I know, I know. You are probably thinking, as a nanny, I shouldn’t recommend young children watching television but channels like PBS have found an art form for children's cartoons. Certain shows seem to lock in children of particular ages. There’s a science to it. Having been exposed to a ton of different cartoons, I have a few favorites that have prove to give the children I nanny a sense of fun in learning and imagination. Here are some of my favorites for ages 2-6:
First of all, it’s a classic. But more importantly they don’t dumb this show down. This show has single handedly made Lily a fan of the doctors’ office, as well as parks, measuring, and hopscotch. After coming home from her very exciting doctor’s appointments she loves to show of her “vaccination”. (If you’ve never heard a 2-3 year old say vaccination, it’s pretty adorable.) After each series of episodes, PBS shows Arts & Crafts options, or even scientific projects done in classrooms that you can do at home.
Secondly, I love George because outside of the things is teaches Lily and challenges her to do; it translates into a never-ending book series. Lily loves going to the library and finding which George books are currently available. She’ll sit quietly and flip through the pages for hours. This is a television show that motivates her to do everything from cooking to playing to reading. I’m sold.
This shows teaches everything from manners to reading. Two things I stress. Each episode starts with a brief storyline in which one of the characters needs to figure out a solution. To find the solution they meet up with their friends and pick a fairytale or book in which they think they will find the answer. Then a short sentence is placed on a screen and they go through multiple adventures to find the letters that fill in the sentence. (Think Wheel of Fortune.) The sentences are usually things like “Say Please”, “Plan Ahead”, “Clean Your Room”, and “Don’t Lie”.
This one if for children a little bit older but I became a quick fan of this as a morning replacement for SpongeBob (which I hate for kids). I give Catherine 15-20 minutes of TV time in the morning before school as a way to ease in to talking to people; neither of us are morning people and this time has proved to solve a lot of issues.
Phineas and Ferb are imaginative, adventure seeking step-brothers on summer vacation, constantly doing experiments or just something outrageous to drive their sister, Candace, crazy. Well, they don’t do it for that reason really but Candace is constantly trying to bust them and she never can. This cartoon pushes the imagination. It allows for kids to be inspired by the “What If’s” in life and it’s fun. They also have my favorite theme song.
This is more one of Lily’s favorite than mine but I don’t knock it. This show is full of music and science. Lily has learned so much from their science lab and circle time. They discuss everything from the changes in the weather, to measuring, to insects.
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