Social theme
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is everything that happens around the game: taking turns, playing fair, and handling the moment you lose. For young children it is far more about big feelings than about rules. Watching someone else drop the ball, sulk for a second, and come back to play is a much easier place to practise than the middle of a real game.
For 2-year-olds
At two, sportsmanship begins long before games do. Your child is learning that a toy, a slide, or a turn can be handed over and comes back, and that waiting a few seconds is survivable. Losing carries no meaning yet, but disappointment certainly does. Look for stories that show turn taking slowly and out loud, where a grown up names the feeling, and where the fun simply continues after the wobble.
Bing
Musical Statues
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
At an indoor play group it is Bing's turn to choose, and he picks musical statues. With Flop working the music, Bing, Sula, Pando, Coco and baby Charlie dance and then freeze each time the music stops, dropping out one by one when they wobble. Pando is the last statue standing, and Bing is disappointed that he did not win the game he chose, so he stops playing. He soon decides to rejoin because it is more fun with everyone, and the group settles in to play again.
Numberblocks
One, Two, Three
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Three, the yellow block character, performs four short magic tricks for her friends One and Two using apples: a find-the-apple cup game, an apple-on-top balance game, a surprise reveal that shows '1 + 2 = 3', and a final trick that makes the apple cores grow into three new trees. The action takes place outdoors on a grassy hill with a few simple props. Along the way the characters introduce counting to three, the words 'first', 'second' and 'third', and the ideas of bigger and smaller. The episode ends with Three sharing the new apples so all three friends have some.
Get Rolling with Otis
Jumping Daisy
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
On a dairy farm's hot competition day, a young calf named Daisy is determined to enter the high-jump contest. When the heat overwhelms her and then a stuck barn door traps her inside, her friend Otis the tractor fetches water and works through several tools to free her in time. Daisy reaches the ring and clears the high jump, becoming the first cow ever to win, cheered on by her mother and friends. The episode closes with the whole farm celebrating and the reminder that everyone there helps each other.
For 3-year-olds
Three year olds start noticing rules, and they are quick to spot a broken one, usually somebody else's. They want to win without fully understanding what winning is, so one lost race can end the whole game. The most useful stories keep the contest small and the recovery quick: someone is upset, someone says sorry or asks to try again, and the group carries on playing together.
Alma's Way
Star Ball
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Alma has to skip her perfect freeze tag plans to tag along to her mom's meeting, where she finds her friends Andre and Rofia bored. Using the empty space, the three invent a floor board game they name Star Ball, with Andre drawing the board, Rofia supplying a spinner, and Alma adding rules. When Alma keeps changing the rules to her own advantage, Andre and Rofia get frustrated and want to quit. Alma thinks back over what happened, apologizes, and the friends agree on the rules together before happily replaying the game, which Andre wins.
Phoebe & Jay
Trick Shot
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Phoebe and Jay spend the day at the basketball court where their dad, Pete, and Cousin Craig face off in a trick-shot game called Topsy Shotsy. Phoebe coaches Craig and Jay coaches Dad, while Grandma referees and teaches the children to keep score by counting up points on the scoreboard. After a long losing streak, Dad finally wins with Jay's invented 'Topsy surprise' shot. Everyone celebrates and the two players congratulate each other with a 'Good game.'
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Hoopla!
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
A curious Mouse decides he wants a game his own size, so he turns a stick, an acorn and a hoop into a new game he calls Hoopla. One idea leads to another as he finds the right ball, a bigger field, team costumes and extra players from around the neighbourhood. Friends like Oliver, Pig, Dog, Cat and Chef Moose all pitch in, and it builds to a cheerful Hoopla championship. It ends with Mouse giving away his signed Hoopla stick and the story looping back to a new stick.
Alma's Way
Alma's New Kicks
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Alma, a young girl in a city neighborhood, needs new soccer cleats after she outgrows her old ones, and her mother gives her a fresh pair. At the park she becomes so worried about getting them dirty that she first switches back to her painful old shoes and then avoids kicking the ball, which costs her team. Her friend Rafia shows her that scuff marks are 'memories' from playing, and Alma decides to play freely. Her team scores the winning goal, and afterward she happily passes the well-worn cleats on to her little brother.
Muppet Babies: Play Date
Gonzo Says
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
A boy named Kingston has a backyard play date with the puppet friends Kermit and Gonzo. They start with a quick round of I Spy, then Gonzo leads a Simon Says style game called Gonzo Says, calling out actions like mooing, doing the groovy chicken and running in place. Kermit slips up by moving without the magic phrase, and it is smoothed over as a practice round. The episode ends on a comic note when a big sneeze arrives and Gonzo answers with 'Gesundheit.'
For 4-year-olds
By four, play becomes genuinely cooperative. Children invent rules, argue about them, and feel the pull to bend one when they are behind. They can also cheer for a friend now, which is new and worth seeing modelled. Look for stories that show the tempting moment, the little cheat or the sulk, and what it costs, rather than characters who behave impeccably from the first minute.
Bluey
Mount Mumandad
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Sisters Bluey and Bingo turn their parents, sprawled on the couch, into 'Mount Mumandad' and race to plant a flag at the top. Bingo falls behind under a heavy backpack, Bluey cheats to get ahead, and their argument sparks a pretend avalanche and storm. The sisters take shelter in a tent, play card games, and Bluey apologises for cheating. When the storm passes they climb the last stretch together, and Dad explains the mountain is conquered by unselfish teamwork.
Llama Llama
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Llama gets ready for the annual Fast Forward Derby Race and worries that his plain scooter cannot compete with his friends' upgraded rides. With Grandpa, he digs out and restores an old scooter that once won the same race decades ago. On race day the course brings bumps and mishaps, and Llama does not win, ending in a tie between Nelly and her baby brother. Mama and Grandpa remind him the race was about having fun and spending time together, and the family heads home for more pancakes.
The Berenstain Bears
Out for the Team
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Brother Bear is hitting well in a sandlot game when Papa suggests he try out for the Bear Country Cardinals, and Sister Bear decides to try out too. Brother grows jealous and afraid of losing his spot to his sister, so he fakes a sore arm to skip the tryouts. Sister catches the lie and encourages him, and the two practice together before the tryouts. In the end the coach is impressed by both and adds a second spot, so Brother and Sister both make the team.
Doc McStuffins
Run Down Race Car
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Donnie's toy race car Ricardo suddenly slows down and loses a race, leaving Donnie upset. Doc takes Ricardo to her pretend clinic, examines his engine, and works out that he has run out of energy from racing too much without recharging. After Ricardo is plugged in and a tired Donnie takes a nap, both are back to full energy. In the championship rematch a toy turtle car wins, and everyone celebrates a good race.
Mira, Royal Detective
The Case of the Vanishing Vessels
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Mira, a royal detective, and her friends race handmade toy boats down a mountain stream in the kingdom of Jalpur when all the boats suddenly disappear. With her father Papa and her mongoose companions, Mira follows clues into a network of secret underground tunnels, reads an old map, and rides a raft through a whirlpool and over a waterfall. She works out that a repeated elephant crest links the tunnels to the palace, and the group heads there. The boats are found spouting from the palace fountain, and the case is closed.
Mira, Royal Detective
The Case of the Dance Off Disaster
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
In the kingdom of Jalpur, young detective Mira and her friend Priya enter a dance contest hosted by Sanjeev Joshi. When each team's routine goes wrong, sped-up music, a missing song and beads that cause slips, Mira gathers clues and works out that Mina cheated to win. Mina confesses, apologises and gives up the trophy. The contest ends with a friendly rerun where two teams tie and everyone dances together.
Let's Go Luna
Hoopin' Hopper
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
A travelling troupe led by Luna the Moon, with her young friends Andy the frog, Leo the wombat, and Carmen the butterfly, spends the episode in Beijing. They take on the city's love of sport, shooting hoops on outdoor courts and facing a table-tennis match where Luna plays an opponent named Fong. A short felt stop-motion legend set in the Chinese countryside is woven in, and the story closes with the match resolved and the friends together before the credits and a closing logo.
For 5-year-olds
Five year olds compare themselves to everyone: who is fastest, who got chosen, who is better at it. That comparing is where the sting lives, and where effort becomes worth talking about. Stories help most when a character loses and still means the congratulations, or wins without rubbing it in. Being not yet good at something, and practising anyway, deserves as much room as the trophy.
Stillwater
The Race
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 2
Addy prepares for a cross-country race with help from her panda neighbour Stillwater and her siblings. She runs hard but loses to Asha, the fastest runner, and feels there is nothing to celebrate. Stillwater tells a version of The Tortoise and the Hare in which the tortoise races against himself, and Addy realises she set a personal best time. The siblings celebrate with smoothies and Asha comes over to congratulate her.
Dora and Friends: Into the City!
Buddy Race
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 4
Dora is running a buddy race in the park with her friend Alana to raise money to rebuild the city's playground. When Alana twists her ankle just before the start, the group decides that Pablo, Emma, Naya and Kate will each take one section of the race and pass a team flag along. The course takes them through a tandem bike and hula hoop obstacle run, a rhyming music stage, a kayak trip down an underground river and a fruit catching round in costume. Alana returns for the final sports brain teasers, the team finishes, and the announcer confirms the playground will be repaired.
Fancy Nancy
Nancy's Dog Show Disaster
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
After watching a televised dog show, Nancy decides her poodle Frenchy could win one too and organizes a contest in her backyard with her Plainfield friends. She trains Frenchy for the obedience and special-skills rounds, but he keeps running off and refusing commands, so she quietly enters Mrs. Devine's well-trained poodle Jewel in his place. When Frenchy bounds back mid-event, the judges disqualify Nancy for showing two dogs, and Bree and her dog Waffles win the trophy. Nancy hugs Frenchy and tells him he is still the best dog in the world.
Dot
Epic Halloween Prank Battle!
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 3
Dot sets out to finally scare her father, known in the family as the Scaremaster, during their week-long Halloween tradition. With help from her friends Ruby and Hal she stages costumes, decorations and frights, but her dad turns every attempt around and leaves his Scaremaster sticker behind. Dot's Nana then steps in with a plan, and a haunted-room setup finally makes the dad scream. At the end it is revealed that Nana was the original Scaremaster, and Dot signs off by choosing to unplug.
For 6-year-olds
At six, children can hold the team in mind alongside themselves. They grasp agreed rules, notice unfairness in both directions, and feel the weight of letting others down. Look for stories with a real disagreement about what counts as fair, worked out in conversation rather than settled by an adult. A character who apologises properly, or forgives a teammate, hands your child words for something they are actively working out.
Pinecone & Pony
You're On!
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 4
Pinecone and her family settle in for a game night, but the board game Ultimate Ruler turns Mom into a fierce, taxing competitor the family jokingly calls a game monster. Pinecone and her dad launch a series of numbered plans, a fake ghost, invented rules and a staged illness, to make Mom lose interest, and none of them work. Pinecone finally joins the competition herself and then tells her mom plainly that a game is only good when it is fun for everyone. Mom apologizes, the family decides to get rid of the game, and they choose a different one to play together.
Pinecone & Pony
The Straight and Arrow
recommended age
Unlock
co-watching from 4
Princess Pinecone, an eight-year-old archer, is thrilled to meet her hero Prince Randolph at a garden party, but he is arrogant and dismissive. Stung by his taunts, she challenges him to an archery duel with her trophy at stake, and when he cheats with his falcon she cheats back using a wizard's magic arrows. On the verge of winning, she confesses to the crowd that she used enchanted arrows and does not deserve the prize. The king makes Randolph return the trophy, and the group shares cake as Pinecone decides she would rather be herself than be like the prince.