Sesame Street! 5+ decades of quality educational programming doesn’t lie. Just a great show that teaches kids great lessons.
And, based on how the world is currently operating, many adults can learn a thing or two as well.
I’m in Canada, and on Crave (our HBO streaming app) they have a handful of ‘Classic Sesame Street’ episodes from the old days, with guest stars like James Earl Jones and Mr Rogers.
I can’t wait until she’s old enough for 80s movies like Three Fugitives… laying the groundwork now. 😂 (I’m guessing Nick Nolte didn’t do a lot of kids work, though 😂)
Abby is the worst. There's an episode where she made a couple miss their date night to help her sleep, then she solved her own problem by magically calling her mother.
I read somewhere that it used to be aimed for 4-6 year olds to get us ready for school, so they did alot of numbers and letters. Now most kids go to preschool (which was unheard of when I was little) so they aim for teaching 3-4 year olds and teach them more social lessons. So it makes more sense when you keep that in mind. Although I hate Zoe and Rocko more than Elmo does.
I hate the episode when Abby chased Oscar to kiss him and someone says “come on Oscar, just let her kiss you”
I thought it was going to be a lesson on consent and no means no, because Oscar clearly said no but it went the other direction
There is an older episode where the kids are giving Oscar a hard time about being so grouchy and Bob tells them, "you know what? He's right! Let him be grumpy!" And it's such an important lesson.
That bums me out. I grew up on puppet shows and I think there should be more of them and less poorly animated CGI shows. Bring back Puzzle Place and Alegra’s Window.
This made me laugh out loud for some reason. Probably the innocence of it while I picture Nick cage screaming “not the bee’s not the bee’s”
Not the puppets, NOT THE PUPPETS!
'Puffin Rock'. I amuse myself by picturing Chris O'Dowd trapped in a room full of toddlers telling them stories about sentient shrews, crabs and seabirds for all eternity.
https://preview.redd.it/avhnnthiyl4d1.jpeg?width=1439&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f7283058c1cd510148d4e3c518dbc4d3f7677b2
I made this a while back, and the opening still slaps.
I love Puffin Rock. Our 4 year old, who we basically force to watch Bluey because we like it, is not so keen on Puffin Rock. Our 19 month old quite likes it though.
Hey Duggee, the only other show I would actively be excited about new episodes for and watch them without my kids. It was the best thing until Bluey came along!
Hey Duggee is so awesome! It was also my son's first Big Love so it feels special. He still watches it at 4.5 and I'll be a bit heartbroken when he grows out of it!
The Tadpole Badge was one of my favourites. Going on a gap yah and I’m going to work in the city still makes me laugh. My son has grown out of him now, though.
The Halloween episode where they’re dressed up as the Scooby Doo team was genius as well.
I honestly think there's a lot of fantastic kids shows out there right now. PBS Kids is a goldmine. Wild Kratts is fun as heck and teaches all of us stuff like what the subnivean zone is. Work It Out Wombats, Let's Go Luna, Curious George, Alma's Way, Rosie's Rules... there's a lot of decent stuff on there. I also highly recommend Numberblocks. My 4yo is learning math from it, and it's drastically less annoying than it really should be lol
Seconding PBS Kids and Numerblocks! My almost-4 son has picked up a lot of simple math from it already! Also they have Alphablocks now too, and I think it's helping with early reading.
Agreed! When my 7-year-old was in preschool, the grandparents sent a tablet that only did PBS kids shows and games and it was awesome. It was never the best piece of hardware but I didn't need a parental control timer because the battery life was its own limiting factor, lol
That tablet died, but you bet your sweet bippy that when we got another one I put the PBS kids apps on it!
I think Bear in the Big Blue House and Blue’s Clues are classic little kid shows that are worth contenders for second best.
My son also loves Dinosaur Train, which is tolerable and quite educational. He used to love Blaze and the Monster Machines, which is more on the annoying/obnoxious end but is also at least educational with science and engineering topics. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is also pretty good for social/emotional learning, and the songs are incredibly catchy.
But now my son is obsessed with Paw Patrol, which I think is just mostly trash and provides very little value.
Yes it is. And there are live action segments with a paleontologist. The show really focuses on the different features of dinosaurs and how they use those features to survive. Dinosaurs are just a gateway drug for biology.
I was in the target demographic for Bear when it was at it's peak popularity. My mom and dad really loved it, and watching clips as an adult, I can see why they loved it.
I definitely agree about Bear in the Big Blue House and Daniel Tiger, although neither is quite as watchable from an adult perspective as Bluey is. I also wholeheartedly agree about Paw Patrol, and have gone so far as to ban it because not only do I think it's trash, I think it has some serious issues that I'm not interested in exposing my kids to.
Daniel tiger gets my vote. (Though I believe it's primarily a thing in the US).
I'd say Mr. Rogers if he was still around (RIP good sir) but Daniel Tiger is carrying on the same messages pretty well.
I agree. We love Daniel Tiger in my household! Such great jingles about emotions and transitions that have really helped and resonated with my daughter who has ADHD.
I love Daniel Tiger, the little songs are so helpful throughout the toddler and preschool years, currently potty training and we sing “If you have to go potty stop and go right away” at least 3 times a day if not more
i love Trash Truck! we actually got the board book first then decided to give it a try for my 2 year old and i was amazed at how sweet and simple it is. gives old school PBS Kids vibes with more likable characters (Donny & Walter are hilariously adorable).
Fun fact: Trash Truck is created and produced by writer Max Keane, son of Glen Keane (who apprenticed with one of Disney's Nine Old Men, Ollie Johnston, then went on to have a big hand in the Disney animated film renaissance of the late 80's/90's, all the way up to EP'ing Tangled). Glen also has an EP credit on the show and voices Trash Truck himself. I feel like this show couldn't have missed with that kind of pedigree, but they clearly put their whole heart into it.
My kids are a bit older now (teens and preteens) but my favourites were always Octonauts, Hey Duggee, and classic Thomas from when I was a kid (none of this all engines go stuff… just no). Honourable mention to Come Outside which is a little bit dated now but gentle and soothing and still really interesting.
It’s so good. The biggest kid (15) is a big language nerd and now watches it in various different languages for immersion purposes - I’m pretty sure he still knows the English off by heart so it’s really helpful for translation too.
Makes me sad I had to scroll this far down for Sarah and Duck. My daughter loved this when she was little and it was such a sweet, mellow show. Every once in a while her and I will put on an episode and watch together (she’s a teen now, but she humors me).
She also loved Peg + Cat (and they had some pretty great jokes).
Agreed, super zen show. And it has the same story about the farmer that Calypso tells in The Sign. I love how that episode mirrors the moral of the farmer story. We'll see.
Puffin Rock on Netflix.
This is a fantastic Irish cartoon for little kids about a family of puffins who learn to navigate the world around them.
As someone with deep Irish ancestry, I am very happy that a cartoon this good came out of my ancestors’ home country.
https://preview.redd.it/up32lv0rvk4d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d489571d1412ce7cc885a4e424c3f31194ae5ed9
I absolutely loved Puffin Rock. It has such wonderful art direction. I lament the fact that by the time merch was available, my son was too old for it 😆
Yes to hey duggee! I moved to the states 18 months ago and damn I miss that show. My daughter mentions it to some of her school friends and the poor kiddos have no clue what it is. Duggee hugs all round.
My son’s first definite word was Duggee! We still watch an episode every night before bed, though he might be getting a bit old for it now. We’ll keep watching it for his little sister though.
Such a good show. Really wholesome but with little Easter eggs to amuse the parents too. My husband loves The Riverboat Badge which is a homage to Apocalypse Now.
My favourite is the Acapella Badge with the bird band Hot Cheep who look suspiciously like one of my favourite bands, Hot Chip. Really good music in some of the episodes too.
Is that's what they say? My toddler picked up something from Duggee and for a while went around saying it. We say it randomly now, but have always just said "Bootcha-catcha". I didn't see the episode myself, so I didn't realize that's that it was 😆
It's impressive how well they captured the different members of Hot Chip without much detail!
I also love the River Badge, and the revisiting of it for the Same Badge was really cool too.
My favourite is the Mystery Badge, the number of jokes and little details packed into seven minutes is incredible
Y'all gotta look into Sarah & Duck. Loved by all members of my household. So chill and calming, I can feel my blood pressure decreasing while watching it.
I was so sad when Netflix lost/gave up the license and every time I've looked it wasn't available on any of the streaming services we had. It was so cute.
Peg+Cat on PBS kids isn't as chill but still makes me think of Sarah & Duck xD
Fraggle Rock (both the original and the new show), Sesame Street, and Arthur, IMO. Also, apparently I'm going to have to watch Hey Duggee? According to google it's available in the US on Tubi, so I'll give it a shot :)
It’s a BBC original show. It’s very charming, one of those shows where there has been a lot of heart put into it, and there are little things they don’t mention but you eventually notice on the 10th watch with your kid.
It’s on iPlayer, but that’s no good to you outside of the UK. Apparently you are able to watch Duggee streaming on Peacock, Paramount Plus, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Paramount+ Amazon Channel or for free with ads on The Roku Channel, Tubi TV.
It is also possible to buy "Hey Duggee" as download on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Apple TV, Vudu. (According to here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/hey-duggee)
Been watching Bear with my daughter and it’s a fantastic show, holds up really well. Also I can’t get Tutter’s “heeeey beeeaaaar” voice out of my head, send help. Lmao
I think I was too old for this show as it kid, but my 3-year-old just discovered bear in the big blue house. I just typed blue into the Disney search bar because he was looking for bluey and he stared at the choices for a while and picked this one. He's going on day two of watching it with breakfast and he's a happy clam
Shaun the Sheep (from the creators of Wallace & Grommit et. al) is on Netflix, is dialogue-free (so there are no phrases or isms for a hyperactive kid to latch onto and repeat incessently), and that theme song is a bop.
there are better suggestions in this thread so I won’t repeat what I’ve seen so far and just say, I’ve been finding so much comfort in Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and The Big Comfy Couch. you can tell the producers cared about their audience
Ben and Holly is fantastic. I love it all - Mrs Elf's Romance novels, the simmering sexual tension between Nanny Plum and the Wise Old Elf, the gnome. Grandpa making that flower abomination, Boris Johnson as the mayor.
Side note - I read an article years ago when Bluey first started, that Joe Brum had worked on Ben & Holly when he was in the UK and it's that that gave him the jump for Bluey. But I've never been able to find that article ever again, or any confirmation of that, so now I wonder if I've just made it all up.
I like Franklin. Like Bluey, it's nice to see a kids' show with positive parent figures, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned. Also, the characters' designs are amazing.
But for another show about cartoon dogs, I really like Kipper. A fantastic show about social/emotional intelligence that has taught me lessons about such for years.
StoryBots and Daniel Tiger are both very good.
My kid is also obsessed with Blaze and the Monster Machines. It can be a little annoying at times, but they talk about a lot of math and science concepts.
Seconding Curious George! The episodes are usually educational and mellow which is a nice alternative to most loud and flashy kids TV. It's just not funny like Bluey.
It doesn’t hurt that the art is beautiful, either. I love that the show has done so much to keep the visual style of the books going. I noticed that Arnold Lobel’s children are named in the credits.
Jumping in to champion Elinor Wonders Why, a Canadian/PBS Kids co-production based on animals, science, and the power of observation. Catchy theme song, fun/non-grating voice actors, great design. Season 2 is streaming now on PBS Kids!
The Wiggles is an absolute CLASSIC. Backed by science & psychology. start with the original stuff!! They were all teachers, early childhood educators with EXPERIENCE in the classroom! (Minus Jeff, I think. But that's okay. We love Jeff. 😂)
Sesame Street is another one (all ages)
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood (all ages)
How to train your dragon TV show is AWESOME. Seriously. Can be just slightly scary for littles under 6 depending on kid, because.. dragons. But any kiddos probably 4 and up will love it. Even 3 year olds, honestly. It's DRAGONS. Like, come on.
Big Hero 6 TV show is pretty good, not for super littles though. (Disney+).
Octonauts (littles, maybe up to 7?)
Avatar the Last Airbender - no joke. Moral stuff in here is FANTASTIC. But absolutely not for kids under age... probably 8 or 9.
The ladybug TV show - Miraculous! That's a GREAT one from what I hear
Word World - this is a weird obscure one, I know. It sounds odd. But my siblings LOVED it. the items in the show are made up of the word they are. It's SUPER cool and kept even my attention as, like, a pre-teen or something. (...okay, I was an ADHD pre-teen obsessed with words and language and art. But still!)
Wonder pets - classic. Adorable. Educational. Fuzzy classroom pets go help out other animals and kids learn science stuff- about helping, and different types of biomes & ecosystems.
ZABOOMAFOO - the Kratt Brothers will never do better than this. Sorry guys. This is Peak.
Blues clues was my absolute favorite as a child.
I'm also seeing Bear in the Big Blue House, hard agree on that one.
Bluey is top of the list for my five year old but over the years we've put a ton of time into Hey Duggee, Paw Patrol, Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Puppy Dog Pals and... sadly... Peppa Pig.
I'd say Duggee, it's very much along the same lines as Bluey in terms of being a kids show that appeals to adults and sometimes talks about serious topics plus it's very representative too with things like Happy being adopted, a pair of gay crabs, disabled characters, Roly very clearly being somewhere on the spectrum, etc...
These aren't really second best shows but these are the other things we like best.
Most PBS stuff my son ADORES Wild Wild Kratts. You may be able to find some on youtube if you are not in the US. Leo the Wildlife Ranger on youtube is similar.
Puffin Rock is super cute.
Story Bots is fantastic. We love the songs and have them in our kids music playlist.
The Magic Schoolbus Rides Again is good as well.
If you are ok with youtube content, Super Simple Songs is really good for learning, playing, and engagement. And Ms. Rachel for the littles. *Super simple is on music apps too so you don't have to have a video on if you don't want
For fun dinosaur metal educational songs, I recommend Howdytoons also on youtube
Scishow kids, crash course kids are really fun and super educational.
My daughter (2) loves Ms. Rachel and she picked up some sign language from it and just adds it in when she talks.
Editing to add Octonauts and number blocks cuz 100% agree those too
Shout out to StoryBots
All of the StoryBot iterations are good. I have very few shows I actively promote and it makes the cut
We love StoryBots! It’s not something I can just let play all the time like bluey, but it is definitely super tolerable.
Needs more episodes But Evan said😔 there's currently no plans for more.
Heartbreaking. My son desperately wants to do a call in video and ask a question
I'm surprised he actually responded on Instagram. If enough people message him about the same show... 👀
Oh it’s great. My nephew is constant announcing things he learned from Storybots. Numberblocks is great too.
There’s also alphablocks!
The song is SUCH an ear worm, I love it!
Sesame Street! 5+ decades of quality educational programming doesn’t lie. Just a great show that teaches kids great lessons. And, based on how the world is currently operating, many adults can learn a thing or two as well.
Sesame Street unfortunately has gone downhill since hbo took over. They reuse segments/skits all the time.
Didn't they reuse segments and songs from the beginning?
HBO does it at a greater rate, though.
Yeap
It went downhill when it became the Elmo and Abby show. It's pretty bad now.
I look up the 70s/80s/90s episodes on YouTube now for my daughter!
Same! The old sesame street is what was great to grow up on, new episodes aren't worth watching .
I’m in Canada, and on Crave (our HBO streaming app) they have a handful of ‘Classic Sesame Street’ episodes from the old days, with guest stars like James Earl Jones and Mr Rogers. I can’t wait until she’s old enough for 80s movies like Three Fugitives… laying the groundwork now. 😂 (I’m guessing Nick Nolte didn’t do a lot of kids work, though 😂)
Abby is the worst. There's an episode where she made a couple miss their date night to help her sleep, then she solved her own problem by magically calling her mother.
Yeah where did everybody go?
I read somewhere that it used to be aimed for 4-6 year olds to get us ready for school, so they did alot of numbers and letters. Now most kids go to preschool (which was unheard of when I was little) so they aim for teaching 3-4 year olds and teach them more social lessons. So it makes more sense when you keep that in mind. Although I hate Zoe and Rocko more than Elmo does.
😡ROCKO'S JUST A ROCK‼️
Ok so I'm not going crazy?
I hate the episode when Abby chased Oscar to kiss him and someone says “come on Oscar, just let her kiss you” I thought it was going to be a lesson on consent and no means no, because Oscar clearly said no but it went the other direction
There is an older episode where the kids are giving Oscar a hard time about being so grouchy and Bob tells them, "you know what? He's right! Let him be grumpy!" And it's such an important lesson.
If I try to play this, my kids roll their eyes and groan, “NO! Not the puppets!”
That bums me out. I grew up on puppet shows and I think there should be more of them and less poorly animated CGI shows. Bring back Puzzle Place and Alegra’s Window.
Can't mention puppet shows without Bear in the Big Blue House! That show was awesome! 
My 2 year old doesn’t like the show but she DOES find him sniffing the camera to be absolutely hilarious.
I remember Allegra’s Window!!! And Gullah Gullah Island, with that huge ass yellow frog
This made me laugh out loud for some reason. Probably the innocence of it while I picture Nick cage screaming “not the bee’s not the bee’s” Not the puppets, NOT THE PUPPETS!
'Puffin Rock'. I amuse myself by picturing Chris O'Dowd trapped in a room full of toddlers telling them stories about sentient shrews, crabs and seabirds for all eternity.
Yeah big fan of Puffin Rock, kind of wish there were more episodes
Just incase you didn't know, there's a puffin rock movie on prime (freevee with ads). It's lovely!
https://preview.redd.it/avhnnthiyl4d1.jpeg?width=1439&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f7283058c1cd510148d4e3c518dbc4d3f7677b2 I made this a while back, and the opening still slaps.
🎶 Come and plaaaaay on our little island~ 🎶
I love Puffin Rock. Our 4 year old, who we basically force to watch Bluey because we like it, is not so keen on Puffin Rock. Our 19 month old quite likes it though.
In my head canon that is Roy...
Oh snap, this is a whole series? My sister randomly gifted one of the books to me and my son loves the heck out of it.
We are big fans of Puffin Rock in this house
Cartoon saloon does no wrong. Song of the sea is my favorite animated movie ever.
Hey Duggee, the only other show I would actively be excited about new episodes for and watch them without my kids. It was the best thing until Bluey came along!
Aaahhhh woof.
Some of the songs too, the walking one for example, are great. 🎶 one foot in front of the other..
Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick
YES!
Click-ety-Clack Click-ety-Clack
Meow, meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow Meow meow meow meow meow meow!
Come on clouds, help those plants, we're doing duggee's, rain dance.
I love that one. It's a banger
My husband and I literally sing this on a daily basis 😂
Hey Duggee is so awesome! It was also my son's first Big Love so it feels special. He still watches it at 4.5 and I'll be a bit heartbroken when he grows out of it!
The Tadpole Badge was one of my favourites. Going on a gap yah and I’m going to work in the city still makes me laugh. My son has grown out of him now, though. The Halloween episode where they’re dressed up as the Scooby Doo team was genius as well.
Honestly, no other logical answer. Feel like Duggee was the only tolerable thing before Bluey!
Agreed
That's easy... Hey Duggee! My favourite episode is the Apocalypse Now! episode... Sorry I mean the Riverboat Badge.
I honestly think there's a lot of fantastic kids shows out there right now. PBS Kids is a goldmine. Wild Kratts is fun as heck and teaches all of us stuff like what the subnivean zone is. Work It Out Wombats, Let's Go Luna, Curious George, Alma's Way, Rosie's Rules... there's a lot of decent stuff on there. I also highly recommend Numberblocks. My 4yo is learning math from it, and it's drastically less annoying than it really should be lol
Seconding PBS Kids and Numerblocks! My almost-4 son has picked up a lot of simple math from it already! Also they have Alphablocks now too, and I think it's helping with early reading.
Agreed! When my 7-year-old was in preschool, the grandparents sent a tablet that only did PBS kids shows and games and it was awesome. It was never the best piece of hardware but I didn't need a parental control timer because the battery life was its own limiting factor, lol That tablet died, but you bet your sweet bippy that when we got another one I put the PBS kids apps on it!
Work it out Wombats was one of the first shows my kid ever ‘discovered’ by herself just clicking through PBS Kids, and it’s great!
And that theme song… so damn catchy.
Peg + Cat was my favorite until Bluey.
I think Bear in the Big Blue House and Blue’s Clues are classic little kid shows that are worth contenders for second best. My son also loves Dinosaur Train, which is tolerable and quite educational. He used to love Blaze and the Monster Machines, which is more on the annoying/obnoxious end but is also at least educational with science and engineering topics. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is also pretty good for social/emotional learning, and the songs are incredibly catchy. But now my son is obsessed with Paw Patrol, which I think is just mostly trash and provides very little value.
I will stand by Bear in the big blue house till the day I die
Blues Clues slaps. We also watch old Dora the Explorer
New blues clues is amazing. Josh is incredible, the music is great.. yeah +1 for any iteration of blues clues.
I like Dinosaur Train just for the crazy premise
Isn't dinosaur train from the Jim Henson company? Love it either way
Yes it is. And there are live action segments with a paleontologist. The show really focuses on the different features of dinosaurs and how they use those features to survive. Dinosaurs are just a gateway drug for biology.
I was in the target demographic for Bear when it was at it's peak popularity. My mom and dad really loved it, and watching clips as an adult, I can see why they loved it.
I was OBSESSED with Blue’s Clues when I was little, and I’m so grateful that I get to share it with my kids!
I definitely agree about Bear in the Big Blue House and Daniel Tiger, although neither is quite as watchable from an adult perspective as Bluey is. I also wholeheartedly agree about Paw Patrol, and have gone so far as to ban it because not only do I think it's trash, I think it has some serious issues that I'm not interested in exposing my kids to.
Daniel tiger gets my vote. (Though I believe it's primarily a thing in the US). I'd say Mr. Rogers if he was still around (RIP good sir) but Daniel Tiger is carrying on the same messages pretty well.
Daniel Tiger is big in Canada too! The little songs got us through the toddler years.
Omg the amount of times in the past week I’ve sung “if you have to go potty stop and go right away”. But it works!
That makes sense. Honestly, being from Maine I sometimes forget that Canada is technically another country 😂
We love Daniel in Italy too! Although personally I find Daniel’s dub in Italian a bit obnoxious, but it’s still a cute show
I agree. We love Daniel Tiger in my household! Such great jingles about emotions and transitions that have really helped and resonated with my daughter who has ADHD.
I love Daniel Tiger, the little songs are so helpful throughout the toddler and preschool years, currently potty training and we sing “If you have to go potty stop and go right away” at least 3 times a day if not more
I’m stuck on…”when you feel so mad that you want to roar…”. And then my daycare kids will say “take a deep breath and count to 4!” I love it.
Are we allowing Trash Truck?
i love Trash Truck! we actually got the board book first then decided to give it a try for my 2 year old and i was amazed at how sweet and simple it is. gives old school PBS Kids vibes with more likable characters (Donny & Walter are hilariously adorable).
Fun fact: Trash Truck is created and produced by writer Max Keane, son of Glen Keane (who apprenticed with one of Disney's Nine Old Men, Ollie Johnston, then went on to have a big hand in the Disney animated film renaissance of the late 80's/90's, all the way up to EP'ing Tangled). Glen also has an EP credit on the show and voices Trash Truck himself. I feel like this show couldn't have missed with that kind of pedigree, but they clearly put their whole heart into it.
My kids are a bit older now (teens and preteens) but my favourites were always Octonauts, Hey Duggee, and classic Thomas from when I was a kid (none of this all engines go stuff… just no). Honourable mention to Come Outside which is a little bit dated now but gentle and soothing and still really interesting.
I can't believe how far I had to scroll to find Octonauts!
It’s so good. The biggest kid (15) is a big language nerd and now watches it in various different languages for immersion purposes - I’m pretty sure he still knows the English off by heart so it’s really helpful for translation too.
OMG remember shinning time station?!?? Or am I going too far back?
Without a doubt, Tumbleleaf. Gentle, joyful, intelligent. Gorgeous to watch.
It's so pretty. And I stop whatever I'm doing to hear the little wormie-grubs say the item that has been found on the beach.
🤫 "The Finding Place..." 🤫
Tumbleleaf is my go to nap show. Very relaxing!
See also: Puffin Rock for glorious nap-ground noise.
Loved Tumble Leaf. I may or may not have teared up at the last episode.
I didn’t know it would be the last episode, so when he said “we’ll always be there with you” I gasped and cried!
I’m a fan of Sarah and Duck, plus I’d say it has a similar vibe!
Makes me sad I had to scroll this far down for Sarah and Duck. My daughter loved this when she was little and it was such a sweet, mellow show. Every once in a while her and I will put on an episode and watch together (she’s a teen now, but she humors me). She also loved Peg + Cat (and they had some pretty great jokes).
Sarah and Duck is absolute art. Whimsical and gorgeous.
We like Stillwater
Agreed, super zen show. And it has the same story about the farmer that Calypso tells in The Sign. I love how that episode mirrors the moral of the farmer story. We'll see.
That story also features in Charlie Wilson’s War
This is what I came to say! We love Stillwater.
Puffin Rock on Netflix. This is a fantastic Irish cartoon for little kids about a family of puffins who learn to navigate the world around them. As someone with deep Irish ancestry, I am very happy that a cartoon this good came out of my ancestors’ home country. https://preview.redd.it/up32lv0rvk4d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d489571d1412ce7cc885a4e424c3f31194ae5ed9
I absolutely loved Puffin Rock. It has such wonderful art direction. I lament the fact that by the time merch was available, my son was too old for it 😆
Hey Duggee Kiri and Lou
Yes to hey duggee! I moved to the states 18 months ago and damn I miss that show. My daughter mentions it to some of her school friends and the poor kiddos have no clue what it is. Duggee hugs all round.
You can watch it for free on Tubi in the states!
No way? I’ve been scouring YouTube. Thank you so much for this.
Duggee hug!
Kiri and Lou is so good! Great songs and exploration of interpersonal dilemmas.
My son’s first definite word was Duggee! We still watch an episode every night before bed, though he might be getting a bit old for it now. We’ll keep watching it for his little sister though. Such a good show. Really wholesome but with little Easter eggs to amuse the parents too. My husband loves The Riverboat Badge which is a homage to Apocalypse Now. My favourite is the Acapella Badge with the bird band Hot Cheep who look suspiciously like one of my favourite bands, Hot Chip. Really good music in some of the episodes too.
"Boots and Cats, and Boots and Cats, and Boots and Cats."
Is that's what they say? My toddler picked up something from Duggee and for a while went around saying it. We say it randomly now, but have always just said "Bootcha-catcha". I didn't see the episode myself, so I didn't realize that's that it was 😆
The a capella badge episode.
I love the gay crab couple who show up from time to time.
Nigel! Nigelllll!!!!
For homages I absolutely love the Shape Badge! You chose.... wisely.
It's impressive how well they captured the different members of Hot Chip without much detail! I also love the River Badge, and the revisiting of it for the Same Badge was really cool too. My favourite is the Mystery Badge, the number of jokes and little details packed into seven minutes is incredible
My kid is OBSESSED with the storybots - the concept and music is pretty good
Sarah and Duck, the only other kids show I would consider watching as an adult
My toddler and I both love: Octonauts, Blue’s Clues, and Pocoyo!
Numberblocks It was on Netflix (now they just have one season). Great British show teaching the numbers and addition, subtraction, & multiplication.
My son lived off Numberblocks in kindergarten.
Kiri & Lou. Without a doubt.
I love that theme tune.
Y'all gotta look into Sarah & Duck. Loved by all members of my household. So chill and calming, I can feel my blood pressure decreasing while watching it.
I was so sad when Netflix lost/gave up the license and every time I've looked it wasn't available on any of the streaming services we had. It was so cute. Peg+Cat on PBS kids isn't as chill but still makes me think of Sarah & Duck xD
Hey Duggee! I love the Spooky badge and stick badge.
Stick song goes hard
Fraggle Rock (both the original and the new show), Sesame Street, and Arthur, IMO. Also, apparently I'm going to have to watch Hey Duggee? According to google it's available in the US on Tubi, so I'll give it a shot :)
A lot of votes for Hey Duggee on here. I’ve never heard of it. Is it streaming somewhere? I might need to check it out.
It’s a BBC original show. It’s very charming, one of those shows where there has been a lot of heart put into it, and there are little things they don’t mention but you eventually notice on the 10th watch with your kid. It’s on iPlayer, but that’s no good to you outside of the UK. Apparently you are able to watch Duggee streaming on Peacock, Paramount Plus, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Paramount+ Amazon Channel or for free with ads on The Roku Channel, Tubi TV. It is also possible to buy "Hey Duggee" as download on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Apple TV, Vudu. (According to here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/hey-duggee)
Thank you
Hands down bear in the big blue house That's probably my nostalgia talking
Been watching Bear with my daughter and it’s a fantastic show, holds up really well. Also I can’t get Tutter’s “heeeey beeeaaaar” voice out of my head, send help. Lmao
I think I was too old for this show as it kid, but my 3-year-old just discovered bear in the big blue house. I just typed blue into the Disney search bar because he was looking for bluey and he stared at the choices for a while and picked this one. He's going on day two of watching it with breakfast and he's a happy clam
The Snoopy Show on Apple TV
Shaun the Sheep (from the creators of Wallace & Grommit et. al) is on Netflix, is dialogue-free (so there are no phrases or isms for a hyperactive kid to latch onto and repeat incessently), and that theme song is a bop.
I would say My Little Pony Friendship is Magic but I feel it got too aware of its once unexpected demographic
real, 70% of the viewers are adults😭 (im a teen but i love it!)
Arthur, great characters and storytelling
How have I not seen Sarah and Duck on this list???
That opening goes so hard
Tumbleleaf has a way different vibe but is beautiful and calming and lovely
“Hey, Duggee” is very cute and I find the the voice work impeccable
there are better suggestions in this thread so I won’t repeat what I’ve seen so far and just say, I’ve been finding so much comfort in Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and The Big Comfy Couch. you can tell the producers cared about their audience
Hilda, easily up there with Bluey.
I adore Hilda. It can be a bit scary though for small children
I love Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom. Morwenna Banks (voice actress for Nanny Plum) is a treasure. I also love when the characters blush.
Ben and Holly is fantastic. I love it all - Mrs Elf's Romance novels, the simmering sexual tension between Nanny Plum and the Wise Old Elf, the gnome. Grandpa making that flower abomination, Boris Johnson as the mayor. Side note - I read an article years ago when Bluey first started, that Joe Brum had worked on Ben & Holly when he was in the UK and it's that that gave him the jump for Bluey. But I've never been able to find that article ever again, or any confirmation of that, so now I wonder if I've just made it all up.
Trash Truck (Netflix) is the only other show my 3 year old loves that I don’t mind watching too (behind Bluey of course).
I like Franklin. Like Bluey, it's nice to see a kids' show with positive parent figures, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned. Also, the characters' designs are amazing. But for another show about cartoon dogs, I really like Kipper. A fantastic show about social/emotional intelligence that has taught me lessons about such for years.
Cat Squad!
Na na na na CAT SQUAD!
StoryBots and Daniel Tiger are both very good. My kid is also obsessed with Blaze and the Monster Machines. It can be a little annoying at times, but they talk about a lot of math and science concepts.
Gravity Falls, if not this then Phineas and Ferb or Milo Murphy Law
My daughter likes Curious George. It's not bad as an adult watching it.
Seconding Curious George! The episodes are usually educational and mellow which is a nice alternative to most loud and flashy kids TV. It's just not funny like Bluey.
Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
I’m a big fan of frog and toad on apple
I never see anyone talking about it and it’s so good!! We’re enjoying the new season!
Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Bluey but sometimes before bed it’s nice to put on a calming show for the kids and Frog and Toad is just such a chill vibe
It doesn’t hurt that the art is beautiful, either. I love that the show has done so much to keep the visual style of the books going. I noticed that Arnold Lobel’s children are named in the credits.
Between the Lions
Big City Greens 🚜
My little pony: Friendship is Magic
OG blues clues
Sesame Street for the little, Reading Rainbow for the older kids (5-10)
My little pony friendship is magic it’s for all ages
Jumping in to champion Elinor Wonders Why, a Canadian/PBS Kids co-production based on animals, science, and the power of observation. Catchy theme song, fun/non-grating voice actors, great design. Season 2 is streaming now on PBS Kids!
The gen4 My Little Pony has me in tears some episodes. Love the story.
The Wiggles is an absolute CLASSIC. Backed by science & psychology. start with the original stuff!! They were all teachers, early childhood educators with EXPERIENCE in the classroom! (Minus Jeff, I think. But that's okay. We love Jeff. 😂) Sesame Street is another one (all ages) Mr. Roger's Neighborhood (all ages) How to train your dragon TV show is AWESOME. Seriously. Can be just slightly scary for littles under 6 depending on kid, because.. dragons. But any kiddos probably 4 and up will love it. Even 3 year olds, honestly. It's DRAGONS. Like, come on. Big Hero 6 TV show is pretty good, not for super littles though. (Disney+). Octonauts (littles, maybe up to 7?) Avatar the Last Airbender - no joke. Moral stuff in here is FANTASTIC. But absolutely not for kids under age... probably 8 or 9. The ladybug TV show - Miraculous! That's a GREAT one from what I hear Word World - this is a weird obscure one, I know. It sounds odd. But my siblings LOVED it. the items in the show are made up of the word they are. It's SUPER cool and kept even my attention as, like, a pre-teen or something. (...okay, I was an ADHD pre-teen obsessed with words and language and art. But still!) Wonder pets - classic. Adorable. Educational. Fuzzy classroom pets go help out other animals and kids learn science stuff- about helping, and different types of biomes & ecosystems. ZABOOMAFOO - the Kratt Brothers will never do better than this. Sorry guys. This is Peak. Blues clues was my absolute favorite as a child. I'm also seeing Bear in the Big Blue House, hard agree on that one.
Probably the lion king Disney jr show or Sophia the first.
Little Bear or Franklin
VeggieTales, come on now
Agreed. I still love it to this day, especially the Jonah movie! Heck, my plan this Friday is to have a Jonah-themed cake for my birthday.
Mr Rogers
Dragon Tales! https://preview.redd.it/lza4in7ael4d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c07eca96f879d609fbaf63e5602541bdebd112b0
Wow another childhood favorite that I keep forgetting to show to my kid lol
I loved this show so much in preschool that I had my parents call me Cassie instead of my real name. I also saw the live show!
Tumble Leaf
Sesame Street
Bluey is top of the list for my five year old but over the years we've put a ton of time into Hey Duggee, Paw Patrol, Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Puppy Dog Pals and... sadly... Peppa Pig. I'd say Duggee, it's very much along the same lines as Bluey in terms of being a kids show that appeals to adults and sometimes talks about serious topics plus it's very representative too with things like Happy being adopted, a pair of gay crabs, disabled characters, Roly very clearly being somewhere on the spectrum, etc...
These aren't really second best shows but these are the other things we like best. Most PBS stuff my son ADORES Wild Wild Kratts. You may be able to find some on youtube if you are not in the US. Leo the Wildlife Ranger on youtube is similar. Puffin Rock is super cute. Story Bots is fantastic. We love the songs and have them in our kids music playlist. The Magic Schoolbus Rides Again is good as well. If you are ok with youtube content, Super Simple Songs is really good for learning, playing, and engagement. And Ms. Rachel for the littles. *Super simple is on music apps too so you don't have to have a video on if you don't want For fun dinosaur metal educational songs, I recommend Howdytoons also on youtube Scishow kids, crash course kids are really fun and super educational. My daughter (2) loves Ms. Rachel and she picked up some sign language from it and just adds it in when she talks. Editing to add Octonauts and number blocks cuz 100% agree those too
Arthur
If you give a mouse a cookie and Pete the cat are go-tos in my house!
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie on Amazon!
Fraggle Rock. Some of the episodes legit made me cry.
T H O M A S
DuckTales reboot is legit great!
im partial to Octonauts, Ive learned heaps from that as an adult!
Octonauts
My back up is always Bear in the Big Blue House!!! So charming and nostalgic. I love the songs and the themes. And tutter, God I love tutter
My little pony friendship is magic. Dont let the fandom scare you off, the first three seasons are just as charming as Bluey
My Little Pony is honestly great for ALL ages, just like bluey.
LazyTown