A Parent’s Guide to WildBrain and Top Shows to Watch (Guilt-Free!)

As the mother of five children, I often struggle to find the balance between appropriate TV shows and active play time. I’m not one to let my kids watch just anything, so when I discover a tool that can help me improve the quality of what my kids are viewing I love it! Enter WildBrain, a media company making amazing kids programming available via YouTube, sometimes even with original new content! Here are some recommendations for guilt-free viewing for various age-ranges of your children.

Caillou – Realistic, Positive Messaging Perfect for Preschoolers

Caillou is an adventurous 4-year boy, but what parents will appreciate most about his adventures is that they are genuinely relatable to what preschool children are facing in their own lives. Learning to get along with his friends, dealing with scary dreams, and trying to make a fun surprise for his mom are all things Caillou deals with throughout various episodes. And as he tackles these challenges, parents are given the perfect opportunity to begin positive conversations with their own preschoolers.

Adventures of Paddington Bear – Accidents Happen but Positive Attitudes Rule

Paddington Bear isn’t exactly a realistic character in this preschool program, but he indeed is relatable. It seems like Paddington Bear’s adventures usually stem from the well-intentioned mayhem that creates problems. The saving grace of these unexpected adventures is his positive attitude that carries him through. In the end, he usually learns a valuable lesson and all is put to rights. Something that can encourage children at an age when they are still learning important character traits like not giving up.

Strawberry Shortcake – For Greater Awareness of Friends and Social Skills

Strawberry Shortcake may have been a favorite of my generation, and the remake is a lovely step up from preschool programs for a child who is just starting school. The positive messages in each episode usually center around friendship, learning to get along, being aware of how we can hurt someone’s feelings (and how to repair the relationship when we have), and other essential skills a growing child is learning at this age. Sweet and innocent, there is no questionable content for parents to worry about. Just interesting episodes that can lead to great conversations about being aware of others.

The Fixies – Unique STEM Focus for Younger Kids

This hidden gem is a great show for bridging a child’s natural curiosity and the more in-depth STEM focus activities they get later in school. The Fixies are the characters in the show that help fix broken items around the house. They also spend a lot of time getting Tom, the main character in the show, out of trouble. Tom will provide parents some interesting talking points about what not to do, while the Fixies will give your children some insight into the way things around them work.

As parents, we know that shows and online media are things our children will be consuming at some level. Using tools like WildBrain to bring the best programs to our children in a controlled, and easy-to-monitor environment gives us a great way to enhance our parenting. Positive shows with educational, social, or imaginative value enrich our children’s lives.

Visit WildBrain’s website, YouTube hub channel, or Facebook page to see these and hundreds of other videos. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel because they are even creating new original content to bring new adventures to some of your children’s favorite characters!