I don’t know about you but I have been into cartoons since I was a kid, I never grew out of them. I have an extra appreciation for cartoons that are smart and well animated. When my daughter came along I started to gear up for several years of nonsense annoying little kid shows anxiously awaiting her to be old enough to enjoy the “good stuff” with. Little did I know, there are actually some quality cartoons out there for little kids. This post highlights which little kid’s shows you actually won’t hate and which ones to avoid
This leads me and my boyfriend down a path of vetting kid’s shows. We decided that If she is going to watch TV at all it needs to be something of substance that’s made well and is smart. It should either teach something educational or moral and not just be nonsense. Our goal is the vet as many as we can before she hits toddlerhood so she has a lot to choose from and we can pretend the garage ones don’t exist lol.
I thought I would share our findings and save you the trouble and annoyance. Below you will find our favorite kid’s shows and also our least favorite.
Kid Shows We LOVE
Bluey
This show skyrocketed to our favorite show within a couple of episodes. If you haven’t heard of Bluey yet I’m shocked. This Australian show is taking the literal world by storm, translated to like 20 languages. If you are out of the loop let me fill you in. It’s a wholesome show about a family of dogs, blue heelers to be specific, Everyone in the show is anthropomorphic dogs, all different breeds which is such an awesome way to speak to diversity. The family consists of a mom, dad, and two girls, 4 and 6. Each episode is a short 8 months in the life of this family and how they interact.
Why we like this kids show
It’s wholesome and smart. The parents have progressive roles (dad often stays with the kids, mom is found the fixing toilet) they have a balanced relationship. And with the girls the perfectly illustrate the imagination and point of view of young kids.
Bluey is just as much about morals for the kids as it is about parenting for adults.
Just watch it. Seriously. I can’t say enough about this show, you will laugh, learn, and truly enjoy this kid’s show. And this can’t beat those Aussie accents!
Catch up on Disney+
Ask the Story bots
Ok, ok. Truth moment here. I have watched the Story Bots since well before I had a kid. I stumbled upon it on Netflix one night and the trainer cracked me up I watched an episode and was hooked. It’s silly, it’s smart, it’s perfection. Plenty of moments for parents to chuckle and tons of quality science for kids.
A quick premise for you, a team of little robots are tasked with answering kid’s questions. Also mixed in are Sesame Street-like little mini segments featuring animals, letters, colors, and numbers. One of which is two giggling robots reminiscent of beevis and butthead but way more kid-friendly lol.
Why we like this Kid’s Show
The show is smart. It mixes in plenty of silly but overall the science isn’t dumbed down to “make sense” for little kids. They go into tons of detail and don’t shy away from “big words” I’ve even learned (or relearned) a thing or two!
It incorporates 3 types of animation, CGI, cell, and claymation depending on “where” they are. So cool.
The songs are hilarious, they wrap up the content of the episode or act as “commercial” style breaks. They’re so silly and crack me up every time but often still so smart at the same time.
Give it a go, if you were a Nickelodeon kid, I am sure you will find this show as enjoyable as I do and your kid learns at the same time!
Catch up on NETFLIX
Waffles and Mochi
This one I went into unsure of, it could have really gone either way but it’s cute. It isn’t the love I have for the first two I mentioned but I do enjoy watching the episodes. The show is about a little waffle monster named waffles and her best friend a little ball of mochi, aptly named Mochi. They explore nutrition and foods along with some from Mrs Obama and some other friends.
Why we like this kid’s show
It’s great to see a show educating kids on food, how it grows, or where it comes from but not just shoving the “eat more veggies” down kid’s throats.
It’s very Jim Hensen-esk, waffles is an adorable little monster with waffles for ears. She is curious and silly.
There is plenty of laughable moments. And it’s very wholesome. Worth an add to the watch list.
Catch up on NETFLIX
Kid Shows We Hate
No seriously. The below shows have been banned from our house, lol. These shows just don’t do it for us. I can see the draw to a couple but I personally find them lacking substance, poorly animated and/or just annoying.
Let me preface this with: if you like these shows, no offense here, they just aren’t for us, and I thought I would share in case you relate to this post and haven’t had a run-in with them and are looking for opinions.
Cocomelon.
I know, I know. I may be the minority here but I watched exactly one and half minutes of this show and couldn’t handle another second. If you like the idea of sitting in a preschool and singing preschool songs with little CGI babies for 30 min then by all means go for it but if you don’t like that idea just pass on this one. I hear enough wheels on the bus for grandma I for sure don’t need it in a kids’ show with mediocre animation.
Peppa pig
Again, this one may surprise you but yes. Peppa pig is on my no-watch list. My boyfriend vetted this one first after his music students raved about it and he didn’t last 3 minutes. He came home to express colorful destain for the show and then shared an episode with me to which I agreed completely with his review of the show.
The dialogue sounds like an advanced test to speak and what they are saying is just useless back and forth with no substance. The episodes themselves have very silly and shallow lessons that just don’t really do much for advancing education or morale.
Most annoying, They make an animal noise like every sentence, oink. In case you didn’t know what animal they were, oink. They feel the need to remind you, oink, every second, oink.
The animation looks like a 4-year-old drew it, had a 4-year-old actually drew it I would be more impressed. But it wasn’t it’s two grown men. It’s flat and a lot of pink.
I also heard from another mom friend that they stopped watching this show when the fat shamed the dad pig. So there’s that.
If it’s your thing and your kid loves it, good on ya but if you haven’t started it yet, my vote is: don’t bother.
The Wrap Up on Kid’s Shows
So there you have it, my list of kid’s shows to watch and which to not. It is still a growing list as my baby is only 1 I am sure there will be more so stick around. What shows do you watch with your kids? Which do you love which should be on the banned list?