I have a love/hate relationship with children’s television programming.
I love TV, or rather, the sort of stories that TV can bring into the world. But when it comes to what is available for my TV-age children (ranging from three to seven, currently), I admit to being somewhat conflicted.
For one thing, the medium does more heavy lifting for us when it comes to imagination. We don’t have to envision the character we read about; we just see them do things. In this regard, TV will never be a replacement for the imagination-flexing adventures communicated via the written or spoken word. To be clear, I’m not against TV for children because of this. It’s just something I have to think about as a parent when I’m reviewing options for stories in different mediums.
Tied to this, of course, is the two-edged potency of the medium. The inherent power of pairing story with immersive moving visuals strengthens whatever is happening on screen. Viewers don’t control the narrative, which can lead to scary or sad viewing experiences beyond our current ability to process, especially for children. And especially for children, there’s a tendency among creators of content marketed to children to make things splashy without substance, or to champion pedantic or manipulative messaging for young, impressionable minds.
But really, this is why I’m so conflicted about children’s television: so much of it is downright bad art or sneakily dangerous art. Unfortunately it’s the same with children’s books, so there is nowhere to run and hide and save my children from this world we live in.
But all that said, there are many excellent shows that are worthy of consideration for both adults and children. What kind of creator would I be if I didn’t look for and champion quality TV shows replete with good storytelling, thoughtful animation, and plain old-fashioned fun? And what kind of parent would I be if I didn’t sit my children down in front of a good TV series on a Saturday morning for a few moments of peace? Or as it were, during a quarantine?
So here are some of our family’s favorite TV series, organized with a metaphor because I like metaphors and organizing things.
- Appetizer: These are the shows that nourish and reward curiosity, exploration, and learning – without sacrificing flavor.
- Main Course: Meat, when cooked well, can be wonderfully flavorful and easy to digest. These shows are about living a life well, understanding ourselves.
- Dessert: These shows taste sweet and go down easy. Pure entertainment can be wonderful in small doses. Beware, though – these are the ones that, given a chance, our kids would watch all the time at the expense of other good shows and, you know, normal everyday life.
My choices here are based on several completely subjective factors:
- Writing quality: Does the story hang together? Is the pacing balanced?
- Characters: Do I care about the characters? Are they real and likable?
- Quality of art: Are the makers intentional with the art? Is it creative, colorful, and interesting?
- Messaging: What are the makers saying about life and truth with their story? Is it something worth saying? Is it something we need to talk about afterward or can we let the kids figure it out?
- Playability: Do the kids like it? Do we as the parents enjoy watching it with them?
All of these are, of course, totally based on our personal experience and preference as a family. And there’s no way I’ve seen all the good shows out there. So if you think something should be on this list that isn’t, drop a note in the comments and share it with us all!
Appetizers
The Stinky and Dirty Show (Amazon Original)
This show is worth the risk of your child tugging your sleeve in front of your church friends and asking “can I watch the dirty show, daddy?” (this happened) Plus – cars and trucks and everything in between.
Premise: Best friends Stinky (a garbage truck) and Dirty (an excavator) help each other solve problems they encounter using the materials at hand and a little creative thinking.
Why Watch It: The storylines tie up neatly and provide both surprise and discovery, prompting the kids to think through how they would solve something similar with the oft-used “What if…?” It’s okay to make mistakes. Solving problems takes hard work, and hard work can be fun. Original music by Dan Bern and featuring voice-acting by everyone from Joan Cusack to Mark Hamill. The animation is pleasantly scrappy and colorful.
Puffin Rock (Netflix Original)
Speaking of issues with a show name, five-year-old Nadia was so excited about watching this one that she once yelled “F***in’ Rock!” at the top of her lungs at the dinner table.
Premise: Young puffin Oona and her family spend their days with their friends, exploring their little island.
Why Watch It: Gentle nature exploration narrated by Chris O’Dowd (easy voice acting win, right?) We love that the family of puffins and their friends genuinely care for each other and grow together. Oona’s baby brother Baba is not considered a nuisance, but valued and loved. When we encounter threatening characters like Flynn the fox and the seagulls, they are treated empathetically. The art and coloring is natural, appealing, and layered.
The Magic School Bus: Original (Available on Netflix)
This is a show I watched as a kid, but it has aged surprisingly well. One of these days I’ll do a comparison of this and the revival version, but today is not that day (I like this one better).
Premise: Explore science with a diverse group of school kids on zany field trips led by the magical and marvelously coordinated Ms. Frizzle.
Why Watch It: I enjoy the 90s-era animation, the reliable characters, the episodic nature of it all, and gee whiz, those field trips are fun. This skews higher on the age range, but is still very entertaining and easy to follow for my three-year-old.
Tumbleleaf (Amazon Original)
This stop-motion series has won several awards, but my kids would love it whether they knew that or not.
Premise: Blue fox Fig and his caterpillar pal Stick find ordinary objects in the hallowed “Finding Place” and figure out ways to play with them.
Why Watch It: There’s this lovely physicality to stop-motion, and it’s a perfect style for such a colorful, creative show. The storylines are simple, the characters quirky, and the basic science immediately accessible. Some of the rhyming dialogue can skew a little repetitive, but it’s a small price to pay for something this creative.
Hello Ninja (Netflix Original)
The brainchild of the inimitable N. D. Wilson, this show was an immediate hit with our kids, who find it exciting and hilarious.
Premise: Two children and their cat Pretzel get into and out of scrapes with the help of their extraordinary ninja powers and a little wisdom from Grandma, who might be a dragon.
Why Watch It: Solving problems with ninja powers and the aid of a purple dragon? Yes, please. This show has excellent pacing, fun send-ups of ninja tropes, and gentle stories that the kids can keep up with. I like that there is adult guidance without being overbearing or rushing to the rescue, and that the easy answer to their problem is not always the best one. And the kids and I both find Pretzel’s hijinks genuinely funny.
Main Course
Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood (Available on Amazon)
I watched this growing up. So do our kids.
Premise: Welcome to the neighborhood. Let’s talk about what it means to be human.
Why Watch It: There is no replacement for this show’s gentle pacing, empathy, and exploration of the inner workings of human beings through imaginative means. It isn’t as exciting for our kids as some of the other shows, but it offers them a world where the adults care deeply about them and their feelings. It also gives me some great language for talking with them about difficult things, so we watch it together and discuss during and after.
Little Bear (Available on Amazon)
Little Bear is always eating something, staying up late, and imagining dramatic adventures in normal life. I relate to him on a molecular level.
Premise: Little Bear and his family and friends explore their real and imaginary woodland worlds together.
Why Watch It: I like that Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear blurs the lines between imagination and reality in a thoughtful, accessible way. The laughs and lessons often come through in the situational territory of diverging personalities (Cat and Duck being two of my favorites). It takes its time developing stories, but it keeps things moving. It’s not didactic in any way, but rather, captures the essence of good-natured exploratory play. Little Bear and his friends work out their issues by being kind to each other, but they’re not smarmy.
Guess How Much I Love You (Amazon Original)
This show has all of the great qualities of Little Bear but with British voice acting and some key differences.
Premise: Little Nutbrown Hare and his woodland pals learn about nature and themselves in meadows and forests of their little part of the countryside.
Why Watch It: Many of the same reasons as Little Bear – pacing, gentle exploration, and empathetic characters. But this one is about finding adventures in the natural world, with and without parental involvement. I love that said parental involvement is a father-son relationship that is affectionate, secure, and understanding, and that each episode ends with a simple declaration of their love for each other.
Slugs and Bugs (Available here)
From the mind of our favorite kid’s musician, Randall Goodgame, comes a show of epically silly proportions, with danceable tunes and PUPPETS!
Premise: Hang out with Mr. Randall, four animals, and a rotating cast of guest artists at the Slugs and Bugs Workshop.
Why Watch It: This show tips its hat to Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and the original Veggietales, while inhabiting its own sweet spot of faithful creativity for kids. There’s some genuinely funny writing, likable characters, hand-crafted storylines, and guest appearances by some people you might recognize. The best part of the show is definitely when they break out in song, though – because Randall Goodgame sure knows how to write ‘em. I do love that it focuses a lot on art and creativity, because I’ve got little artists who really resonate with that.
Hilda (Netflix Original)
High-end magical adventures, and also trolls.
Premise: Blue-haired Hilda encounters monsters, magic, and the consequences of her own curiosity in a courageous quest for adventure.
Why Watch It: Hilda is carving out a space for itself in the world of children’s television, as the books have done in the graphic novel world. The storytelling and character development are both deep and intentionally open-ended. It’s episodic, while still investing in large-scale story and world-building. It doesn’t cut corners, it’s fun to look at, it’s got magical music and voice-acting, and it’s whole premise is that love casts out fear. All of this without relying on pop-culture references (it takes much of its material from Nordic folklore), cheap jokes, distracting pacing, or easy answers. This one does has a couple of higher intensity episodes that might be scary for your youngest viewers (our now-four-year-old Percy was a little frightened by a few episodes), but our 5 and 7-year-olds love it without reservation.
Dessert
Rescue Riders (Netflix Original)
It’s funny, it’s exciting, and it’s dragons. Easy win.
Premise: Dak and Leyla, two kids who can communicate with dragons, assemble a squad of fun-loving dragons to go on rescue missions.
Why Watch It: From the creators of “How to Train Your Dragon,” this is a fun-sized combo of two things my kids love: rescue squads and dragons. It’s a simple premise, with a lot of great material to explore and some great voice acting. The animation is fine, probably because they got a decent budget to create it (nothing really creative, though). The characters are earnest and vulnerable, which makes them likable. And fortunately for a show about heroism, the creators take great care to show that without a community that supports diverse giftings and abilities, you can’t really be a hero.
Shaun the Sheep (Amazon Original)
Sometimes you just need to watch a sheep outsmart a dopey farmer and his dog.
Premise: Clever sheep Shaun and his flock get into all sorts of capers and hijinks.
Why Watch It: I’ve been a fan of both the clever plotlines, dry wit, and slapstick humor of Aardman Studio’s work since the Wallace and Gromit days, so enjoying this nutty little show with my kids has been a breath of fresh air. The physical nature of claymation lends itself beautifully to the physical comedy of the script (which includes literally no dialogue, beyond gibberish), and brings to mind classic Looney Tunes scenarios with its economy of action and simple storytelling. Of all the kids, Percy enjoys this one the most, but all three are usually roaring with laughter by the end of an episode. Note: earlier seasons are notably better than later ones.
So there you have it, a completely un-definitive list of our favorite TV shows and why you should watch them.
What are some of yours? Tell me about them in the comments – we can always use new stories!