Young children today (and their parents) have a plethora of programs to choose from. I find myself watching my kids' programs more today than I did when I was a kid myself. That's probably because kids like me who were born in the mid-70s had two solid options...and they weren't on at all hours of the day.
The staples of children's programming that both my brother and I watched were The Electric Company (Hey, You Guys!) and Sesame Street. Now, we had no idea that the Electric Company had already gone off the air by the time we started watching. We also didn't care, or didn't know who the likes of regular cast members, including Morgan Freeman or Gene Wilder were. We just liked the characters, the consistency and the music.
Fast forward about 30 years and there are more programs on television today that I can count. Fortunately, A revival of The Electric Company found its way back to television in 2009, and Sesame Street...well, it's in its 40th season and now seen in more than 140 countries around the world.
Staples aside, I consider myself a pretty good judge of character when it comes to kids' television - particularly for the wee ones. Here is my top five list.
5.
Super Why!
Super Why, is Wyatt, a boy who transforms into a super hero, along with a handful of his friends, to set off onto a reading adventure and save the day. The story always revolves around fixing a "real life" problem via relating to a traditional children's story, such as Rapunzel, Humpty Dumpty, and Hansel and Gretel.
4. Backyardigans
Selfishly, I like the theme song. It's catchy. Basically, the Backyardigans are a group of "kids" from the neighborhood that meet in the backyard, use their imagination and voila - they're off on an adventure. Often times the characters have a protagonist/antagonist relationship that works itself out in the end.
3. Sid the Science Kid
This super-contemporary kids' program is about a boy named...you guessed it...Sid. I love this show. If there were any shows on television that investigated matter of science the way this show does, I might have actually been interested in the subject growing up. The formula of this show is: Sid is getting ready for school, finds something he wants to investigate (from the confines of his bedroom), goes to the kitchen for breakfast (which he apparently LOVES), heads off to school with his mom (who jams in the car with him as he sing), gets to school and rocks out with friends on the playground, heads inside for "rug time" and tells everyone about what he wants to investigate (mold, digestions, vaccines...you name it). That's more or less the gist of it.
4. Curious George
Who doesn't love a story about a monkey gone rogue? The plot is usually about George, who gets a little too curious, then finds himself in hot water. In the end, the thing that George does that ticks everyone off ties into the thing that George does that saves the day. I'm going to keep an eye on George for a while.
5. Little Einsteins
"We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship. Zooming through the sky (clap, clap) Little Einsteins." Once you get it in your head, you'll never get it out. Four super smart kids globe trot with their trusty "Rocket" while integrating music and art to accomplish a mission. The lessons in music and art are truly blended into this program. The music is generally classical, baroque or romantic. The four friends, Leo, Annie, Quincy and June sing their way through problem resolution.
