We all have a watch list of shows and movies that we want to watch, but if you’re a parent, sometimes you don’t get a choice in what you’re watching (iykyk). There have been so many times where I have sat down to watch something and my little gremlins have insisted that we watch something else that is more their speed. So here’s a list of shows that are on frequent rotation on our screens to appease the little humans that you might like to watch when your little ones take over your TV that won’t make it feel like you’re losing brain cells and being subjected to a form of psychological torture.

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At the absolute top of my list is Bluey. This little Australian show about cartoon dogs has taken the world by storm, and understandably so. This is a kid’s show that is just as much for the parents as it is for the kids. It is undeniably relatable on so many levels, and I am sure that kids look to and relate to Bluey and Bingo in the same ways that us parents look to and relate to Chilli and Bandit.

The series follows 6 year old Bluey as she navigates life through play in this series of vignettes. Together with her younger sister, Bingo, her friends, her cousins, and her family, Bluey learns how to deal with conflict, emotions, and just the general dealings of life and growing up. I have to be honest, I never really thought that a show like this would have such a massive impact on my children; my daughter took to this show immediately and we watched it on repeat ever single day. I honestly thought that she just found it entertaining, until I realised that she was relating to it.

In the sleepytime episode, Bingo goes through a journey of becoming a “big girl” and knowing that she can do things on her own, but she knows that her mum will always here there for her and always love her, even when she can’t see her. Every single time without fail when this part came on the screen, my daughter would turn around and look at me with this look of love and understanding that I would always be there. Every. Single. Time.

After watching the episode Baby Race countless times, my daughter suddenly turned away from the TV and took her first steps. However, she didn’t just take her first steps; she took her first steps, arms stretched out, towards me.
“She must have just seen something that she wanted.“

Thanks to the episode Bumpy and the Wise old Wolf Hound, my daughter learnt how to cope with her feelings and understand her experience after a trip to the hospital when she was incredibly ill with COVID.

Countless times this show has not just entertained my children, but it has helped to learn and understand things about life and emotions. My little boy is now starting to enjoy Bluey and I can’t wait to see how it helps his little brain develop and understand life.

Also, Bluey hasn’t just had an impact on my kids; it’s impacted me and helped me as a parent.

Baby Race was a hugely impactful episode for me as a first time mum struggling to keep up with societal pressures of motherhood. The moment when Coco’s mum told Chilli “you’re doing great” was huge, and I think it helped a lot of mum’s around the world realise that they are enough and they are a great mum.

Early Baby was an episode that really hit home for me. Both of my babies were premature, but my first born was 2 months early and spent a long time in the NICU in her little fishtank. It was so great seeing this episode and to have that kind of representation. It was also great to see that journey through the eyes of a child since my second born also spent some time in a little fishtank, so I think it was helpful for my daughter to understand how her life started and understand what was happening with her baby brother.

There have also just been a lot of episodes that have just hit me in the feels and the overall message of the episode has not only been a great lesson for kids to learn, but also for us as adults and as parents. Episodes like Curry Quest, Cricket, Rain, Rug Island, Squash, Grandad, Mum School, and Flat Pack.

Other noteable episode that my kids seem to love but I haven’t quite figured out their reasoning why yet include Fruitbat, Rain, Bin Night, Tradies, The Creek, The Beach, Burger Shop, Ticklecrabs (this is the only episode I hate because it makes my daughter be a ticklecrab), and Bingo.

Along with all these life lessons and relatability, the show is just wildly hilarious. If you ever find yourself stuck in front of the TV having to watch something your kids want to watch, I 100 per cent recommend putting on Bluey. You will absolutely not be disappointed.

I’ve been a Pokémon fan from the very beginning, so I have watched this around my kids, and now my daughter actually asks me to watch it!

The great thing about Pokémon is that after 25 years of anime, there are plenty of options of adventures to watch, and there are plenty of series and films to choose from. Mostly, the stories follow Ash and his partner Pokémon, Pikachu, as Ash embarks on his journey to be a Pokémon master.

Since I became a parent, the Pokémon Journeys series began, so I would watch it when she was an infant and as she has grown up around it, she has come to really enjoy it, and my little boy is starting to take an interest in it now too.

The really great thing about putting Pokémon on is that the kids think that they have taken control of the TV, when in fact you’re actually still getting to watch something that you like to watch. Sounds manipulative, but if you’re a parent then you will know that it’s just a parenting win – I mean, a fair compromise because everyone is happy.

Also, apart from being highly entertaining, Pokémon has strong themes of friendship and overcoming challenges that you may face in life. So it does have lessons to help kids navigate life, making it a good show for your kids to watch.

OK, so this one comes with a little confession time…

With a toddler and an infant in the house that share a bedroom, and both of the kids needing mum to support them to sleep with very different needs, bed time became quite the nightmare. So, we decided that a little bit of TV with dad after bathtime and before bedtime for our toddler would help keep her calm and quiet while I fed our baby boy and put him to bed. I mean, sometimes you’ve just gotta do what you’ve gotta do to make parenting a little easier, but little did we know how significant this little routine would become. Not only did it provide an opportunity for some quality daddy-daughter time, but it started an absolute obsession with Yu-Gi-Oh for our daughter than has now resulted in her constantly asking to watch “Yu-gin-no”, obtaining her first and very own deck of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, a Yu-Gi-Oh plush, and her hijacking my Christmas gift to my husband because Yu-Gi-Oh is her best friend and that pop figure now belongs to her.

I do give this recommendation with a caution; not because of the risk of your child becoming obsessed with it (although that is a great possibility), but because some of the monsters might be a little scary for little eyes (I say this because a couple of the dragons frightened my little girl, but not enough to deter her from watching).

The story follows a shy high school student named Yugi Moto after his grandfather gives him the fragmented pieces of an Egyptian artifact, known as the Millennium Puzzle. When Yugi reassembles the puzzle he becomes possessed by the 3,000-year-old spirit of an ancient pharaoh. Yugi and his friends Joey, Tea and Hondo protect the puzzle, which contains powerful secrets many people would like to possess. Through their journey, they take part in a number of duels with their battle cards and monsters.

I never really got into Yu-Gi-Oh when I was a kid; I was strictly a Pokémon kid. But seeing my husband and child bond over something he loved when he was a kid was really beautiful… and I am sure that it created a really great core memory for her. I also got hooked into it so it is in my arsenal of shows to watch when she desperately “needs” to have her turn of the TV haha.

Brown and Friends is a a cute and cozy series about a group of fun-loving friends and get up to all kinds of adventures that take place in and around their neighbourhood coffee shop. It is a non-verbal slapstick series of vignettes with a simple approach to coming-of-age story lines that speak to an ageless audience, making it easy for people of any age to watch.

My daughter has become OBSESSED with this show, and I have sat down quite a few times to watch it with her. I have to admit, I thought it was going to be one of those hard to sit through shows, but honestly, this is the cutest little show and it is incredibly funny. Even though there is no dialogue, there is absolutely no mistaking what is happening in each story. The use of emotive sound, actions and expressions makes communicates very clearly what is occurring, and I find it very interesting to hear my daughter’s interpretation of what she is watching to how I have interpreted it. The difference in life stages has allowed us to witness the same thing in very different ways, and I think that that is part of the magic of this show.

Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure – or “egg” as my daughter calls it – is a new addition to my daughter’s watch list. I have known about this show but I’ve never watched it before, until now.

Gudetama is a lazy egg who reluctantly embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with Shakipiyo, a newly hatched chick, who is determined to find their mother.

I am really enjoying this cute little series. It is kind of relatable in the way that Gudetama struggles under the pressures of life and is quite vocal about how he feels about how difficult life is; this is something that I feel resonates with a lot of people, especially millennials and especially anyone with depression. Shakipiyo is a contrast character and is a very positive and high energy little chicken. I feel like Shakipiyo is a positive addition to Gudetama’s life and journey, and it’s an important reminder that no matter how low we may feel, it is important to surround ourselves with a positive support system that although might feel like they are pestering us, they just have our best interests at heart.

Now, from my daughter’s perspective, this is just a show about a little egg who loves soy sauce and is friends with a happy little chicken and are on an adventure to find their mum. Again, proving that this is a show for all ages providing very different levels of entertainment and perspective. I am pretty happy about this new addition to my daughter’s watch list and am looking forward to watching more of it.

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if guinea pigs were cars? No? Well, now you can know all about it with the Japanese stop motion anime, Pui Pui Molcar… or as my daughter calls it, “Kirbies“. My daughter became completely obsessed with this show after she saw me playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land, so perhaps she thought that the little molcars were just little Kirby cars? I don’t know, but she loves it and it’s cute.

Basically, Molcar follows a bunch of little guinea pig x cars hybrids as they have their fun little adventures while solving problems. It’s a bunch of little vignettes of various molcars, an each episode they are faced with various issues that they must overcome in order to continue their fun adventure. It’s a non-verbal series, but the cute little squeaks speak volumes to what they are communicating. It’s a really cute little show that displays some great problem solving lessons, so I really don’t mind watching it and it has earned a place in the rotation of shows to watch that won’t drive me crazy.

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So there we have it; there’s 6 shows that are on a high rotation in our household that I like to put on that won’t drive me insane when the kids want to watch TV. These are all really great shows that have some excellent underlying life lessons in their stories, and are just great little bonding experiences to have with your little ones as you both giggle and discuss what your seeing on the screen.

I hope this has been helpful for you. I would love to know what shows work for you and your kids in these kinds of situations, and if you have any recommendations of shows that I could to try to add to our watch list rotation.

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