Life was so easy when my kids were little and perfectly content to watch the safe and often sweet Kids TV Shows found on Disney Jr and Nick Jr.
They adventured with Dora and Diego, Sung along with Mickey Mouse Playhouse and Danced with those groovy kids on The Fresh Beat Band.
But all too quickly they began to want to watch more “grown-up” TV shows and I panicked.
There’s already so much mommy guilt about screen time. And it’s all only made worse with worries about what they are watching.
Especially in these years between pre-school and teendom, it’s like we become stranded in a kids show wasteland.
Why does if feel like we have to go directly from Sweet Sophia and the Darling Puppy Dog pals to all this Dating and Drama. It’s like the TV networks just sort of skip over everything in between.
The topics became so grown-up so fast. Plus, is it just me or are a lot of the kids on these “tween” kids shows kind of obnoxious? Then there is also the thing where all the parents are either absent or idiots. (Let’s just leave Max and Ruby out of this so things don’t get confusing).
There Had To Be Better Kids TV Shows Choices
Considering the wealth of entertainment options that ipads and streaming have given us, I knew there had to be something halfway decent out there for kids between pre-school and pre-teen.
So, I started looking for appropriate kids shows that our in-between kiddos would find engaging, while not pushing them into territory that they aren’t ready for and that we parents CERTAINLY aren’t ready for.
It was pleasantly surprising to discover that there was a pretty large selection out there. Some of these you might even remember from your own childhood.
Now, not all of these are A + programming and a few even have some limited violence. However, most are intelligently written, have moral lessons in them and when there is minimal violence it’s in the context of fantasy and make believe.
Many of these shows are available for free via Amazon Prime. I can’t tell you how much we’ve found the investment more than worth the yearly membership fee for our family.
For those shows on network/cable television, if you have cable most can be found On Demand for free provided they are a part of your subscription package.
If you don’t have cable (like us) here are other ways to access these programs:
- Netflix or Hulu
- A TV Network’s Website
- You can purchase them on DVD
- Rent them from your local library
- YouTube
We all know TV isn’t perfect, but for most of us it is a part of life and we can at least feel like we’re being active in providing good enough choices on this front. Here is the list of shows by network or other available distribution.
TV Shows For Kids – Pre-School to Preteen
(Shows Even The Whole Family Will Enjoy WatchingTogether)
1. Inspector Gadget
(Netflix and YouTube)
2. Avatar: The Last Airbender 
(Nickelodeon and Amazon Prime)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(Nickelodeon)
4. The Animaniacs
(Amazon Prime)
5. Pokemon
(Amazon Prime and Cartoon Network)
7. Star Wars – The Clone Wars and/or the Yoda Chronicles
(Cartoon Network)
8. Ninjago
(Cartoon Network)
9. Phineas and Ferb
(Disney XD and Netflix)
10. Slugterra
(Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney XD)
11. Win, Lose or Draw and Family Game Night
(Disney Channel)
12. Scooby Doo (Cartoon Network)
13. The Penguins of Madagascar
( Nickelodeon)
14. Gilligan’s Island
(TV Land)
15. Mr. Peabody & Sherman
(Amazon Prime)
16. The Brady Bunch
(CBS.com)
17. Full House
(Nick and TBS)
18. Tom & Jerry
(The Cartoon Network)
19. Dreamworks Dragons
(The Cartoon Network)
20. Little House on the Prairie
(Check Your Local Library for the DVD)
21. Wild Kratts
(Amazon Prime, PBS Kids and pbskids.org)
22. FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman
(Amazon Prime and pbskids.org)
23. TrollHunters
(Netflix or Rent/Buy on Amazon)
Kids TV Shows On Amazon Prime
I’m actually making the shows on Amazon their own category because I LOVE them that much. These are shows not only your kids will love, but TV shows the whole family can watch together an enjoy.
It’s just another reason I LOVE Amazon Prime. The shows are unique, innovative and have characters that are quirky, smart and just more like real kids.
I’m including the shows that are geared towards a slightly older (non-preschool) audience, but they have shows for that age group as well. I really encourage you to give them a try.
23. ANNEDROIDS
(Amazon Prime – Amazon Original Series)
24. Just Add Magic
(Amazon Prime – Amazon Original Series)
25. Gortimer Gibbons Life On Normal Street
(Amazon Prime – Amazon Original Series)
Looking for EVEN MORE to help with your Tweens?
Follow Sunshine and Hurricanes ‘s board Tween Activities on Pinterest.
If you liked this post, you may also like:
10 Best Family Game Night Ideas
The Surprising Thing To Say To Keep Your Big Kid From Growing Up Too Fast
Tech Gifts For Kids and Teens You’ll Feel Good About Giving
Are there any Kids Shows I’ve missed that you’re family loves?
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Kristen says
Also I Dream Of Jeannie and old Saved by the Bell are super fun for the kiddos. Great post! Pinned & Stumbled!
Cassandra Frey says
Doctor Who
Kira Lewis says
You just made my day! I’m dying to watch this show, but by the time I learned about it, they were already several seasons in. So, I’ve got to wait until I have time to start at the beginning. I can’t way, although my kids may be in college before it happens. 🙂
Amanda says
Crash and Berenstein (sp?). Can be dumb but pretty funny and no s-e-x to my knowledge. It might still be on or maybe you could find online.
Kayleen says
My daughter is 7, 1st grade. We watch Girl Meets World. While they are in 7th grade, it really is a lot of slowing down, not growing up too fast and don’t just follow the crowd.
She also likes Lalaloopsy, Sophia the First, Doc McStuffins, AFV, Dora and Friends (where they are older), Arthur, Jungle Junction to name a few. We DVR most things so she just plays from the saved list. We try to stick with shows that have some lesson or educational value and don’t depict too attitude and stupidity.
Sara says
I totally agree that there is a lack of programming for this age group. We love Phineas and Ferb and Penguins (but it’s never on now). For Christmas my 5 year old got the whole library of “old” Scooby Doos – it was an Amazon deal of the day. He doesn’t like the “new ones”. My boys also like watching Americas funniest home videos (I consider that educational for boys to see the consequences of stunts :). And my 8 year old loves to watch Wheel of Fortune with me. He loves to try to figure out the words.
Kira Lewis says
I love America’s Funniest Home videos, I laugh til I cry every time. We like to watch Jeopardy as a family. Kind of nerdy, but my kids always feel super smart if they can actually answer even one of the questions (okay so do my husband and I.).
Tracey says
My kids (my own children and my 5th grade students) like the Magic School Bus. It’s entertaining and educational 🙂
Elizabeth Ann says
I know you already mentioned PBS shows, but a fave around here for the bigger kids is The Electric Company and they all still love Wild Kratts. The age range in my house is 2-7. And Jo^^ KimPossible!! I used to watch that! Love it!!
S says
Arthur is also a really great show. I watched it when I was 8, 9 or 10 I think.
The Fosters, Finding Carter, Agents of SHIELD, and BBC’s Sherlock, and Once Upon A Time are really great shows for when your kid(s) are older. (13, 14 +)
Kira Lewis says
Great suggestions! I’ve actually been wanting to check out Sherlock myself! Thanks for the ideas.
Rachel says
Fairly Oddparents!
Trisha says
We love Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith, Hogan’s Heroes, The Rifleman, Petticoat Junction, I love Lucy, Star Trek (any of them actually), That Girl, The Donna Reed Show, and so many more! We LOVE Me TV. A lot of their shows are older shows so they are usually much cleaner then shows today.
I hate the stupid cartoons on the Cartoon Channel actually (some are ok, but not many) but my son loves cartoons so we compromise. He is 19 so I know that makes a huge difference. Being Born Again believers we need to be caution what we allow into our home so, even if he likes a show, if it is inappropriate or unGodly it is not allowed at all.
kristin says
When I could no longer handle the sickly stupid cartoons my step-son watched on a daily basis some with questionable themes I went looking for something we could both stomach!! This was when the Food network was really starting. His father and I liked trying new foods and cooking. Good Eats is just 30 minutes does not have sex or violence and is educational!!! Plus its funny and well scripted so my step-son enjoyed it. He is all grown up now but the show is still on either Food network or other food channels. Over the years we did watch many other shows similar to this and have tried many recipes. I hope he remembers some of these as he fixes his own dinners.
Kira Lewis says
I love that! I confess,my kids and I watch HGTV together. Love it or List it is a favorite.
Jo says
I so agree about the jump from perfectly innocent shows for the little ones to dating shows geared to the 7 year olds! Having ages ranging from 5-13 at our house can mean a big gap in what the older ones vs. younger ones enjoy (since they are often watching together). Some of the other ones we DVR because we’ve found to be pretty good are: Kim Possible, Kung Fu Panda, American Ninja Warrior, and even ones like Cake Boss! Thanks for always posting great tips, and we especially enjoyed the Lego posts the other week!
Kira Lewis says
Those are some other great suggestions! I can seriously double my list with all the amazing feedback I’ve gotten. Cake Boss made me laugh bc we do watch that one and HGTV shows too! I will go in and update with the new ideas soon. Thanks so much!
Laura says
Great list, I’ve got to come back to this list when my kids are older. I remember turning on a Barbie episode that my 3 year old saw on Netflix. Holy Cow – I could not hit stop quick enough on the remote to remove that garbage from my tv! The amount if sass, eye rolling, & backstabbing behavior I saw in the 2-3 minutes it was on screen was apalling!
Kira Lewis says
Yes, I was pretty surprised too at how easy it is to think if a show is aimed at children that it will be appropriate for children in terms of themes and behavior. My kids aren’t always happy that certain shows (or entire networks) are off limits, but we’ve found so many other options that they like I rarely get a complaint. I neglected to include a bunch of the GREAT PBS shows, so I’m going to update the list sometime this week. Thanks for stopping by!
Tracey says
Tom and Jerry is a life saver… During my kids’ worst moments where they can’t agree on anything, and when nothing makes them happy, they will belly laugh through a whole episode.