Social theme
Patience
Patience is one of the hardest things we ask of young children, and one of the most useful. It covers waiting for a turn, sitting with a feeling that has nowhere to go yet, and staying with something that does not work the first time. A calm, well-made story gives a child a safe place to practise all of that, watching someone else wobble, wait, and come out fine on the other side.
For 2-year-olds
At two, waiting is felt in the body long before it can be explained. A minute is enormous, and wanting something usually means wanting it right now. Look for stories that move slowly enough for a toddler to stay with them, where a small wait is shown plainly and someone warm stays nearby through it. Repeated moments help most at this age, because knowing what comes next is what makes waiting bearable at all.
Bing
Bye Bye
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Bing, a young rabbit, finds and plays with a new balloon that Flop blows up for him. After Bing bounces on it the balloon pops, and Bing struggles with not being able to get it back. Flop introduces the 'bye bye box', a keepsake box where Bing already stores broken-but-special things, and together they place the popped balloon inside and draw a picture of it. The episode ends with Bing summarising the bye bye box idea and a short closing song.
Ready Eddie GO!
Shoe Shopping
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
A young boy named Eddie is told he needs new trainers because his old ones are worn out and his feet have grown. A warm off-screen narrator walks him through the whole trip to the shoe shop, from waiting in a short queue and having his feet measured to choosing, trying on, and paying for a pair. Along the way small hurdles come up, like disliking having his feet touched and the shark shoes being out of stock, and each is talked through calmly. The episode ends with Eddie deciding on the dinosaur shoes and feeling ready to go.
Bing
Shadow
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Bing, a young rabbit, discovers his shadow while playing in the garden and plays a game of shadow tag with his carer Flop, taking turns as the 'shadow monster'. When a big rain cloud covers the sun, the shadows vanish and the two head indoors, but Bing is upset that his shadow is left out in the wet. Flop explains that a shadow stays close to you and only appears when light reaches you, then uses a torch to bring Bing's shadow back inside. The episode closes with Bing recapping the game and the idea that shadows need light.
Bing
Cat
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Outside Padget's shop, Bing and his caregiver Flop play hide and seek with Arlo the cat, stroking him until he purrs and falls asleep on a bench. Around the corner Bing meets an unfamiliar cat called Mitten, who hisses and runs off, leaving Bing shaken. Pando arrives, listens to what happened and quietly leads Bing to see Mitten with her newborn kittens, explaining that the mother cat was protecting her babies. The episode ends with Bing recapping the day to Flop and wondering whether one day he and Mitten might play together too.
Guess How Much I Love You
Hide and Seek
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Little Nutbrown Hare and his father, Big Nutbrown Hare, spend a spring morning in the meadow where the father teaches his son to play hide and seek. Across several tries the little hare keeps forgetting a rule, first to be quiet, then to stay still, then to actually hide, before finally getting it right with a mouse and a squirrel joining in. Because they stay quiet and still, they get to watch birds and pheasants up close without scaring them off. On the walk home the two share how much they love each other.
Donkey Hodie
Grampy's Guppies
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Donkey Hodie and Cousin Hodie head to Grampy's house for game day and play 'Grampy's Guppies,' a fishing game where you take turns catching guppies. Cousin is new and keeps missing, reeling in a radio and windows instead, while Donkey grows frustrated waiting for his turn. Grampy helps Donkey see that learning something new takes time, and Donkey starts cheering Cousin on instead. Cousin finally catches a guppy, and the cousins keep happily playing together.
For 3-year-olds
Three-year-olds are starting to grasp that later really does arrive. Words like 'after lunch' begin to mean something, and turn-taking with another child becomes possible, if not yet easy. Helpful stories make the waiting visible: a character wants something, has to hold on, finds a way to fill the time, and gets there. Look for moments where frustration is allowed to show and then settles, rather than being skipped over.
Max & Ruby
Max's Rainy Day
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Rabbit siblings Max and Ruby want to play in the rain, but Ruby insists they put on their rain clothes first. Across the episode they work through boots, a slicker, a rain hat and umbrellas, with Ruby helping Max when he puts his boots on the wrong feet and keeps trying to run outside. By the time they are fully dressed and step out, the rain has stopped, so they go back in to take everything off. As soon as they are undressed, the rain returns.
Do, Re & Mi
Raspberry Cupcakes
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
Ray welcomes a group of young chicks to her cooking class in Bebopsburg to make raspberry cupcakes, with Do and Mi helping out. The chicks would rather play than mix, so Ray decides to sing her instructions, but her first version is far too loud and sends them into hiding, the next is too soft to hear, then one is too quick to follow and another so slow that several chicks doze off. Maestro Moon explains what dynamics and tempo mean, and Ray keeps adjusting until she finds a version the chicks can actually follow. The class finishes their cupcakes and the episode ends with a taste test.
Sarah and Duck
Sarah, Duck and the Penguins
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Sarah and Duck sit at a computer looking for something to do, and Duck picks penguins. Sarah dresses Duck in a wetsuit, puts on a zookeeper outfit, and the two of them visit a zoo to meet real penguins. Duck tries to mingle, swim, and eat like a penguin but discovers he cannot quite manage it. The episode closes with Duck accepting that being a duck is fine and the pair calmly watching the sea cows.
Max & Ruby
Max's Bedtime
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
It is bedtime for Max, a young rabbit, and his older sister Ruby helps him get ready for sleep at home. Max keeps climbing out of bed and wandering into Ruby's room to play instead of settling down. Ruby patiently brings him comfort toys, reads to him and tucks him back in again and again. The night ends with Max finally settled in his own bed.
Little Bear
Up All Night
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Little Bear wants to stay awake all night so he can see the sunrise his father, a fisherman, watches from his ship at sea. Through the evening he keeps calling for Mother Bear, who patiently brings water, cools him down and reassures him, and he meets a friendly Cat who likes the dark. In the end Mother Bear agrees to wait with him for the sunrise, but he falls asleep first. He wakes to morning sure that he saw the sunrise and his father waving, and Father Bear comes home.
Max & Ruby
Ruby's Piano Practice
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Ruby settles in to practise her piano piece, reading sheet music and keeping time with a metronome, while her younger brother Max busies himself with his own plans, including making a sandwich in the kitchen and playing with a favourite red toy. The two rabbits move between the living room, the kitchen and the hallway of their home, with a brief moment outdoors. Their small differences play out gently as Ruby keeps returning to her practice. The episode closes with the siblings together.
Do, Re & Mi
Curious Birdious
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
Do, an owl who cannot fly, is woken by a banging, popping beat coming from the top of his tree and decides he has to find out what is making it. He turns down offers from his friends Re and Mi to fly up and look, builds a catapult and then a rope lift in his workshop, and tests both. When the lift leaves him stuck on a branch, he asks his friends for help and they carry him the rest of the way. At the top he finds Conga and Bongo building a treetop roller coaster, and everyone joins in to finish it.
Esme & Roy
Monster Trucks
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
Esme, a girl, and Roy, a yellow monster, are monster sitters spending the day looking after Tilly, a small pink monster who loves her cars. After a backyard race leaves Tilly muddy and smelly, the two need to get her into a bath, but she only wants to keep playing. When Tilly melts down, Roy helps her calm down with a glitter jar and slow breathing, and then the sitters turn the tub into a pretend car wash. Tilly happily drives through it, gets clean, and asks to go again.
Max & Ruby
Hide And Seek
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Max and Ruby, two rabbit siblings, play a game of hide and seek through their home. Max hides behind plants and furniture while his older sister Ruby searches room by room, from the living room and staircase to the kitchen. Along the way Max plays with his toys, including a small red jester doll. The game ends outdoors in the garden, where Ruby brings a plate of cookies and the two are back together.
Max & Ruby
Max Misses The Bus
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Ruby wants to take her younger brother Max on the bus to visit their friend Louise. Each time a bus is due, Max insists on bringing another toy or says 'Stay home', and the pair keep missing it while Ruby checks the schedule and phones Louise to explain. After the very last bus has gone, Louise grows tired of waiting and takes the bus to their house instead. The two friends are reunited at home, and Max gets the last word with 'Stay home'.
For 4-year-olds
By four, patience stretches beyond waiting into sticking with something hard. A child this age can hold a goal in mind across a whole afternoon, but a failed attempt still stings. Good stories at this stage let a character try, get it wrong, feel that, and go again. Look for problems solved in several steps rather than one, and for friends who wait for each other without the story treating it as a big lesson.
Bluey
Wagon Ride
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Bandit pulls his daughters Bluey and Bingo, plus their toy giraffe Jasmine, in a red wagon through their suburban neighbourhood on the way to the monkey bars. Along the route Dad keeps stopping to chat with neighbours, and Bluey grows impatient and interrupts, so Dad teaches her to rest a hand on his arm and wait. Bluey practises the signal and succeeds, while Bingo invents a pretend bus when the wagon 'breaks down.' The episode ends with the family arriving at the monkey bars and Bingo still happily playing bus.
Puffin Rock
Babasitting
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 4
On a spring day on Puffin Rock, little puffling Baba discovers a hibernating hedgehog and decides to stay beside it until it wakes. His older sister Una and their rabbit friend May take turns checking on him while exploring worms, frogspawn and new flowers around the island. May offers to babysit so Una can play, and everyone slowly understands that Baba wants the hedgehog to enjoy spring with them. By evening the hedgehog stirs and the family gathers to enjoy the season together.
Bluey
Shops
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Bluey and her friends set out to play shops in the bushland, turning logs, seeds and berries into a till, money and kitten treats. Bluey keeps inventing new rules and details, so the game never actually starts, which wears out Mackenzie until he walks off. The friends bring him back, and Bluey admits she keeps adding things while Mackenzie admits he rushes, so they promise to meet halfway. They finally play through one complete sale and head off to a new game.
Bluey
Takeaway
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Dad takes Bluey and Bingo to the Golden Crown takeaway to pick up dinner, but Mum has forgotten the spring rolls, so the family has to wait. To pass the time the girls invent a string of games, running a pretend restaurant, becoming 'Tap Girl', and flooding the floor with the water tap while Dad tries to read the newspaper and answer their endless questions. After many rounds of 'five more minutes' and a plate of fortune cookies, the spring rolls are finally ready. The family collects the food and heads home for shower time.
Bluey
The Doctor
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Bluey, Bingo and their friends set up a make-believe doctor's office, with one child answering the phone as receptionist Edna and another playing the doctor. Patient after patient arrives with wildly invented problems, a crocodile on the head, arms that fall off, a belly full of hippos, while one friend keeps waiting for a turn to be seen. The game plays out in a bright playroom with chairs lined up as a waiting room. It ends on a pun as the still-waiting character resolves to 'just be patient.'
Bluey
Hide and Seek
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Bluey wants to play hide and seek, and after Dad jokes about a statue dog 'practising not getting distracted,' she becomes the seeker. She keeps wandering off to play with a rediscovered Chattermax toy, feeding it, hosting a tea party and losing track of the game while her family waits in their hiding spots. Eventually she remembers and finds everyone, then the roles swap so she hides and Bingo counts. The episode ends with a cheerful 'Found you!' as the game comes full circle.
Pinkalicious & Peterrific
Dream Salon
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
Pinkalicious visits Pinkville's new Dream Salon, where the stylist Andrea can create any hairstyle she imagines. She dreams up extra-long, sparkly hair, but it keeps getting stepped on, stuck in spaghetti and tangled during soccer and a planned family bike ride. After trying several elaborate styles, she returns to the salon and asks for her original hairstyle, deciding it is the one that fits her best. The episode closes with a short live-action visit to Ken, who builds musical instruments from everyday objects.
Max & Ruby
Max's Bath
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Rabbit siblings Max and Ruby spend the episode at home after Max gets covered in green muffin batter in the kitchen. Ruby decides he needs a bath, fills the tub, and works to wash him clean, but Max keeps finding new ways to get messy again. The story moves between the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, with Ruby leading every step. In the end Max is finally clean and dry.
Bluey
Calypso
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
At Calypso's kindergarten, Bluey and her classmates spend a play session inventing a small town: a fish and chip shop that keeps running out of fish, a home for a gnome, cushion forts, and rooms for rent. Calypso, the teacher, moves among the children, gently guiding their games with questions and reminders to be patient. Indy needs money to rent a room, so she takes a job as Bluey's waitress, while the terriers protect the gnome village from being trampled. The episode ends with a child fishing from a pretend boat as Calypso hints there is someone she would like the fisherman to meet.
Max & Ruby
Louise's Secret
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Ruby and her friend Louise share a secret, and Max, Ruby's younger brother, spends the episode trying to find out what it is and join in. The story moves between the rabbits' home, where an old telephone keeps Ruby and Louise in touch, and a small neighbourhood shop. Max keeps angling to be included while playing with a toy ambulance. By the end the secret is out and the situation settles.
For 6-year-olds
At six, most patience is social. Waiting for a turn in a group, hearing out a friend who disagrees, and sticking to a plan that takes days rather than minutes all ask more than simply sitting still. Look for stories with room to breathe, where a disagreement is worked through over time instead of resolved in a moment, and where an ambitious idea takes real effort before it pays off.
Craig of the Creek
Monster in the Garden
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 4
Craig and his siblings spend a weekend at their grandparents' house, where granddad's vegetable garden is being mysteriously eaten. Craig teams up with granddad to build a fence and set traps, imagining the culprit is a shapeshifting monster. After each plan fails, he patiently watches the garden at night and discovers the real thief is a deer slipping through a hole in the fence. Grandma, a city councilwoman, calls to have the fence holes patched, and the mystery is solved.
Max & Ruby
Camp Out
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Max and Ruby are a rabbit sister and her little brother. During a heat wave, Ruby decides they will sleep outside in a backyard tent and sets it up, sending Max indoors again and again to fetch a flashlight, a radio, sleeping bags, pillows and marshmallows. Max would rather play and keeps carrying his toys outside instead. By the end he has filled the tent so full of toys that there is no room left for them, and the episode closes on Max's cheerful answer of 'Outside!'
Sago Mini Friends
Pizza Please
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Harvey the dog, Ginger the cat and Robin the bird head to a pizza restaurant, but it is full and they must wait outside for a table. Robin cannot stop thinking about pizza, so her friends try a guessing game, a book and a game of catch to help her wait, and finally a pizza song keeps her happy. When their table is ready, Dennis serves them a pizza shaped like Robin and they sing a song about being thankful. The episode closes with a separate counting song led by a dancing octopus.
Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom
Fun and Games
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Ben the elf helps his mum bake cupcakes in the family kitchen, and his friend Holly the fairy princess joins in with the stirring. While the cakes bake, the two go outside and play tag and hide-and-seek, and Holly keeps slipping into flying and magic despite promising to play fair. When the cupcakes come out of the oven, everyone agrees the time flew by because they were having fun. The episode ends with the friends sharing cakes and Ben showing a trick.
Max & Ruby
Max's Wormcake
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Ruby, a young rabbit, sets out to plant a marigold garden in the backyard for her dolls, explaining how the flowers need water, soil, stones and plant food. Her little brother Max keeps gathering the same worms, water and stones to build his own 'worm cake.' When Ruby finally goes to plant her marigolds, she finds Max has used everything and grows frustrated. In the end Max helps return what the flowers need, and Ruby thanks him.
Puffin Rock
The Dragonfly Display
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 4
On a quiet Irish island, young puffin Oona and her family gather with Otto to watch a dragonfly flying display. The dragonflies are too cold to fly at first, so everyone waits while the little ones grow impatient and baby Baba drifts toward a waterfall, where Otto catches him. After thinking they missed the show, the group finally sees the dragonflies perform their acrobatics. The episode ends with the friends delighted by the display and long closing credits.
Pat & Mat
Puzzle
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Two neighbour puppets sit down at a table to put together a large jigsaw puzzle. When pieces will not fit, they reach for a hammer, then a vacuum cleaner, then a garden rake, glue and scissors, with each new tool causing a fresh mishap. Pieces scatter across the carpet, get sucked into the vacuum, fall apart and end up glued to their hands. In the end they cover the broken puzzle with a cloth, declare the job finished and congratulate each other.
Little Bear
Little Bear's Wish
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
At bedtime, Little Bear is not tired and keeps making wishes instead of settling down. Each wish becomes an imagined adventure: flying like a bird, floating on a cloud, sailing with Vikings, and visiting a princess in a faraway land where a pet dragon eats his cake. His parents patiently play along, and Mother Bear finally tells a story that ties all his adventures together. The episode ends with Mother Bear making her own wish, that Little Bear go to sleep, and he does.
Lovely Little Farm
Sisters
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Two sisters, Jill and Jackie, wake up to the news that their new baby brother has been born. Across a day on their family farm they meet him, learn to hold him gently, and help pick vegetables for soup and care for the animals. Jackie, eager to give the first hug, practises waiting by looking after a golden egg, while a little duck proves how helpful it can be. The episode closes with the sisters tending a sheep that is about to have her lamb.
Work It Out Wombats
Snout Wash Day
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
Three wombat siblings, Zadie, Malik, and their toddler brother Zeke, get ready for Snout Wash Day in their tree-top community. Zeke is attached to a grubby stuffed toy, so the older two set out to clean it without upsetting him. They try several approaches and build a contraption to wash it, checking and adjusting as they go, with help from their grandmother and neighbours. By the end the toy is clean and the family is ready for the wash day.