The dreaded screentime!
There comes a time in every parents life when they will have to face the fact that their child will both be fascinated by screens and that the fascination can save them considerable sanity. Our great struggle has been to find things that he is interested in and that have some small educational content.
For instance Paw Patrol is great and wonderful and he became fully addicted to it but unless he watched it in Polish (learning another language) the only thing he really learnt from it was to wonder around issuing commands.
So this is a list of mildly educational programs that may help you finding your equilibriam. Most will be in English and please add suggestions in the comments if you have any. In most cases I will link to You Tube videos. This is not an endorsement of You Tube and if you really need to use it with your child then do it through and app that filters out the ads such as FreeTube.
Interactive media
There are other also options to your child watching videos such as computer programs.
Age
3-4
Khan Academy Kids
I only ran into this a couple of days ago but my child is enraptured. Khan Academy Kids is an educational program aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 10. It is available on Apple, Google and Amazon devices and loaded with good content. If you have a tablet around then I recommend it.
Non-interactive media
Age
3-4
Blippi
Old Blippi is good. New Blippi is bad. Ok, it isn't that simple, but Blippi started out exploring technology. It's weird, some children love it and it is educational.
Bluey
A cartoon about an Australian dog doesn't sound that great but Bluey is funny, social and dear gods I wish I was more like his Dad. Worth watching.
Curious George
Still a firm favorite after all these years the adventures of a monkey and the man in the yellow hat are lovely.
Dinosaur Train
It's a bizarre premise but they like it and it is educational (Well, it is about as educational as a group of young dinosaurs exploring the world on a train can be.)
If I were and Animal
If I were and Animal is narrated by two children and takes you on a journey through the life of a series of animals.
Justin Time
The adventures of Justin and his friends as they travel around the world.
Octonauts
I love this one. A series of adventures with the Octonauts with "Creature Report" at the end that tells you more about the animal focused on.
Peppa Pig
A nice cartoon about Peppa and her family and the situations they get into. Nice social interactions, no violence. Much loved around the world.
Simon Super Lapin (French)
A cartoon about the adventures of Simon and his family is a a great exploration of French life and the world for a child. I like the early ones much better than the later ones where he battles Mr Wolf and it loses something.
5-6
Magic School Bus
This might be a little old for 5-6 but maybe not. It packs a lot of information in though as the teacher takes her class on a series of impossible adventures in her magic school bus. Unfortunately it is only in 360p so good for small screens.
Zoboomafoo
A series set in Animal Junction where Zoboo and the Kratt Brothers leap, run, dig and take mud baths with the animals who visit them.
