Screen Time You Can Feel Good About
I know there’s a lot of controversy out there about how much screen time your child should or shouldn’t watch but if you have a toddler like mine… sometimes screen time can be the difference between surviving a day and losing my mind. My son has an incredible amount of energy and he refuses to nap because he has a massive case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). He gets so tired but refuses to lie down and his behavior spirals quickly into meltdown zone. Allowing my son to watch a little bit of TV helps him to slow down a little and gives me a break. Often, this downtime even allows him to calm down enough to fall asleep on the couch giving him the rest he desperately needs. This said though, there are definitely some programs that I prefer him to watch over others that have literally ZERO educational or redeeming value. Here’s a few that I would recommend to other moms of active tots.
- Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood- PBS Kids
This TV show makes the top of my list when it comes to quality educational TV for kids! It can be found on cable television, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video. As a parent, I love this show on so many levels. As a child, one of the only TV shows that my parents allowed me to watch was Mr. Rogers. Did you watch it as a child yourself? Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is Mr. Rogers’ legacy in more ways than one. Although it is an animated program, it opens the same way that Mr. Rogers did. If you never watched the original show, it always opened and closed with Fred Rogers taking off/ putting on his shoes and sweater. Daniel was one of his puppet characters. In the new show, Daniel Tiger is the main character and is the “son” of the original Daniel tiger from the original show. He opens and closes each episode by putting on and taking off his shoes and sweater just like Fred used to. The show also features the original theme song. To say that it makes me a little nostalgic is an understatement but in a good way. It’s wonderful to be able to share a piece of my childhood with my own son in a modernized format.
Each episode of the show focuses on a topic that helps children understand and explore their own feelings and life experiences. For example, there are episodes about sharing, episodes about gaining a sibling, an episode about using the potty, and even one about how to entertain yourself if your parents are too busy to play with you on occasion! The characters are relatable to kids and each episode features a song about whatever the theme is. For example, the potty training episode features a song that says “stop and go right away”. Topics are discussed in easy to understand kid friendly terms and solutions are well explained. My son enjoys the program and I genuinely believe he has learned from it.
You can also find Daniel Tiger story books (we have a 3 minute bedtime story one) and there is a free app for parents that you can download with all of the songs from each episode so that you can play them to remind kids of what to do in each portrayed scenario when it happens in real life.
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- Mickey Mouse – Disney Jr.
My son is literally obsessed with Mickey Mouse. And lucky for us, Mickey celebrated his 90th birthday this year so he is literally EVERYWHERE. Disney currently has two different Mickey shows on their TV station. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse seems geared towards younger viewers and Mickey and the Roadster Racers is geared towards slightly older tots. My son loves them both but at almost 3 years old he seems to prefer the Racer one lately. Both shows teach the value of friendship and working together as a team to solve problems. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse focuses on teaching colors, numbers, shapes, and days of the week etc., while Mickey Roadster Racers has a more involved storyline and seems to focus more on helping others. There’s also a sub show to Mickey Roadster Racers called the “Happy Helpers” in which Minnie and Daisy help out other characters who are struggling or need help in some way. Some of the characters seem to be a little on the “klutzy” side and “Pete” is always a bad guy in both shows but on the scale of good to horrible – as far as TV programing goes, these aren’t terrible and at the very least are clean and teach about the value of friendship.
Image Courtesy of IMBD.com
- Sophia the First – Disney Jr.
This children’s show can be found on cable TV on the Disney Jr. channel but I believe that it can also be watched on Amazon Prime Video. At first I had reservations about letting my son watch this show because it’s stereotypically a show for girls but after watching a few episodes with him and seeing how much he loved it, I changed my mind. Yes, the main character is female and the show has a lot of singing in it (part of the reason that my son loves it so much!) but it also teaches really great values. Several episodes discuss gender equality and gender stereotypes teaching children that boys can do anything that girls can and vice versa. There are also episodes about issues that arise from blended families and step parents. Best of all, are the episodes that teach what true friendship is and that money can’t buy happiness. I have truly enjoyed watching this one with my son and keep an eye out for new episodes. If my son learns anything from Sophia’s kindness I’ll be grateful.
Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
- Story Bots – Netflix and You Tube
I just discovered this show after a friend’s recommendation. You can watch it on Netflix or on You Tube although what is featured on each is slightly different. The show features five quirky robots whose job it is to answer questions and teach kids. If you are watching on Netflix you have two different options to watch – Story Bots (answer questions) or Story Bots Super Songs. My son is partial to the song version because he loves music but both have value. The songs from the super songs are actually in the regular episodes but they are more side notes rather than the focus of the episode. The super songs episodes focus and build a story around the songs themselves. I can confidently say that the super songs helped my son with learning his shapes and colors. He was struggling with identifying them no matter how much my husband and I tried to teach him until he watched the super songs colors and shapes episode. The songs are catchy and fun and my son will occasionally sing them. One day after watching this episode he informed my husband and I that his napkin at dinner was a square. Mom win for the day!! We were thrilled. The regular story bots episodes teach children the answers to questions such as “Why is the sky blue” and “Where does night come from.” The answers are explained using scientific facts but also in a fun and engaging manner that keeps tot attention.
If you choose to watch on You Tube instead, episodes of both types are broken down into shorter clips so while on Netflix all of the shapes and colors are featured in one episode, on You Tube, each color and shapes gets its own clip. I highly recommend checking this one out.
Image Courtesy of wikipedia.com
At the end of the day, I encourage you to use your own parental judgement when it comes to screen time and your child. You know your child best and how screen time affects him/her. Don’t let anyone make you feel like a lesser parent if you choose to let your child watch TV but also be informed about what your child is watching. I hope that you check out a couple of the recommended programs above and that your kids love them as much as mine does. Hang in there mamas. You are doing a great job.