our favorite kids shows

Because we still have another month until school starts here, we've had lots of free time. Can you tell by my daily posting? One of the things that my son and I do together is watch DVDs from his growing collection. Although, we do get American kids shows on TV here, it's not as frequent as being in the US and turning on Noggin or Playhouse Disney. So every time we go to the US we stock up on DVDs for the little guy. Since I've been watching these with him a lot lately I thought I'd write about our top favs. Here we go:

Little Bill

Info: A young boy goes about his daily life which involves his family, school, and friends. This show was created by Bill Cosby.

My thoughts: I have loved Little Bill long before I had my son. So I was eager to introduce this show to him. He loves it and I'm glad cuz I love watching it with him. It teaches great life skills for kids.

Higglytown Heroes

Info: Four friends and a talking squirrel encounter problems that require the help of a community helper.

My thoughts: I love that the cast is diverse. I appreciate the recognition that all jobs are important. My son started watching this when he was 8mths old. It was great to have something keep his attention long enough for me to get dinner started or fold some laundry.

Blues Clues

Info: A blue dog (she's a girl btw) has a friend named Steve (in the older shows) or Joe (in the newer shows) and leaves clues for him to figure out the topic of the day. Example: What Blue wants to play after school.

My thoughts: I adore this show. My nephew started watching this over 10 yrs ago and I was happy that my son loved it just as much. This show has taught my son colors, shapes, and many more things.

Go, Diego, Go!

Info: A young boy, along with his friend Jaguar, and older sister Alicia, help rescue animals in trouble. Note: Diego is Dora's cousin, and he, like Dora, speaks English and Spanish.

My thoughts: I really like this show. We've learned a lot about animals, things I didn't even know. And my son has learned some Spanish.

Dora the Explorer

Info: A young girl, along with her monkey friend Boots, explore and go on adventures.

My thoughts: I'm a big Dora fan. My son has learned a lot of Spanish from this show and it's helped me brush up on some of mine. This show teaches problem solving and uses a "computer" technique where you "click" on the answers.

Ni Hao, Kai Lan

Info: A young girl, along with her various animal friends, find the good in each other when they're feeling down. They often seek advice from the Grandfather, Yeye.

My thoughts: Okay, honestly, I sometimes get annoyed by this one, but I'm sure that it has something to do with my son wanting to watch it repeatedly over and over. He LOVES it! Also, we're learning some Chinese words and phrases since Kai Lan speaks English and Chinese. I totally support learning about different cultures.

Little Einsteins

Info: Four friends go on missions in rocket, a red plane thing.

My thoughts: I like this one. It's full of Art; the music, the scenes and the characters even give mention of the artists and musicians. Again, I like the diverse cast, including a boy wearing glasses.

Wonder Pets

Info: Three animals who are "wonder pets" go on missions to rescue an animal in trouble.

My thoughts: At first, I wasn't too sure. It almost looked "cheap" to me which I know sounds mean. But I gave it a chance and it's actually pretty cute. They sing a lot, but it's not like a bunch of traditional kids songs, they sing what they're doing as they're doing it. It also promotes teamwork. My son is in love.

The Backyardigans

Info: Five animated friends go on adventures in their backyard.

My thoughts: This is a new one for us, although it's not a new show. So far it's on our top fav list. I like the characters' voices, very cute. They also have good songs.


In conclusion: There are certainly many more good shows for kids but these are our current favorites. What I like to do is actually watch them with my son and then relate things in our day-to-day life to them. This was how my son learned all his shapes really quickly at a young age. Thanks to Blues Clues he even learned pentagon and octagon. He knows what a red-eyed tree frog is thanks to Diego. He can count to ten in Spanish thanks to Dora. The list goes on and on. But one word of advice is to always know what your kids are watching. Watch it at least once with them. Not all things are as kid friendly as you might think.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my Mommy talk post. ;-)

All pictures taken from Yahoo Images