7 Educational TV Shows for Toddlers

When I was pregnant, I thought to myself, “self, we are not going to let our precious little sunflower watch ANY TV until she’s at least 2 years old as recommended by most pediatricians!”

And then at 4 months I said to hell with that. I’m obsessed with my shows. So why deprive her of having fun and probably learning new things from TV?

Toddlers need some time to unwind and just watch TV like we do. Scientists are now saying TV under the age of 2 isn’t all that bad.

If you’re going to let your baby watch TV, at least some if it is educational. Here are Toot’s favorite educational TV shows for toddlers.

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1. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

This is her absolute favorite show and one of the first shows she started watching.

It’s basically a cartoon version of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood because it’s made by the same people. They teach life lessons. feelings, emotions, and how to control them.

He talks to the camera a lot, which is her favorite part. She waves to him and says “Hi, Daniel!”

They sing a lot of songs which really keeps her attention, and they’re very catchy. I tend to get them stuck in my head all day. I’m pretty sure my coworkers hate when I randomly sing “Ride Along!”

We listen to the soundtrack in the car a lot as I talked about in my previous post about things to listen to in the car.

Side note: Daniel Tiger is not only beneficial for her, it’s also helping me to be a better mom by learning from Mom and Dad Tiger and how they deal with situations. So that’s a plus as well.

And there are several Daniel Tiger toys that we just LOVE.

Daniel Tiger was on Netflix but is now only on Amazon Prime and on the PBS Kids app.

2. Super Why!

Super Why actually has nothing to do with asking “why?” like I initially thought. His name is Whyatt. He’s Super Why when he transforms into a Super Reader.

It’s all about reading, rhyming, spelling, and the alphabet.

Toot started talking very early. She said her first words at 6 months and at 12 months she could say about 20-30 words and understood a lot more.

I think Super Why aided in helping her learn because they sound out letters and words.

Obviously, this show is meant for preschoolers and kindergarten age, but I think it’s never too early to start learning to read and write.

Super Why is available on Netflix.

3. Sid the Science Kid

Ok, so I actually love this show. I’m glad Toot likes it too because I love science.

There are lots of great songs that my toddler loves to dance to.

They follow Sid throughout his whole day of getting up and ready for school, time at school, after school, dinner, and bedtime. And they show great little science experiments you can do at home.

The show is aimed at preschoolers since Sid is supposed to be four. So the experiments might need to be modified for a toddler if you want to do them.

Sid is available on Netflix and Hulu.

4. Teletubbies

I know what you’re thinking. Teletubbies is not educational and is absolutely the worst. Well, you’re wrong. Caillou is the worst.

Teletubbies is actually written for toddlers. They only say a few words and phrases, but I’m pretty sure that’s where Toot learned “Whatssat?”

They jump out of the hole and count to four. My mom said that Toot said “three” right before the Teletubbies did. She also said “Dipsy” which is the green one’s name. I know that’s not a practical word, but at least she can add it to her vocabulary.

Teletubbies is a show that I can throw on for her to be mesmerized by while I cook dinner. It’s def-con 4 level of TV. I hate watching it because it’s not appealing to adults at all, and my sister grew up watching it so I’m tired of it.

But Toot freaking loves that baby in the sun so whatever will make her giggle and stay happy for 20 minutes while I throw some dinner together is worth it.

Teletubbies is available on YouTube and you can get it on Amazon Prime.

5. Blue’s Clues

Who didn’t watch Blue’s Clues as a kid? Luckily, it’s still available on Amazon.

Toot started asking for Blue’s Clues at about 9 months. She learned how to say “Blue!” and point to the TV. We ended up watching it all day because I was so impressed that she could request it.

Steve teaches kids how to look and find clues and problem-solving skills.

Added bonus: Steve also teaches sign language!

6. Doc McStuffins

Doc McStuffins is an adorable show about a girl that fixes her stuffies when they get hurt or sick.

I really like that it shows little girls they can grow up to be doctors or veterinarians. And it teaches compassion and empathy.

Toot’s Papa introduced her to the show when she was about 6 or 7 months old. She sat and watched it while she was staying over at their house. I’m glad they did. It’s a nice addition to her list of shows.

We watch Doc McStuffins on Hulu but if you don’t have Hulu you can get it on Amazon.

7. Sesame Street

Yes, they’re still making new episodes of Sesame Street! We watch it on Amazon Prime. (Seriously, if you don’t have prime you’re missing out. There are so many benefits you probably don’t even know about.)

Sesame Street was basically the first educational tv show for toddlers and preschoolers. I watched it as a kid. You probably did too!

Toddlers just love Elmo and all of the other characters. Toot still isn’t very fond of live action tv shows but she does like Sesame Street because of the muppets.

And they’re constantly teaching your toddler about shapes, numbers, and letters. They also talk about feelings and just how to be a good friend. It’s a classic.

There are 5 seasons available on Hulu. They aren’t the newest ones though.

If you want the current season you have to get HBO. We have it through Amazon channels.

Subtitles On Everything!

B and I watch everything with subtitles on. It’s an extra little thing we do to boost our reading skills.

It’s also hard to understand everyone on TV sometimes.

We think it will also help Toot learn to read in the future.

Try turning on your subtitles while your little one watches TV. It can’t hurt!

Our favorite way to watch educational tv shows for toddlers

My favorite thing about my Echo Dot is that I can control my TV with it.

We have a Firestick, and I can say “Alexa, play Sid the Science kid on Hulu” and she will automatically bring it up and start playing it.

It’s really helpful for when I’m bringing in groceries or something. I can just let Toot sit down and tell the tv to play her show.

I don’t have to look for the remote or flip through the apps. It just goes. I love that it integrates with Hulu because we use Hulu for most of our shows.

What Are Your Favorite Educational TV Shows for Toddlers?

Let me know in the comments below! We’re always looking for new tv shows for Toot to watch.

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