# What cartoons do you let your toddler watch?



## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

I will be watching a couple of toddlers for a friend, and I plan to keep them busy for much of the time I'm watching them, but I anticipate needing some down time to get some stuff done. I was thinking I'd put on Daniel Tiger during that time, but I'm wondering what cartoons the toddler set likes and parents are generally OK with.

What cartoons do you let your kids watch?


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## Momsteader (Dec 13, 2002)

Daniel Tiger is a good one. My 2.5 yo also likes Peg + Cat on PBS. Netflix has Signing Time as well as several other toddler friendly shows--A Cars 'shorts', A Mickey Mouse Club House, and a few others.


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## NiteNicole (May 19, 2003)

When my daughter was a toddler, she never really had much interest in tv unless she was getting sick. She liked Blue's Clues, the Backyardigans, and Jack's Big Music Show.


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## SunshineMommyAZ (Sep 1, 2013)

My kids LOVE preschool prep videos-- I have no idea what the trick is, but it's no wonder they have won SO MANY awards. And it taught them all of the basics before 2...letters, numbers, colors, and shapes.

They also love Elmo (even though mommy wants to pound her head against the wall), and some of the Baby Einsteins...


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## Oread (Aug 12, 2012)

The shows that she likes that I don't hate are Sesame Street, Dora, Diego, Dinosaur Train, Blues Clues, and pretty much any other PBS show. Shows that she inexplicably likes that I hate are Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Yo Gabba Gabba.


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## RRMum (Nov 7, 2010)

my LO only gets about 30 minutes a week, but for those Curious Geroge is a big hit in our house. And of course Thomas the train, but that one really drives me nuts. Two that we all like are Pingu and Shaun the Sheep, they are both silly claymation with no dialogue.

Good luck.


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## newmamalizzy (Jul 23, 2010)

My DD likes many already mentioned plus Spot the dog, which we get on DVD at the library. It's practically mind-numbing.


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## twinsmama9 (May 4, 2012)

My three under 3 love Barney, Thomas, sesame and yo gabba gabba.


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## LunaLady (Dec 28, 2010)

We watch Little Bear on Amazon Prime. That and Dinosaur Train are the only shows I let him watch. I haven't found anything else that I can approve.

Thomas particularly boils my blood. He loves trains so we tried a few episodes of that and it was AWFUL! So negative and shaming and back stabbing... I was shocked.


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## amberskyfire (Sep 15, 2007)

I have to be more lax with my second because my first is much older and I can't keep my baby from looking at the TV while she's watching. I'm extremely selective about what she can watch. NO TV at all. Just videos on Netflix. I don't like commercials being shown to my kids. She can watch science and nature documentaries, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Word Girl, Martha Speaks, the CGI Angelina Ballerina shows (the old ones are prettier but the characters have nasty attitudes), Curious George and Kratts' Creatures plus a few others. NOTHING commercialized like Sesame Street, Disney, Etc. Nothing that has a toy or backpack or Happy Meal toy branded with it.

For toddlers, we watch Miffy, Max & Ruby (I know a lot of people hate it, but we love it), Peppa Pig and Kipper. My toddler is too young to watch TV yet. He won't pay attention for more than about three minutes which is fantastic. But those are what we have for older toddlers ages two and up. I babysit a 2 year old and I have to put on a video for her and my oldest to watch so I can get the baby down for his nap and the only choices I allow for the girl I babysit are Curious George, Miffy, Kipper and Max & Ruby. They are all really gentle and not too exciting or loud and not at all obnoxious.


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## craftymcgluestick (Dec 31, 2009)

We love Kipper and Pingu in our house, plus most of the PBS Kids line-up, except Sid the Science Kid, which I find to be annoying and full of propaganda. Specifically, we love Super Why, Peg + Cat, and Cat in the Hat. I also find Thomas rather irritating, but for my son, it's like seeing all his favorite playmates on tv, so I allow it.


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## Blanca78 (Jul 26, 2009)

Daniel Tiger is pretty much the only show we watch (also Sesame Street clips). I also search for "Russian bear cartoons" on YouTube--there is some really cool old animation out there that is not too frenetic, and since she can't understand what they're saying, I like to think that somehow leaves more room for imagination...ha.


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## AnastasiaM (Jul 30, 2011)

We've started letting our 19 month old watch Kipper occasionally. I feel bad about it, but being pregnant and exhausted and with his sleep issues (he's been a terrible sleeper, always -- sometimes he seems to need less sleep than me!), it gives me a tiny break on terrible days.

I like Kipper because it's very, very calm -- pastels, lots of white space, no loud noises, and nothing (in the US at least) is marketed for Kipper, so it's not like he'll see it in the grocery store and beg for something.


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## apeydef (Mar 16, 2013)

My toddler really doesn't like tv but when he does he watched Sesame Street, Daniel tiger, and sometimes Thomas. Mostly pbs shows.


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## Momsteader (Dec 13, 2002)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Blanca78*
> 
> Daniel Tiger is pretty much the only show we watch (also Sesame Street clips). I also search for "Russian bear cartoons" on YouTube--there is some really cool old animation out there that is not too frenetic, and since she can't understand what they're saying, I like to think that somehow leaves more room for imagination...ha.


Mawa and Mishka! Not sure how you REALLY spell it, but my guy loves those! He's having speech issues and we joke that he'll speak Ukranian before English LOL


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## apeydef (Mar 16, 2013)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CraftyMcGluestick*
> 
> We love Kipper and Pingu in our house, plus most of the PBS Kids line-up, except Sid the Science Kid, which I find to be annoying and full of propaganda. Specifically, we love Super Why, Peg + Cat, and Cat in the Hat. I also find Thomas rather irritating, but for my son, it's like seeing all his favorite playmates on tv, so I allow it.


Haha you must have saw the one about flu shots!!! Yes I find that show annoying too....


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## Sylvias Mother (Jun 10, 2013)

I swear Super Why taught my 18 month old the alphabet and it's really the only show that will hold her attention. It's on PBS but also Netflix.


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## stephanieathome (Nov 5, 2012)

Shaun the Sheep was the favorite when my son was 18mos to about 2 1/2. He's branched out into Barney and Daniel Tiger. He also likes Winnie the Pooh movies and the Shrek series (although those introduce scary elements).

He also, inexplicably, likes watching cooking shows with me as well, lol.


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Love shaun the sheep, but they took it off Netflix streaming!


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## DTmama1 (Jan 17, 2006)

I mostly go for Signing Time and for Classic Sesame Street for my little guy when I need a break.


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## alessandro (Mar 4, 2013)

Thomas the Tank Engine... :/. blah. If I was Sir Topham Hat I would dismantle them all and start fresh. I liked it better when he was into Daniel Tiger. I found Daniel Tiger to be cute and something he could relate to.


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## RebeloveMa (May 4, 2012)

We don't have TV but we stream from Netflix. My dd is obsessed with a show called Yakari, and we really like it too. Each show is only 10 min. and there are two per episode. It is about a Sioux boy who has been given the gift of speaking with animals. We also like Shaun the Sheep and Daniel the Tiger.


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## LunaLady (Dec 28, 2010)

Thanks for mentioning Yakari, we are going to try that one out! Sounds cute.


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## Vermillion (Mar 12, 2005)

Yakari sounds adorable!!

My little guy is ALL about Fraggle Rock! We watch with my 11 year old, who also loves it! (and watched it as a little one, too.) It was one of my favorite childhood shows as a kid, so I love getting to share that part of my own childhood with them!

Oh, and speaking of my childhood shows, I found David the Gnome on netflix, too, but my little guy isn't big into it :/


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## ilovetchotchkes (Oct 16, 2011)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *LunaLady*
> 
> We watch Little Bear on Amazon Prime. That and Dinosaur Train are the only shows I let him watch. I haven't found anything else that I can approve.
> 
> Thomas particularly boils my blood. He loves trains so we tried a few episodes of that and it was AWFUL! So negative and shaming and back stabbing... I was shocked.


I thought i was the only one who thought that about Thomas.

My kiddos watch dinosaur train and sesame street. I hate almost all children's tv, so they also get the occasional old school episode of Classic Doctor Who when i'm about to lose my mind if I hear "ALL ABOARD! TICKETS! TICKETS PLEASE!" .


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## LunaLady (Dec 28, 2010)

We tried Yakari and I'm sad I can't recommend that one. I also saw a show similar about an Amazon native boy and his adventures, but in the first few minutes there was shaming and lying and name calling. I just don't get it.

We tried David the Gnome about a year ago and my son didn't find it interesting, but I'd love to try again. I really, really loved that show as a kid!

We have been watching Aristocats here and there and also Disney's Sword in the Stone and both of those are okay. There's no blatant stuff in either of them.

Currently, my dh and son are watching Thomas with the sound off. Boy looooooves trains.


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## RebeloveMa (May 4, 2012)

Quote:


> We tried Yakari and I'm sad I can't recommend that one. I also saw a show similar about an Amazon native boy and his adventures, but in the first few minutes there was shaming and lying and name calling.


Oh! I am curious what your take was on Yakari, specifically. I also checked out the Amazon boy one and did not like it, but I though the benefits of Yakari out weighed some of the problems.

I'll shortly explain why I was OK with Yakari. I guess there are many concerns by which to judge a cartoon. In fact, there are very few cartoons that I like at all. What I am typically most sensitive to is materialism and any pro-consumer messages that the cartoon implicitly or explicitly endorses. This describes most of the cartoons on TV. So, with Yakari, I was happy to find that the children were always outside, imagining, problem solving, learning sensitivity to nature (tracking animals, admiring the seasons, learning about the circle of life), developing kindness to animals and overcoming different obstacles of being a growing human (problems with friends, pride issues, selfishness, scary dreams, conflicted feelings about eating meat). They only play with a few toys, that they make. I think the cartoon makers try to capture some of the real-life goings-on of the Sioux people. But this is also where I think they fall short. Anyhow, it certainly takes many liberties and is quite fantastical, but I deemed it OK.

Thanks! I like to get other opinions to weigh against my own summations.


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## Veritas Vitae (Dec 26, 2011)

My daughter recently started watching TV and she LOVES Peg + Cat. We usually let her watch an episode or two (12 minutes) while we prep for dinner, although my husband has been letting her watch it both in the AM before daycare and more than one episode in the evening, which I am trying to discourage. We watch in on the PBS Kids channel on our Roku, as we don't have cable TV.


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## MommaBear1 (Mar 19, 2014)

I know this is kind of an old post but my daughter loves the sprout channel. She likes to watch sid the science kid, caillou, sesame street, Bernstein bears, thomas the train and some other ones but those are her favorites


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## colsxjack (Dec 9, 2009)

My DD loves Team Uni Goomi. It is a cartoon where three little characters try to solve problems using math.

She loves it. We watch it on Netflix or treehouse tv.


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## LivingSky (Aug 13, 2010)

We watch Signing Time a fair bit. On TV, we watch Super Why pretty often. I also don't mind Daniel Tiger, Dinosaur Train, or Cat in the Hat.


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