My 10 Favorite Little Kid Shows on Netflix

Note the TV behind my beautiful little ones. It always looks like that. And by "that" I mean "on".

My kids watch TV. Sometimes a lot of it. Okay, most days, a lot of it. Okay, okay, every day they watch a lot of it.

It all started when my oldest, Trey, was about 16 months old. Like a lot of you, I'm sure, I needed some way to distract him so that I could get some stuff done around the house. What did I turn to? Horton Hears a Who! It's the first thing Trey ever sat down and actually watched. He loved the beginning sequence with the thistle barreling down on and knocking over the helpless flower, releasing the speck into the air. I think it was the music that drew him in. He really got into it, yelling, "Oh no!" as the poor flower hit the ground.

He's been hooked ever since.

So now, two and a half years later, he and my little girl, Ally, watch quite a bit of it. Which means Mommy watches quite a bit of it. Thankfully, cartoons have come quite a ways since I was little, especially the little kids' ones.

One of my Education professors at BYU-I taught us that children don't learn without human interaction--they don't retain knowledge very well without talking about it with someone like a parent or a teacher. I've noticed a lot of new cartoons engage kids by having the lead characters talk directly to the audience. Trey and Ally don't usually respond, but they’re paying attention, and I think it helps them understand the subject matter better than if it were simply presented to them. I haven't consulted any scientific research, though; these are just my observations. So don't take my word for it, but they seem to be learning to me.

Plus the music is so much catchier than when I was little! And a lot of these shows use music as a teaching tool which helps kids retain new information because the tunes are easy to memorize. I often find myself singing along because they have a good beat and melody and are a lot of fun. Trey enjoys singing them, too, and seriously, what is cuter than a 3-year-old singing his little heart out to Super Why?  

To paraphrase Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, you don't have to play down to kids, just play with them. If it's something you'd enjoy, they'll enjoy. It seems like cartoon makers have taken this to heart nowadays, and for good reason. Not only is it better for the kids' minds, but it makes it easier on parents who have to listen to the same episodes over and over and over....

Following is a list of my 10 favorite little kids' shows found on Netflix (we don't have cable or anything, so Netflix and Youtube are our TV). The criteria I've used to rate them is based on how much my kids love them, how educational and uplifting they are, and, of course, how much I'm able to enjoy them as well.

10. Art and Music

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Okay, some of you may think I'm crazy for including this BabyFirstTV show on a list of shows that adults can find enjoyable, but I really do! I love art but am not so artsy myself, so I love watching other people create it. This show demonstrates drawing and shading, sand art, shadow stories, clay figures, and more. The Bonnie Bear segment is where I lose interest, but overall I find the show fascinating.



9. Peep and the Big Wide World

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Trey hasn't watched this one a whole lot, but I think it's worth adding to my list because it's cute, it teaches basic science concepts, and most of all, one of the characters, Quack, cracks me up! You know that friend you have who's a bit of a know-it-all and can tell you how to do everything but drags his feet when it comes to actually doing anything himself, but you love him anyway because you know when it comes right down to it, he'll do anything for you? Plus he has random moments of pure hilarity that bring tears to your eyes? That's Quack. And I love it. The characterization is a lot more raw, realistic, and relatable than in other shows where everyone is on one of two emotional levels, either overly happy or a little bummed out (have you noticed that in preschooler cartoons?). 

8. Peg + Cat

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Now, math was never a strong point of mine growing up and certainly not something that I enjoyed, but I've learned to appreciate its usefulness over the years (not Calculus by any means, but Algebra and Arithmetic for sure). And as my kids' at-home tutor in the years to come, I don't want my negative experiences with math to rub off on them. So I'm thankful for shows like this one that introduce math concepts in a fun and appealing way. Peg is so adorable, and even though problems sometimes "totally [freak her] out!," she's able to pull herself together, think it through, and solve it. And it always turns out to not be as big of a problem as she first thought.

7. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

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Remember Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and all the characters with which we grew up and loved? Well, they had children, and now my kids will get to grow up with them and experience the love found in the neighborhood in a whole new way. It's such a neat way to carry on Fred Rogers' legacy into the next generation! And it's so stinkin' cute I think it's actually better than the original. Daniel and his friends interact with the audience and teach them short songs to remember important lessons like, "When we do something new, let's talk about what we'll do." This show would be a great tool to use when dealing with behavioral problems or making new transitions in life, for parents and children alike.

6. Super Why!

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 I love to read and I love books, so a super hero who uses books to save the day is right up my alley. The show follows the Super Readers who run into a problem then look in books to find the answer to that problem. I love how this teaches kids to transfer knowledge from one situation to another and that it specifically encourages kids to use the stories they read to find solutions. And it has an awesome revamped version of the ABC Song which is way cooler than the old one. I seriously have a hard time singing the original when I could sing Alpha Pig's instead. I hope Trey isn't the only one in kindergarten singing it, or he's going to feel a little silly.

5. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 

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Who doesn't love Mickey Mouse? This classic cartoon character has been revamped with a whole new setting but the same dear friends. This Mickey interacts with his viewers, teaches them how to solve problems and socialize with others, and boasts music written and performed by They Might Be Giants (oh yes, I definitely find myself singing along with it). Netflix currently has only one episode, but we have been able to find quite a few of them available on Youtube.

4. Jake and the Never Land Pirates 

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This knockoff of Disney's Peter Pan follows some new friends of Peter, the Never Land Pirates, and the same zany antics of that old codfish, Captain Hook. Peter Pan is one of my favorite stories ever, and I love the fun new characters that still stay true to the original story. The characters often address the audience, and I love how they always wear their life jackets when in a small boat or on a surf board and helmets when they're skateboarding or sledding. I remember thinking that I didn't need to wear a helmet because my TV role models never did, and Trey is just the opposite. He always has to wear his helmet while riding his trike outside, and that's not something I've stressed at all with him, so I don't know where else he could have got that but from Jake.

3. Curious George

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Talk about educational! George teaches his audience so much about everything--numbers, dancing, going green, animals, food, different cultures, dinosaurs--just about everything under the sun. And most importantly, he teaches how to solve a problem, which he finds himself in in every episode. And Trey really is learning! One time, we were at my in-laws', and my hubby was outside with Trey. Trey walked up to the pump and said (not in so many words but enough to get his point across), "This is a water pump."
   Shocked, my husband replied, "What did you say?"
   "It pumps water to the house," Trey explained.
   "Really? Where did you learn that?"
   "George," he said.
   Now when a 2-year-old learns what a water pump is from a picture drawn in the dirt with a stick for a monkey, you know that's a good show!

2. Justin Time 

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This Canadian show follows a regular kid with a big imagination. He and his imaginary friends, Squidgy and Olive, go on adventures all around the world, learning about different countries and cultures while also teaching my kids about all sorts of things like good manners, how to juggle, and that they need rest to do their best. This was the first show Ally ever requested, and it's still a favorite despite having watched each season at least 10 times.

1. Dinosaur Train 

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This is the show from which I personally have learned the most, and my husband also enjoys it. They have discovered so much more about dinosaurs since I was in school! Like some had feathers to keep them warm. Yeah, I didn’t know that either. And it also taught my nephew, who was 3 at the time, what an hypothesis is. Imagine walking along and all of sudden this preschooler jumps out in front of you and says, "I have an hypothesis!" then rattles off his idea that he can test. They use that word a lot always followed by the definition and doing so obviously made an impression. Trey even calls the show Hypothesis Train although I haven't heard an hypothesis from him yet.


Since I watch a lot of these shows with my kids, it's neat to be able to recognize the creativity sparked by them, like when Trey climbed to the top of his dresser to save Gretel (a goat from Justin Time), or Ally walking around saying "Yo ho!" from Jake (which sounded more like "Ho ho," and if I hadn't known better, I would've thought she was playing Santa). It's fun having this dialogue open with them.

Plus I think it's important for us as parents to know what our kids are watching because a lot of it, even on the Kids version of Netflix, is not very uplifting (don't even get me started on some of the shows from Cartoon Network!). Our children's minds are very impressionable, and we need to safeguard them from anything that could have a negative effect on them. Seriously, if your kids are having problems with aggression or bad language, I'd examine what they're watching. Maybe some new guidelines need to be enforced.

Maybe my kids watch too much TV, but at least I can feel good about a lot of the shows they're watching and know that some good is coming from it.