Please try to keep the list in some rational order (e.g., alphabetical) using appropriate headings and such, and by adding a very brief description to each entry. Thank you for your ideas!
Etiquette:
Please be respectful of all entries. If you feel a program is inappropriate or too old for this age range, please add a polite note rather than deleting the item entirely. Note the last category is for older kids .
Criteria
Non-violent
Non-commercial (try to avoid stuff that includes ads or basically requires you buy The Toy, as well)
Decent quality (i.e. no budget, Speed-Racer-quality animation)
Age-appropriate content (i.e., for toddlers up through around grade 2)
Non-hyperactive Quite a lot of stuff these days moves at a breakneck pace through MTV-rate editing and frantic camera movement. This list should stick to fare with a more reasonable pace.
If you think another criterion is needed, please write the owner of the Wiki.
Important Tips
As possible, let your child make choices about what to watch.
Set a playlist or a time limit on viewing.
Watch with your child and discuss what you are seeing, or at least talk before and then re-engage at the end. Make viewing an active experience.
Use laptops or DVD player and avoid the whole "television that can be turned on any time" problem -- you can "put away" the others.
Especially right after watching for more than a few minutes, try to have activities that get your child up and moving to "shake off" the "TV Haze." (Exerciese beforehand can also help them maintain alertness.)
For older children, have them watch media after schoolwork; studies show that watching TV right after school leads to less retention of what was learned that day.
A parent adds: Some of the "scarier" moments are actually great teaching moments.
Note one parent made a nice recommendation: Start with video that you produce yourself -- video of your day, neighborhood, trip. stage plays or familiar stories with your kids on video.
Full-Length Film and Video
Annie the Musical (other musicals are also great for kids, Disney or otherwise)
Disney animated movies: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Bambi etc.
The whole princess theme could be seen as negative, but I like them because they are classic fairy tales about good vs evil, and because the pacing of the films is fairly slow. Plus the animation is still state-of-the-art.
"The Polar Express"
If you can get past the smarmy christmas spirit theme (and if it doesn't offend your religion - we're agnostic so it didn't offend us) I think it's a pretty good film for kids. It is a series of adventures that
the kids have to basically take on themselves, without adults to solve problems for them. Pretty good.
Miyazaki is our all-time favorite:
Younger kids can enjoy Ponyo; Panda Go Panda; My Neighbor Totoro
A little older: Kiki's Delivery Service
As they mature and can handle some peril and guns: Howl's Moving Castle; Laputa, Castle in the Sky
Incredible, but parental judgment required: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; Princess Mononoke; Spirited Away
"Whisper of the Heart," a quiet film about coming of age (recent favorite at our house)
Canadian Broadcasting has great animations, our favorites are Ishu Patel; Co Hoedeman
Other animators to look for: John & Faith Hubley and their daughter Emily; Gianini & Luzzati; Lotte Reiniger (cut-outs of fairy tales)
Peanuts stuff: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Snoopy Come Home!
Moomin videos (also the comics)
Videos on tape/DVD of a shorter nature
Sesame Street
Especially the "old school" series from the 1960s. These are often available on YouTube but of very poor quality there.
"Signing Times" by the Azevedo family, totally brilliant
They Might be Giants
Here come the 123s, and ABCs
Harold and the Purple Crayon series
Thomas the Train Engine videos
First few seasons of The Muppet Show
David Attenborough's Life on Earth series (Birds, Mammals, etc.)
Really top-quality stuff came from Attenborough over the years, and he has a sense of humor that adults will appreciate
Other animal documentaries and series: Eyewitness; Readers' Digest animal videos; Anima Mundi, gorgeous animal images with music by Philip Glass
Sprout
The Scholastic Storybook videos - good for very young kids
Miffy & Maisy (old, 2-D) - good for very young kids
Hello Kitty -- surprisingly pedadogical; my kids learned the street signs and enjoyed lessons on manners
Raymond Briggs' "The Bear" is really nice
*
YouTube and other online content
The Elephant Song by Eric Herman
He has other videos but none come close to this animated video in popular appeal. Kids love to listen to Herman on acoustic guitar as he mis-identifies animal after animal in song and is corrected by a little girl.
The Mole: Krtek a oslava (in Czech) and other languages such as Der [Kleine] Maulwurf (German)
This gentle cartoon from Prague contains no dialogue. Do a search -- there are many! Watch out as there may be one called "the little mole" (in a different style) that is not of this series and contains less appropriate content. Can buy DVD.
Pingu
The dialogue is gibberish in this charming clay-mation series, so it's perfect for kids of any language.
Bolek i Lolek, a non-dialogue polish cartoon series from the 1970s that you can rent on Netflix
*
Audio CDs
Television Series and Networks
Noggin YoGabbaGabba "like skittles on the brain" can be a powerful force... Little Bear is sweet and gentle... Ni hao kai lan is cute and often has lessons about sharing and friendship that I can see he really contemplates, this provides an entry point when similar probs arise I can refer back to it.
PBS Kids
Classical Baby
Awesome animated series from HBO
*
Websites
Starfall.com
sesamestreet.org lets you create a short playlist for a nice amount of short episodes
Add here resources that are not really appropriate for introducing the youngest children to video and television.
Pee-Wee's Playhouse -- I gave the entire two seasons to my girl for her 7th birthday -- does this put me in the Bad Momma category?
Good for mixed audience (e.g., my 5- and 9-year-olds): Fairy Tale, a True Story; The Last Mimsy (some mild peril); Pokemon 4-Ever (kind of a Miyazaki copy with an environmental theme); The Borrowers (some violence, but comic); Paper Bag Players; Pippi Longstocking; The Way Things Go (kind of Rube Goldberg sculptural installation); Sailor Moon (pretty intense anime); anything at the Int'l Children's Film Festival
Introducing Very Young Children to Media
Dear Teachers and Parents:
Please add to the list below full-length films and videos, shorter or episodic videos or DVDs, YouTube or other online videos, audio CDs, and TV programs (and websites) that are appropriate to introduce young children (pre-K through about 2nd grade) to the world of media (in the home or at school).Please try to keep the list in some rational order (e.g., alphabetical) using appropriate headings and such, and by adding a very brief description to each entry. Thank you for your ideas!
Etiquette:
Please be respectful of all entries. If you feel a program is inappropriate or too old for this age range, please add a polite note rather than deleting the item entirely. Note the last category is for older kids .Criteria
Non-violent
Non-commercial (try to avoid stuff that includes ads or basically requires you buy The Toy, as well)
Decent quality (i.e. no budget, Speed-Racer-quality animation)
Age-appropriate content (i.e., for toddlers up through around grade 2)
Non-hyperactive Quite a lot of stuff these days moves at a breakneck pace through MTV-rate editing and frantic camera movement. This list should stick to fare with a more reasonable pace.
If you think another criterion is needed, please write the owner of the Wiki.
Important Tips
Types of media listed (feel free to add)
Full-length film and video
Shorter-format video
YouTube etc. online
Audio CD (e.g., stories)
Television series and networks
Websites
For Older Kids or unknown age range
Note one parent made a nice recommendation: Start with video that you produce yourself -- video of your day, neighborhood, trip. stage plays or familiar stories with your kids on video.
Full-Length Film and Video
The whole princess theme could be seen as negative, but I like them because they are classic fairy tales about good vs evil, and because the pacing of the films is fairly slow. Plus the animation is still state-of-the-art.
If you can get past the smarmy christmas spirit theme (and if it doesn't offend your religion - we're agnostic so it didn't offend us) I think it's a pretty good film for kids. It is a series of adventures that
the kids have to basically take on themselves, without adults to solve problems for them. Pretty good.
Younger kids can enjoy Ponyo; Panda Go Panda; My Neighbor Totoro
A little older: Kiki's Delivery Service
As they mature and can handle some peril and guns: Howl's Moving Castle; Laputa, Castle in the Sky
Incredible, but parental judgment required: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; Princess Mononoke; Spirited Away
Videos on tape/DVD of a shorter nature
- Sesame Street
- "Signing Times" by the Azevedo family, totally brilliant
- They Might be Giants
- Here come the 123s, and ABCs
- Harold and the Purple Crayon series
- Thomas the Train Engine videos
- First few seasons of The Muppet Show
- David Attenborough's Life on Earth series (Birds, Mammals, etc.)
- Other animal documentaries and series: Eyewitness; Readers' Digest animal videos; Anima Mundi, gorgeous animal images with music by Philip Glass
- Sprout
- The Scholastic Storybook videos - good for very young kids
- Miffy & Maisy (old, 2-D) - good for very young kids
- Hello Kitty -- surprisingly pedadogical; my kids learned the street signs and enjoyed lessons on manners
- Raymond Briggs' "The Bear" is really nice
*Especially the "old school" series from the 1960s. These are often available on YouTube but of very poor quality there.
Really top-quality stuff came from Attenborough over the years, and he has a sense of humor that adults will appreciate
YouTube and other online content
- The Elephant Song by Eric Herman
- The Mole: Krtek a oslava (in Czech) and other languages such as Der [Kleine] Maulwurf (German)
- Pingu
- Bolek i Lolek, a non-dialogue polish cartoon series from the 1970s that you can rent on Netflix
*He has other videos but none come close to this animated video in popular appeal. Kids love to listen to Herman on acoustic guitar as he mis-identifies animal after animal in song and is corrected by a little girl.
This gentle cartoon from Prague contains no dialogue. Do a search -- there are many! Watch out as there may be one called "the little mole" (in a different style) that is not of this series and contains less appropriate content. Can buy DVD.
The dialogue is gibberish in this charming clay-mation series, so it's perfect for kids of any language.
Audio CDs
Television Series and Networks
- Noggin
- PBS Kids
- Classical Baby
*YoGabbaGabba "like skittles on the brain" can be a powerful force...
Little Bear is sweet and gentle...
Ni hao kai lan is cute and often has lessons about sharing and friendship that I can see he really contemplates, this provides an entry point when similar probs arise I can refer back to it.
Awesome animated series from HBO
Websites
For Older Kids
Add here resources that are not really appropriate for introducing the youngest children to video and television.