Social theme

Participation

Participation means taking part: joining in, helping out, and having a say in what happens next. For young children this starts small, with handing over a spoon, choosing which song comes next, or being asked what they think. A calm, well-made series can model this by showing children who are invited in rather than talked at, which helps a child recognise those moments in their own day.

For 2-year-olds

At two, taking part is physical and immediate: carrying, stirring, passing, patting. A toddler wants to do what the people around them are doing, long before understanding why. Look for a series with plenty of space between moments, where a child on screen is given a real job and the time to fumble through it. Direct invitations to join in, clapping along or naming what is happening, land well now, because a two-year-old participates with their body first.

Ms. Monica

Learn Letter F & Number 8

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

Ms. Monica, an early-childhood teacher, leads a morning circle time straight to camera from a classroom-style corner. She opens with a good-morning song, marks the day as Monday, introduces the number eight by counting sticks and fingers, and presents the letter F with its sound and words that start with it. She then checks the weather, dresses Mr Weather Bear for a cold sunny day, and reviews the square shape. The session closes with 'If You're Happy and You Know It' and an invitation to return the next day.

Ms. Monica

Tuesday

Stimulating

recommended age co-watching from 2

Ms. Monica hosts a preschool circle time, greeting the viewer directly and working through a learning board step by step. The session covers the days of the week, checks the weather and dresses a weather bear for a sunny day, introduces the letter K and the circle shape, and counts from one to ten using pencils. She finishes with a name letter song where children clap for the first letter of their name, then says goodbye until the next day. Throughout she speaks straight to the camera and invites the child to answer, sing and point along.

See all Participation shows for 2-year-olds

For 3-year-olds

By three, taking part becomes social. A child starts asking to help, offering ideas, and noticing when they are left out. Look for a series where children are consulted, where a plan changes because someone spoke up, and where helping has a visible result. Small setbacks matter here too: watching someone keep trying after a task goes wrong shows a three-year-old that taking part does not require getting it right the first time.

S01 E03

Woolly and Tig

The Dance Class

Stimulating

recommended age co-watching from 3

Tig, a young girl, goes to her first ballet class with her toy spider Woolly. She is put off when the teacher, Miss Lofty, calls out her instructions, so she sits at the side with Woolly instead of joining in. Woolly explains that the teacher is not cross but is making herself heard over the piano, and Tig works this out for herself and takes part. At the end Miss Lofty gives her a crown and names her a fairy princess.

S01 E01

Pretzel and the Puppies

Make Your Bark

Balanced

recommended age co-watching from 2

In the town of Montgomery, the Doxie family of dachshunds, parents Greta and Pretzel and their five pups, walk Mom to her job as mayor and notice a dull, blank wall that no dog wants to be near. Paxton suggests painting a mural, the city council votes to approve it, and the pups gather paint and try out designs at home. When they cannot agree on a single picture, they decide to let every dog add a paw print instead. The wall fills with colourful prints, dogs gather to play nearby, and Paxton is proud to have 'made his bark.'

S01 E04

Mopatop Shop

Hop For The Shop

Stimulating

recommended age co-watching from 3

Mopatop runs a shop full of curious items with his assistant Puppyduck. It is the Hop Holiday, so customers keep popping in to hop while they shop, and a mysterious thumping noise has Mopatop blaming the mice upstairs. The thumping turns out to be Puppyduck, who was unsure about the noisy holiday at first. By the end she is hopping along happily, the holiday closes, and Mopatop shuts up the shop.

See all Participation shows for 3-year-olds

Browse all Participation shows

Explore more

Viewing guides Age 2 guide Age 3 guide Age 4 guide Age 5 guide Age 6 guide

Top lists by age 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years 6 years

Keep exploring Browse by topic All platforms

Participation

For 2-year-olds

Ms. Monica

Ms. Monica

For 3-year-olds

Woolly and Tig

Pretzel and the Puppies

Mopatop Shop

Explore more

Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.