Behaviour

Chasing

Chasing shows up everywhere in early childhood: a game of tag in the garden, a rescue vehicle racing to help, a friend running just out of reach. On screen it means motion, urgency and the thrill of not quite catching up. A well-made show about chasing keeps that excitement inside a clear story, so a child feels the rush and then lands safely back in calm.

For 3-year-olds

At three, a chase is mostly a feeling in the body: fast, loud, exciting. Children this age follow who is running and who is being followed, but they lose the thread if the reason gets complicated. Look for chases that are short, clearly framed as helping or playing, and followed by a quiet moment so the excitement can settle. Music and speed should build a little, then stop, rather than run at full tilt from start to finish.

S01 E09

Handy Manny

Pet Problem

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

Manny, a repairman with a set of talking tools, gets a call from Cassie that the rabbit cage at her pet shop is broken. On the way the tools daydream about getting their own pet, and once at the shop an accident sets all the rabbits loose. Manny keeps everyone calm and they lure the bunnies back with food before fitting a new latch and fixing the cage. By the end the tools decide their robot dog Fix-It is pet enough, since real pets are a lot of work.

See all Chasing shows for 3-year-olds

For 4-year-olds

Four-year-olds start to chase each other on purpose, inventing rules as they go, and they care deeply about whether the game stays fair. A show that mirrors this is more useful than one built on pure speed: watch for characters who agree on the game, notice when someone stops enjoying it, and adjust. This is also the age where a chase can flip from fun to overwhelming in seconds, so look for stories that name that shift out loud instead of ignoring it.

S01 E39

Bluey

The Sleepover

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

Cousin Muffin arrives for a sleepover overtired after skipping her afternoon nap, just as Bluey and Bingo have been promised they can stay up late. The girls invent a string of pretend games, a restaurant, a chip shop and a police chase, partly to stretch the evening out, while Mum balances her promise against Muffin's need for sleep. Muffin grows sillier and droopier until the girls are finally sent to bed at eight o'clock. The next morning a tired Bluey wakes to find a pretend flamingo tucked into Muffin's sleeping bag.

See all Chasing shows for 4-year-olds

For 6-year-olds

By six, chasing has become social strategy. Children plan, form teams, set boundaries for the playing field and argue about who counted to ten too quickly. Shows that suit this age treat the chase as a frame for bigger questions: who gets included, what happens when someone is left out, how a group repairs things afterwards. A longer, more layered story works well now, as long as the tension stays playful and the running never turns into real threat.

S01 E04

Dora and Friends: Into the City!

The Magic Ring

Stimulating

recommended age co-watching from 4

At school, Dora, Naya and Pablo are reading stories about ancient treasure to younger children when Pablo finds an old ring in the garden and shrinks to thumb size after putting it on. They match the glyphs on the ring against library books and learn that only placing it on Princess Xochitl's finger will break the spell, so all three shrink and travel through a tiny door into an ancient kingdom. With help from a mouse they dodge a greedy wizard and his cat, cross a puddle on a giant duck and climb up to the sleeping princess. The wizard's theft is exposed at his hut, the ring goes back on the princess's finger, and Pablo returns to school full-size with a medal and a story to tell.

S01 E09

Dora and Friends: Into the City!

Mystery of the Magic Horses

Stimulating

recommended age co-watching from 4

Dora and her friends volunteer at Rancho Urbano, a city farm where children come to meet animals, and meet Dulce, the only horse on the farm. When Dulce's charm necklace starts glowing, Dora follows her onto a raft that drifts through an enchanted mist to an island where six horses have been hidden since horse bandits tried to steal them. Dora, Naya and Marco outrun the bandits, navigate a cave, free Dulce from seaweed and get every horse onto the raft. The horses are returned to Farmer Ana Maria, and now there are enough for all the children waiting to ride.