Social theme

Consent

Consent is the everyday practice of asking before touching, sharing, or entering someone's space, and accepting the answer. For young children it starts small: a hand on a shoulder, a toy taken from a friend, a hug they did not want. A calm, well-made series can show these moments slowly enough that a child sees the ask, the answer, and what happens next.

For 3-year-olds

Three-year-olds start using words for what they want and do not want, though the words often arrive after the grab. This is the age where asking out loud becomes possible: 'Can I play too?', 'May I hold it?'. Helpful series show the question being asked and answered, including the times the answer is no and everyone carries on anyway. A story that lets a child recover from a refusal without shame is worth more than one where every request is granted.

S01 E03

Vida The Vet

Juno's Bubble Bath Breakout

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 3

Juno, a young hippo, climbs a maple tree for a pretty leaf and ends up covered in sticky sap. Her mother takes her to Vida the vet, who works out the cause and prescribes a bubble bath, but Juno is frightened of the water. Vida guides her through small 'baby hippo steps', letting her choose the towel and bubbles and test the water, until Juno gets in and washes clean. Juno thanks Vida with the special leaf, and Vida heads home to her Papa.

S01 E02

Super Why

Hansel and Gretel

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

In Storybook Village, Red has eaten one of Peter Piper's pickled peppers without asking, and Peter is upset. Wyatt and his friends transform into the Super Readers, Super Why, Wonder Red, Alpha Pig, and Princess Presto, and jump into the Hansel and Gretel book to find an answer. They follow the alphabet, spell the word 'raft' to cross a stream, and change words in the story to talk with the witch, who is angry her gingerbread house was eaten. The lesson they find is to 'ask first', so Red returns to apologise to Peter and ask for a pepper, and the friends celebrate.

See all Consent shows for 3-year-olds

For 4-year-olds

By four, a child can read a friend's mood and understand that saying yes to please someone is different from actually wanting to. Consent widens here to include secrets, teasing, and joining or leaving a game. Look for stories where characters check in with each other, change their mind partway through, and are believed when they do. Four-year-olds also test limits, so it helps when a series shows an adult holding a boundary calmly rather than with anger.

S01 E02

Pinkalicious & Peterrific

Glitterizer

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 3

Pinkalicious's mother invents a machine called the Glitterizer that coats anything in sparkles. Eager to help test it, Pinkalicious borrows it without asking and glitters objects all over the neighborhood, until she covers her friend Raphael's painting and upsets him. She apologizes, and with her brother Peter she finds that a slow press releases just a little glitter, so the two restore and add to the artwork together. A short live-action opening shows the books' author making collage art before the animated story begins.

See all Consent shows for 4-year-olds

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Consent

For 3-year-olds

Vida The Vet

Super Why

For 4-year-olds

Pinkalicious & Peterrific

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