole thing. He makes a mean transforming noise now.
I'd also look to see if you can find Oswald and bear in the big blues house.
You found super why and octonauts in this thread I see.
I watched that a little while ago! The only issue I had was that they kinda shoehorn the songs in a little bit much. "I am the Walrus" was pretty ham-fisted, IMHO. Still, any excuse to expose Little Undead to good music shouldn't be ignored.