My son is almost 2 years old and has started enjoying TV, so I find myself—for the first time in over two decades—watching TV for little kids. The main channel I watch is CBeebies, the BBC channel specifically for under 7s. As with any broadcast channel I watch at certain times, so I certainly haven’t seen all the available shows. There are some I don’t like much, and a few I mostly ignore, but there’s some good stuff for small people. Below are the five little kids’ shows that I most enjoy and feel good about watching with my son. Also, he’s currently really interested in octopuses and 2 of the shows below cause him to shout out “Oc-pus!” while we’re watching, which is pretty cute.
- Hey Duggee
Five children of different animal species regularly attend Squirrel Club, which is run by Duggee (a large dog) with the assistance of the narrator (voiced by a popular UK TV personality). Every episode they do an activity, undertake a task, help someone, or explore something. At the end badges are earned, there’s a group hug and each child is collected by a loving parent. What elevates Hey Duggee is originality and the good-naturedness. There aren’t really antagonists, just some characters who are hard to get on with or a bit naughty. The animation style is colourful and simple, but there are episodes that experiment with visuals and some are really inventive. Episodes and characters can get kinda surreal—there is no consistent geography or zoological scale—but it’s all part of the world. For all that the structure is formulaic, the content covers a wide variety of things from counting sheep or designing outfits, to explaining the water cycle or inventing yoga poses. There’s a lot of helping such as taking a tortoise to a maternity ward to meet his babies, or delivering a parcel, or saving a wedding. The show has a diverse range of situations without making a thing out it; a main character has a mother who’s a different species, another travels by public transport, and the broad community around the main cast has a whole host of characters presented in different ways. There is a badge for every situation, and the show is entertaining and good-humoured. It gives an idea how wide the world can be and how many ways there are to have fun, without trying to be specifically educational. There are also some nods for grownups, for example I saw an episode the other week that was a massive reference to Apocalypse Now, while still being a kid-friendly story about a boat trip.
- Octonauts
This show is a lot more facty and reminds me of Star Trek, but under the sea and with no weapons. It also has a Gerry Anderson vibe, in that futuristic vehicles are the solution to most problems, but somehow it doesn’t feel anything like Stingray. As with Hey Duggee the show has a multi-species group and no real antagonist, though the peril level is higher—as you would expect from a conservation and rescue organisation staffed mostly by land animals based in a submarine. We learn a lot about water creatures and marine habitats, but I’m usually fairly happy to hear new facts (I am fairly geeky after all). There’s a lot of rescuing displaced or injured creatures, including those who threaten the Octonauts, or even the whole base. Dangerous creatures are never blamed for the risks they pose and the Octonauts never attack anything, they are simply treated as another problem to work around, which is very Trek-like. Captain Barnacles is like Captain Picard in polar bear form and Kwazii the cat, who would be the fighter if violence existed in the world of Octonauts, has a few parallels to Worf. I watch the UK version of the show and it’s amusing to hear various accents, including UK regional ones, which don’t make any sense in the context of the oceans. I’m pretty sure the landlocked part of the country I’m from was represented by some inconveniently ravenous lionfish. There have also been French-sounding swordfish and New York-sounding waterbears. This is a fun little show that highlights teamwork and problem solving, and gives you some really random facts.
- Furchester Hotel
From the creators of Sesame Street, Elmo is living with his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin, who run the titular hotel. Cookie Monster is the chef, for some reason. This show is also pretty formulaic, and like Octonauts focuses on problem-of-the-week while lacking antagonism, but it does have a wide variety of characters with their own issues. I can usually guess the solution, but my toddler doesn’t and he’s the target audience. There’s something really nice about characters who are dedicated to hospitality and so desperately want to give their diverse guests a wonderful, tailormade experience, even if the end credits suggest they’re clingier than you’d want hoteliers to be. The Furchesters can be clumsy and goofy, but they deal with conflicting needs and persevere. The variety and quality of puppets is really good, and unlike Sesame Street it’s all puppetry. I was impressed recently with an episode where a tired pony is taught to enforce boundaries for his own self-care, although that wasn’t how it was phrased. I know that small-child-me would have been both delighted and unnerved by an episode where a gluten-free cookie comes to stay and must be kept away from Cookie Monster. Also, off the back of this I showed my son the recent Muppets film, and then The Muppets Show DVDs with episodes from the ’70s. He’s now a little obsessed and regularly asks for “Muppies!”. As I’m writing this in the run up to Christmas, we’re really looking forward to showing him A Muppets Christmas Carol.
- Go Jetters
This is another facty, formulaic show; every episode has 3 location-based facts but they are funkily delivered by a disco unicorn, so that’s fun. As with Octonauts this is about a team who use their individual skills plus technology to solve problems. Here the team are cadets/trainees under the mentorship of Ubercorn, who seems to be the only non-human character (besides some non-speaking robot minions). Unlike the shows listed above there is a specific antagonist, moustache-obsessed Grandmaster Glitch (almost certainly a self-appointed title). He always happens to be wherever the Go Jetters are and is usually mucking things up by being selfish and inconsiderate; he’s not malicious, just entitled and whiny and a jerk to his robot minions. The Go Jetters have to save people and places from Glitch’s messes, and they often save him from himself. The technology level is miraculous and convenient, with Glitch selfishly applying world-changing technologies to his own narrow and fleeting whims. The Go Jetters’ tech is equally impressive—and better maintained—but only used in the mid-episode upgrade that allows them to solve the problem at hand, a common trope on kids’ TV. This is another show that’s good for general facts about places and landmarks you know and also those you’ve never heard of. My main issue is that there’s only 1 female character, and though she is a cool pilot it does mean the show is pretty male dominated. It has similar good points to Octonauts, but with a focus on geography.
- Biggleton
The only live-action show on the list, Biggleton is a town made up entirely of children doing adult roles. It’s adorable and also the most diverse cast I’ve ever seen; it’s clearly created to ensure that any child will feel included, and exemplifies CBeebies’ “Everyone’s Welcome” message. It shows a community working together in their different roles to solve problems, no facts and little formula outside of each character’s intro song. As with Furchester you can usually figure out the answer to the problem is as soon as it’s presented, but again little kids won’t necessarily know. It’s narrated by Eamon Holmes, a long-term mainstay of UK morning TV, whose pleasant Irish accent and soothing tones are very relaxing in this context. Biggleton is like how the real world should be, the sense of shared community and open friendliness is the strongest thing about it. Also, the show always ends with everyone dancing, and my little boy loves to jig about to music.
These shows may be cutesy, silly or cheesy, but little kids’ TV is nice and generally kind, and that’s so relaxing to watch. These shows emphasize teamwork, problem solving, perseverance, acceptance and fun. Frankly these are things I think we all need more of and I’ll be glad if my son picks up on them.
Catherine Hill comes from Worcestershire in England. She spent much of her childhood with her head buried in a book. An interest in history and mythology led her to an Ancient History degree. A love of the fantastical and impossible led her to most of her favourite people. She now lives in Birmingham with her husband and son. She can be found on twitter @ctjhill. She rambles about things she enjoys at www.catherinetjhill.blogspot.com.
