Courage

In a sunny park, Vivi accidentally breaks a remote-control plane that her friend Mel built with her mom, after being told not to touch the remote. Afraid of Mel's reaction, Vivi hides the truth while Barney gently encourages her to be brave, and the friends act out a make-believe dragon quest where honesty finally wins the day. Vivi then confesses to Mel, who forgives her, and the two agree to fix the plane together with glue. The episode closes with a song about how telling the truth, though hard, can be the kindest thing.

See all Courage shows for 2-year-olds

For 3-year-olds

Three-year-olds have vivid imaginations, which means new fears arrive: the dark, loud noises, big animals, being left behind. They are also beginning to name feelings. A good series at this age says the scary thing out loud, then shows a small, doable action in response, like asking for help or taking one step closer. Watch for gentle pacing and a clear, quick resolution, so the worry never outlasts the comfort.

Do, Re & Mi

Together We're Not Alone

Doe accidentally knocks over Ray's guitar while dancing, so the three friends set off for the Falsetto Forest, the place where new guitars grow. On the way in they pass trumpeting flowers, drumming flowers and jingling vines, and Doe, who is nervous about the dark forest, writes each new sound down as the group's expert. After Doe finds the guitar bush and Ray picks a new guitar, they realise nobody remembers the route home. Doe works out that they can retrace the sounds in reverse order, and the friends listen their way back out of the forest.

S01 E03

Esme & Roy

Dark and Stormy Knight

Esme and Roy are monster-sitters who look after young monsters. In this episode they help a worried young monster through a dark and stormy 'knight' adventure, using make-believe castle and knight play to turn a scary pretend storm into a brave challenge. With patient encouragement, the monster moves from worry toward confidence and the group plays on together. The story takes place in a soft, colorful monster world and ends with the fear settled.

S01 E01

Do, Re & Mi

Rain Rain You Can Stay

Mi has planned a picnic with his friends Do and Re, but rain arrives over Bebopsburg and thunder frightens him. The friends move the picnic indoors to Do's birdhouse, only to find rain leaking through holes in the roof. They fly out into the storm together, singing to keep their courage up, and cover the roof leaf by leaf. Once the birdhouse is dry, they sit down inside and finally have their picnic.

S02 E01

Curious George

Up, Up and Away

George visits Rankin's farm for blueberries and helps inflate Mrs. Rankin's hot-air balloon, then climbs aboard with the neighbor boy Bill. When the tether comes loose, the two float off across farmland, a lake and toward the sea while the Man with the Yellow Hat and Mr. Quint give chase by boat. George experiments with the burner, the sandbags and finally the vent, working out how to make the balloon descend. They land safely, and George even takes the bird photographs Bill had forgotten.

See all Courage shows for 3-year-olds

For 4-year-olds

By four, courage starts to include social bravery: admitting a mistake, joining a group already playing, saying no. Children this age can follow a character who feels afraid and acts anyway, and they enjoy a bit of adventure. Look for stories where the brave choice costs something small and where nervousness is allowed to show. Characters who never feel afraid teach less than characters who do it while shaking a little.

S01 E29

Bluey

The Creek

Bored with the playground, Bluey, Bingo and their friend Mackenzie ask Dad to play, and he walks them into the bush to a creek. Along the way they navigate bugs, a leech, uneven ground and wobbly stepping stones, with Dad coaxing a nervous Bluey to jump a wide gap. At the creek they watch tadpoles, splash about and set up a pretend mud day spa. They head home tired and happy, with Dad reminding them to check for ticks.

S01 E13

Doc McStuffins

Ben/Anna Split

Ben the huggy monkey rips his paw during a game of tag, so his owner brings him and his sister Anna to Doc's backyard clinic. Doc diagnoses the torn patch, pastes it back on, and keeps Ben overnight to heal, which means the inseparable siblings must spend their first night apart. Both learn to be brave with reassurance from Doc and the nurse, and Anna sings her brother a goodnight song. By morning Ben's paw is healed and the two monkeys are happily reunited and hugging again.

S01 E17

Doc McStuffins

Rescue Ronda, Ready for Take-off

Doc's toys are playing basketball in the backyard when Chili the snowman gets stuck up in the hoop and the rescue helicopter Rhonda crashes trying to help. Doc examines Rhonda, and after seeing Luca's mother remove a splinter from his finger, she realizes a twig from the same bush is jamming Rhonda's propellers. Doc removes the twig and reassures the nervous helicopter, who then flies up and rescues Chili. The episode ends with the toys celebrating the successful rescue and the repaired helicopter.

Simon

I Don't Want To Go To The Pool

Simon refuses to go to the pool with his class, telling his father 'no way, never, ever'. The next day his teacher leads the children to the pool, where Simon finds his friend Lou is just as scared. Simon decides to help Lou into the cold water, and together they learn to float, kick, jump in, and ride the slide with the instructor. The episode closes with Simon offering to teach his little brother Gaspard, who replies 'never ever'.

S02 E29

Puffin Rock

Mossy Impossible

recommended age co-watching from 4

On a bright afternoon at Puffin Rock, the young puffin Una gets tangled in sea debris at the shore, near the cliff where unfriendly seagulls live. Her friend Mossy the pygmy shrew and the stoat Bernie work to free her, with Mossy climbing a cliff, swimming a lagoon and even riding on a puffin's back to fetch Una's parents. The puffins cut through the debris with their bills, and Una is freed just as the seagulls come back. The episode ends with Una safe and Mossy earning a rest after his effort.

S01 E27

Bluey

Pirates

In this episode of Bluey, Bluey, Bingo and their friends turn a playground into a pirate ship for an imaginative game guided by Mum and Dad. A pretend storm and a giant blue whale threaten the crew, while shy Missy hangs back as the lighthouse keeper. Encouraged to be brave when she is ready, Missy finally lets herself be swallowed by the whale and helps the others escape by tickling it until it laughs them out. The pirates land safely back on their ship and set off again to look for treasure.

See all Courage shows for 4-year-olds

For 5-year-olds

Five-year-olds can hold a longer story arc and understand that being brave sometimes means going first, speaking up when something is unfair, or persisting after failing. Curiosity and courage begin to overlap here: asking questions, exploring, trying the hard version. Look for series where a character thinks before acting and where the outcome is not always a clean win. A little suspense is fine now, as long as it resolves and nobody is humiliated for being scared.

S04 E02

Molly of Denali

In the Dark of Day

Molly, Trini and Oscar walk home from school in an Alaska village where the winter sun sets in the early afternoon, and Oscar is sure a monster is waiting in the dark. The friends look up sunset times on a weather website, learn about the winter solstice, and try several plans to face the creature. Auntie Midge tells a story about a wolf pup who overcomes its fear of the dark by finding a pack. Emboldened by his friends, Oscar finally confronts the monster and finds it is just a large pile of snow.

S01 E08

The Magic School Bus

In the Haunted House

Carlos has invented an instrument for a school concert, but it makes only a 'loopy' sound and he cannot fix it in time. When the magic school bus overheats, Ms. Frizzle's class ends up spending the night in what turns out to be the Sound Museum, a spooky old house where they chase mysterious noises and learn that sound is made by vibration. Guided by their questions and a living descendant of the museum's founder, Carlos works out that his instrument needs to vibrate freely, strips it down, and finally produces the sound he imagined. The episode closes with a phone call to the show's producer that reviews how sound and hearing work.

Dora and Friends: Into the City!

The Magic Ring

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 E02

Dot

Dot's Knightly Mission! The Search for Mr

Dot sets aside the coding game she is building to help Scratch the dog find his lost chew toy, Mr. Soggy. She teams up with Hal, who is pretending to be a chivalrous knight, Ruby, who is filming a movie, and two ninja kids, and together they search the garden, backyard and basement. Reasoning that the hot day sent Scratch napping downstairs, they discover the toy in the dryer, where Mom had washed it. Hal realizes that helping his friend made him truly chivalrous, and Dot signs off to plan her next adventure.

Dino Ranch

The Spookasaurus

On a ranch where children herd dinosaurs, the young Cassidy ranchers camp out after a long day and listen to Pa's spooky campfire tale about the 'Spookasaurus'. That night the herd bolts and the children chase a runaway baby stegosaurus into the dark, passing a glowing river, burning trees and a creepy cave that all match Pa's story. Inside the cave they discover the 'monster' is the frightened baby with its foot stuck, its howl echoing strangely, so they free it and reunite it with its mother. Along the way John admits he was scared and learns that being brave means helping even when afraid.

See all Courage shows for 5-year-olds

For 6-year-olds

At six, children grasp moral courage: keeping a promise that is inconvenient, telling an adult about something wrong, disagreeing with a friend. They notice when a character's choice was genuinely difficult. Look for stories with real stakes and characters who make imperfect decisions, talk them over, and repair what went wrong. This is the age where a slightly ambiguous ending can be valuable, because it gives your child something to weigh up rather than simply accept.

S01 E01

Fraggle Rock

Beginnings

Calming