I’ve largely opted for movies over kids TV offerings because the majority seem like poor storytelling, are too loud, frenetic and hyper-inducing, or I find them really annoying even in the background. Of course, my kids love all those types of shows, and I have succumbed to their picks more than I would prefer.
For the past few years, I’ve shifted to treating those types of requested shows like the candy of their screentime diet, scarcely and for special occasions/sick days. (But if I could go back eight years ago, I’d just say no to Paw Patrol, Dinotrux, and Youtube kids shows.) And I’ve learned in parenting generally, and screen time specifically, that giving younger children full freedom of choice is not beneficial to them. I aspire to pick almost all of the screentime options for my kids under 10 (or give them a limited choice between 2-3 options I offer), and I have found that offering my pick or nothing usually helps staunch the whines of my older boys who used to have a lot more free reign over Netflix kids. And I still prefer movies, but alas, there's often not time for one of those.
These picks are in rough age order, starting with 2-3-year-olds and going up from there. Of course, you’re the best judge of when your kid is ready to watch something.
1. Old Blues Clues [Amazon Prime] - not the the newer reboot.
2. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood [Amazon Prime] - Yes, the one you watched as a kid.
3. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood [Amazon Prime]
4. Puffin Rock [Netflix]
5. Octonauts [Amazon Prime]
6. Grizzy and the Lemmings [Netflix] - While writing this post, had the tremendous realization that the bear is not called Grizzly. Wow.
7. Wild Kratts [various]
8. Dino Dana [Amazon Prime]
9. Avatar the Last Airbender [Netflix]
10. The Mandalorian [Disney+] - Fun as a family watch too, I loved it and will be watching season 3.
