What do you look for in kids TV? - £200 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

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Parenting can often feel like a juggling act so it’s a relief to find a TV channel or show that will keep your children occupied and entertained while you get on with your to-do list, and a bonus when it’s educational and rewarding too. With this in mind, Sky Kids would like to know what it is you look for when it comes to the TV that your kids watch.

• Post your thoughts and stories on kids TV in the thread below to the entered into the prize draw
• One lucky winner will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice.

Here’s what Sky Director of Kids Content Lucy Murphy has to say:

‘We’re so excited to announce the launch of our brand-new linear channel. Millions of our customers already love watching our huge range of Original shows on-demand but families with younger kids have told us that watching on linear channels is an important part of their day; so, we’ve listened and expanded our Sky Kids offering at no extra cost.’

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw.

MNHQ
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Ideally something adults can also get some enjoyment out of. I’m not a fan of sitting my daughter in front of the TV and walking away. A few really good programs that come to mind are ‘Little Lunch’ an Australian program which makes us all laugh, ‘The Worst Which’ this also has the added bonus of being a series of books which encourages reading. When she was younger ‘Ben & Holl’s Little Kingdom’ and ‘Peppa Pig’ stood out as favourite family viewing. I also have my guilty pleasure when it comes to programs my daughter watches, ‘Cupcake and Dino’ is an American animation, Its absurd, often crass and is rather surreal, its all the things I usually dislike, but once you get into it, its fantastic, similar thoughts on ‘Henry Danger’ when watched from the start, its great.

A tv show that that encourages interaction is important to me

Positive role models.

Nothing encouraging unhealthy lifestyles / antisocial behaviour.

No adverts.

Gentle, no peril, soft colours.

Child characters in cartoons should be voiced by actual children - it really massively grates on me when it’s obviously an adult. It’s just so fake and awful. I don’t mind a few grammatical errors from a child character as that’s how children talk, so it feels more real and sweet. Kids don’t watch TV to be educated, they watch it to be entertained! Language is learnt from real life interactions, not a screen.

My all time favourite TV show is Bluey. There’s just something magic about it. It’s relatable, it’s wholesome, it’s hilarious, the characters feel real yet aspirational, the animation is gorgeous and the soundtrack is amazing. Also it’s not formulaic which keeps it interesting. And the main characters are girls!

I hate that in adventure programmes like Go Jetters, Octonauts and Paw Patrol such a high proportion of characters are male. Feels very sexist.

Anything but mr bloody tumble

To enable them to just be.sqitch off.relaxing good watch.
There is so much pressure in most aspects of their lives these days.
Kids TV for us as youngsters was a moment to come home from school,we savoured it,loved it,that daily ritual.that relief,fun and respite. Proper kids stuff.

There needs to be more diversity though.in all aspects.
And I think we need to dial it back down to age related things.its all grown up too.much.

Here, it is educational and factual programs. An added bonus is something with a little humour!

I look for something which will not only entertain but also educate. Something my children will watch and then talk about afterwards, for example Peppa pig, my children love discussing what happened and why in the episode they just watched.

My older kids love to watch shows with challenges in them, years ago there used to be a programme called jungle run and this is exactly what they would love to watch now

something that is just fun and enjoyable to watch, that also can give life lessons around real situations that happens in real-life. My daughter is 5 and we talk openly about death and dying and how babies are made and born. Would be great to see something that is not just educational but does it in a fun way.

Characters that model good behaviour.
Promoting creativity and imagination.
Encouraging problem-solving and independence.
Good-quality production value.
Diversity in culture.

It has to be fun and enjoyable for them. I loved the Octonauts phase because she learned so much, it’s the ideal show. Unfortunately we moved on to My Little Pony and Barbie. I don’t prefer these as they are not educational and ‘make believe’ but it’s ok, it’s her entertainment and she only watched a limited amount of it.

I also like watches films based on books we’ve read e.g. Matilda. It’s made us look for more books to read so we can watch the films after. Any suggestions?

I look for programs that are educational, fun, not silly, with a good representation of hosts, and are appropriate for the time of day - Cbeebies bedtime is a lifesaver for us sometimes

British accents please
Love a programme which is engaging also be educational.
Humour - nothing slapstick please
Something fun and light hearted.
Relatable characters which portray life experiences realistically.
Covers topics and varied seasonal interests which all children will enjoy and which help educate them - I would love a little bit of language - conversational spanish or french to be incorporated ...... eso seria genial

I'd like to see characters that are good role models, I'd love a channel with adverts -it just distracts them and they loose interest.
British accents please
Educational content whether that be academic related or showing positive mental health, relationships, problem solving etc
Calming colours not too stimulating
Simple storylines which they can understand, and can be a taste of everyday life.
I'd love more cooking shows, and maybe gardening - so they can see carrots, cabbages, peas growing - and we can do a taste session during and afterwards
Humour to make it enjoyable for me to watch with them

No adverts
Age appropriate content

i found it interesting
no adverts

I look for something that works on two levels so that I don’t get bored watching it with kids.

US TV does this brilliantly with shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and previously with Rugrats.

Not at all bothered about English accents as we live in a cosmopolitan city with a wide variety of accents.

No ads
Age appropriate
Ideally no annoying whiny US accents!!

a good storyline over a reasonable number of episodes.
diverse characters, factually correct information and deffo no adverts!

Proper use of language. Opportunities for learning numbers, letters and colours.
No slapstick or adverts. A mix of educational and creative interaction.

If it can have an educational element then that's great. I often think there is a big gap in the market for teaching children languages from an early age via cartoons. The only one that comes to mind that ticks all the boxes is Ni Hao Kai Lan, so maybe a Spanish option would be great.

It's great when the cartoon is watchable/bearable for adults too like Spongebob.

Keep politics, woke and adult agendas out of cartoons.

Good morals within stories. Like not to litter, etc. Sadly not all parents teach their children about respecting their environment and others and these poor kids see and do the same as their parents.

I would go for age appropriate - no slapstick - as they will copy and rollplay this - limited or no adverts, tries to be educational and realistic without being condescending, and I prefer a British accent.

A programme that's engaging and preferably focused on an activity that sparks their imagination.
A focus on skills like cooking, cleaning, gardening, languages, money, time.
No adverts
No junk toys (almost single use, easily breakable tat)
No glitter
Low levels of slang
Not too repetitive, in case I hate it!

Bluey has set the bar for kids TV - fun for wide age range (my 4 year old daughter likes it because it has jokes for her age range, my 1 year old son likes it because it is a family of talking dogs and I like it because it has hilarious relatable stories about parenting).