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Animals

Animals are often the first living things a young child notices and cares about, from a dog on the pavement to a bird outside the window. Stories about them give children a safe way to practise feelings, curiosity and care, because an animal can be brave, scared or hungry in ways a child recognises straight away. A calm, well-made series turns that interest into real looking, listening and asking.

For 2-year-olds

At two, animals are mostly about recognising and naming. A child spots the ears, hears the sound, and says the word, and that small loop is genuine learning. Look for a series that shows one animal at a time, holds the picture long enough for a toddler to take it in, and repeats names and noises without hurrying. Animal characters who feel sleepy, hungry or shy also give a two year old first words for their own moods.

Bing

Bing

Ducks

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode introduces ducks, a pigeon, and a goose, naming each one for the child.

Bing

Bing

Frog

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode teaches that a frog needs a dark, wet, slimy home rather than a bucket.

Bing

Bing

Cat

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode introduces cat behaviour like purring, hiding, hissing and mothering kittens

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You

Follow Me

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode teaches animal features through the guessing game about the duckling.

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You

March Like an Ant

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode explains how ants live in nests and carry food home.

Get Rolling with Otis

Get Rolling with Otis

The Sheep Who Couldn't Sleep

recommended age co-watching from 2

The farm is full of recognisable animals, chickens, pigs, cows and a rooster, being settled for the night.

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You

Field of Flowers

recommended age co-watching from 2

Butterflies, a bluebird, a fox and a field mouse feature across the meadow.

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You

Can You Touch the Stars?

recommended age co-watching from 2

An owl, squirrel, bluebird and otter each appear along the journey.

Miffy and Friends

Miffy and Friends

Miffy Meets Snuffy

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode focuses on a dog's behaviour: wagging tail, barking, sitting, begging, rolling over and signalling a problem.

Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You

Hide and Seek

recommended age co-watching from 2

Much of the episode is spent spotting and watching different meadow creatures.

See all Animals shows for 2-year-olds

For 3-year-olds

Three year olds move from naming to wondering what animals do all day. They notice that a rabbit hides, a duck swims, a cow gets milked, and they start to link an animal's need with someone caring for it. This is where empathy begins, often through feeding, brushing or comforting. Look for simple stories with one clear problem, animals treated with kindness rather than as toys, and enough quiet in between for a child to comment out loud.

Sarah and Duck

Sarah and Duck

Cheer Up Donkey

recommended age co-watching from 2

Sarah reads aloud facts about donkeys: they are 'friendly animals and quite intelligent'.

Sarah and Duck

Sarah and Duck

Lots of Shallots

recommended age co-watching from 2

Duck is a constant companion and his quacky behaviour, like sitting in a bath, is observed throughout.

Blue's Clues & You!

Blue's Clues & You!

Meet Josh!

recommended age co-watching from 2

Josh learns that cows make the milk we drink during the farm visit.

Little Bear

Little Bear

Fishing with Father Bear

recommended age co-watching from 2

Catching fish drives the story, and an early bird and cardinals appear at the start.

Little Bear

Little Bear

Hide and Seek

recommended age co-watching from 2

The cast is a bear, duck, hen, cat, and owl living in the woods.

Phoebe & Jay

Phoebe & Jay

The Green Pepper

recommended age co-watching from 2

Harold the squirrel and his acorn-hiding behavior feature throughout the story.

Jessica's Big Little World

Jessica's Big Little World

Spike the Hedgehog

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode shows how a hedgehog eats, hides, and likes to be handled.

Curious George

Curious George

Ladybugs!

recommended age co-watching from 3

The story explores ladybugs and potato beetles and what they eat.

Sarah and Duck

Sarah and Duck

Sarah, Duck and the Penguins

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode introduces penguins and sea cows in their zoo habitats.

Pat & Mat

Pat & Mat

Bees

recommended age co-watching from 2

Bees, their swarming behavior and their attraction to honey are central to the plot.

See all Animals shows for 3-year-olds

For 4-year-olds

Four is the age of why. Children want to know where an animal sleeps, what it eats, and why it looks the way it does, and they can hold a short explanation in mind. They also begin sorting: this one flies, that one swims. Look for a series that mixes story with real information, answers questions instead of brushing them aside, and lets characters find things out by watching and trying rather than being told the answer.

Tumble Leaf

Tumble Leaf

Shiny Coins

recommended age co-watching from 2

The island is home to a fox, a caterpillar, a hermit crab and other creatures.

Tumble Leaf

Tumble Leaf

Popcorn Picture Show

recommended age co-watching from 2

Fig learns by watching the mama cuckoo feed her chicks through the tree.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Spot the Ladybird

recommended age co-watching from 4

Several ladybird types are named, from seven-spotted to twenty-two-spotted.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

The Salmon Leap

recommended age co-watching from 4

The episode explains salmon swimming upriver and leaping the waterfall.

Bluey

Bluey

Fruit Bat

recommended age co-watching from 2

Dad explains that fruit bats are nocturnal and don't sleep at night.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Oona's Cave

recommended age co-watching from 4

The narrator shares real traits, like starfish being solitary and good at sticking to rocks.

Sid the Science Kid

Sid the Science Kid

The Rolie Polie

recommended age co-watching from 3

The episode studies roly-polies, ants, ladybugs, and a caterpillar.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Diving Deeper

recommended age co-watching from 4

The narrator explains how puffins and seals dive and swim.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Bernie and the Bee

recommended age co-watching from 4

Bernie explains how bees feed on nectar and scout for flowers.

Bluey

Bluey

The Creek

recommended age co-watching from 2

Tadpoles nibble the kids' toes and a bird and rabbit appear.

See all Animals shows for 4-year-olds

For 5-year-olds

At five, children can follow a real chain of reasoning: this animal has thick fur because the winter is cold. They enjoy creatures far from home, dinosaurs and deep sea alike, and they start to separate what is true from what is made up. Look for a series that is accurate about how animals actually behave, is honest about hunting and survival without dwelling on it, and treats a child's question as worth a proper answer.

Stillwater

Stillwater

Stuck in the Rain

recommended age co-watching from 2

Odette discovers a hive of hundreds of bees inside a fallen log.

Stillwater

Stillwater

Dressed Up

recommended age co-watching from 2

The told story follows a hermit crab and her sea creature friends.

Molly of Denali

Molly of Denali

Puppy Sitting

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode centers on sled-dog puppies and a closing lesson on musk ox.

Stillwater

Stillwater

Downward Dog

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode shows how to care for a dog, from fetch and walks to feeding.

Molly of Denali

Molly of Denali

Tusk, Tusk, and More Tusk

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode revolves around a woolly mammoth and a pterosaur.

SciShow Kids

SciShow Kids

Amazing Cave Animals

recommended age co-watching from 2

Real cave animals like the olm and Mexican tetra are shown and described.

Molly of Denali

Molly of Denali

Sticker Shock

recommended age co-watching from 2

The documentary segment teaches about sled dogs and how they work as a team.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Babasitting

recommended age co-watching from 4

Hedgehogs, frogs, worms, rabbits and puffins are all shown and described

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

The First Snow

recommended age co-watching from 4

Puffins, rabbits, mice and a hedgehog share the snowy island.

Little Bear

Little Bear

Birthday Soup

recommended age co-watching from 2

The cast is made up of a bear family, a hen, a duck and a cat living domestic lives.

See all Animals shows for 5-year-olds

For 6-year-olds

Six year olds begin to see connections rather than single animals: who eats whom, how a habitat holds together, what happens when something changes. They can handle the idea that people affect animals, and they form opinions about it. Look for a series with longer story arcs, real observation and named species, and room for the messier questions about caring for animals and their surroundings. Humour and friendship keep it from tipping into a lesson.

Pinecone & Pony

Pinecone & Pony

The Harvest Spirit

recommended age co-watching from 4

The mystery is solved when the toads in a log are found and their calls translated.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Lamb Chase

recommended age co-watching from 4

The narrator shares facts about how lambs follow and recognize their mothers.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

The Best Shell

recommended age co-watching from 4

The narrator explains that hermit crabs like Bernie must find a shell that fits.

Bluey

Bluey

Copycat

recommended age co-watching from 2

The story centres on caring for a hurt budgie.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Silky's New Friend

recommended age co-watching from 4

The episode teaches how clams bury themselves to avoid predators and need salt water

Peppa Pig

Peppa Pig

Frogs & Worms & Butterflies

recommended age co-watching from 2

The episode features a butterfly, worm and frog with small facts about each.

Curious George

Curious George

Seesaw Saturday

recommended age co-watching from 3

Goats, chickens and pigs feature across the farm scenes.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

A Special Seashell

recommended age co-watching from 4

Puffins, seals and seagulls populate the coastal island.

Puffin Rock

Puffin Rock

Silky and the Octopus

recommended age co-watching from 4

The episode centres on a mysterious sea creature that turns out to be an octopus.

Little Bear

Little Bear

A Present for Mother Bear

recommended age co-watching from 2

His companions are a hen, an owl, a duck and a cat who live in the forest.

See all Animals shows for 6-year-olds

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