Screentime is so demonised, and sure, excessive screens for kids do hamper their growth and learning. But there is such a thing as healthy screen time. While it’s best to keep babies under 18 months absolutely free of screens, there are educational shows that help with learning and development that can be introduced to them gradually. The recommended screen time for 2-5-year-olds is non-educational content for 1 hour per weekday and a maximum of 3 hours on weekends.
But here’s the real struggle. What are shows/movies that are good for them to watch? If you’re looking for great weekend watches for your little one, we have five recommendations that you can start with.
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5 Amazing Movies And Shows For Kids
Octonauts (Ages 2+)
Where to Watch: Netflix
Why We’re Recommending It: Octonauts is a show for kids about a team of underwater adventurers. This show can set the premise for you to talk to your kids about:
- The diversity of the underwater world.
- How animals adapt to their surroundings
- Teamwork and how working together can help achieve goals better sometimes.
The Octonauts are very helpful to neighbours and friends. This can help kids understand the importance of being friendly and helpful. The show depicts diversity in such a natural way that no character is treated less than anybody else. There are no villains. All in all, it’s an excellent show for kids and parents too!
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (Ages 3+)
Where To Watch: YouTube
Why We’re Recommending It: This series encourages preschoolers to think critically. Each story in the series offers kids a positive outlook on ways to cope. Early learning skills like basic counting and learning letters are incorporated naturally. The show uses song and strong dialogue delivery to reinforce concepts.
Through this show, kids learn that life is full of curveballs. But, with patience and support from their caregivers, they can learn to cope in a healthy manner.
Tumble Leaf TV ( Ages 4+)
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Why We’re Recommending It: Each story of the show features a science lesson. It is age-appropriate and urges kids to think critically about each concept. Through dialogue, friendship between characters, and song, concepts such as kindness and educational concepts such as rhyming or identifying shapes are laid out for kids.
The show is great for preschoolers to learn about kindness, compassion, and curiosity.
Coco (Ages 5+)
Where to Watch: Apple TV/ Hotstar
Why We’re Recommending It: While Coco features a more complex concept, such as death, it is also great for kids to understand the importance of family, traditions and more. It can help them respect the lives of their ancestors and appreciate the lineage they come from. It also covers themes such as forgiveness, friendship, and following your dreams. It can be a great weekend family watch, too!
Work It Out Wombats (Ages 4+)
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Why We’re Recommending It: This show features adorable marsupial siblings who encounter problems in every episode and use their computational thinking skills to solve them. This show can encourage kids to use creativity to think outside the box and helps them solve problems and complete tasks in organised ways, with a strong link to computer science, an essential skill in today’s time.
