Best Educational TV Shows for Kids of Different Ages

We all now find ourselves on our gadgets for school, jobs, and connecting with family and friends during this time of social distancing and prolonged isolation. Kids are in this struggle as well, and for that, we've managed to find some educational TV shows for kids to benefit you and them along in these troubling times.

During the long periods of lockdowns and closed schools, many parents had initially neglected the vastly increasing time their children spent on video games and social media.

Now parents across the nation — and the globe — are watching their children glide down a tricky path into an all-consuming digital life. At the start of the outbreak, many parents eased limitations on screen time. It was a way for them to avoid being frustrated and not have restless children in the house. But those limits became more blurry when weeks of stay-at-home rules bled into nearly a year. Children had to use computers, tablets, and phones as the centerpiece of school and social life.

How to Exercise Kid's TV Time Properly?

The basic line is: excessive screen time is not good. Children who watch too much television can face some negative impacts on their well-being.

The kids carry a much higher risk of childhood obesity and are more likely to display aggressive behavior. The idle sitting down affects their metabolism, and children naturally copy what they see. on TV, whether it is wrestling or action films.

With social distancing restricting our ability to connect and physically socialize, daily screen time has risen. But screens are not essentially bad. They have become, especially in the pandemic, our window into the world. We get our daily dose of friends, family, fitness, and daily news from it.

But like all things, overconsumption leads to adverse effects. How can a parent set up a smart schedule of screen time for their kids? Here are a few tips.

• Set an Example: This might seem inconvenient or challenging, but children copy what they see. They will always approach the displayed behaviors of their parents. If a kid sees you reading a novel, they are more likely to read as well. And if they see you watching TV, they will want it too.

• Guide Them: As a parent, it is your job to promote healthy behaviors and restrict unhealthy ones. And that applies to controlling your children's screen time. You have to make these tough decisions for your children and explain to them the reasons behind your decision. As they get older, they will take that wisdom and apply it to themselves.

• Watch What They Watch: If you are not going to turn off the television, pick appropriate television shows for your kids. It is much simpler to guide them towards more education kid TV shows than shunning them off from TV altogether.
• Encourage Different Activities: Encourage your kids to participate in activities that allow them to use their brain more or be physical. Provide the necessary supplies like books to read, board games, art and crafts supplies, and sporting equipment.
• Make "Technology-Free Zones": Organize zones in your home where electronics simply are not permitted. An example of such a space could be your kitchen or dining table, where mobile phones, laptops, and gadgets are not allowed. Reserve the space for having meals and family conversations.

Recommended Educational TV shows for Kids of Different Ages

Whether you're watching content on Netflix or PBS, more educational kids' shows are available now than ever before. We've made a small list of the very best TV shows available for various ages, from toddlers and preschoolers to preteens.

Sesame Street

Ages 2+

An eternal favorite of children and adults and a PBS staple, "Sesame Street" ties many social and educational gaps with an entertaining show.

Who doesn't love this show? It has great songs, stories, and rememberable cameos.

After its pilot episode in 1969, Sesame Street has been exciting and nurturing a diverse audience of kids. Adorable characters like Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert and Ernie teach alphabets, numbers, and essential life lessons. Sesame Street is the ideal show for kids and a sentimental trip down memory lane for parents.

The thing we love the most about it is that it deals with challenging phases of life head-on in a way that is easy to understand. It can help parents deal with specific heavy topics with kids like death, sadness, anger, racism, disabilities, 9/11, adoption, and human biology.

The Magic School Bus Rides Again

Ages 6+

Netflix recently rebooted an old classic into The Magic School Bus Rides Again. It stars Ms. Frizzle's younger sister, Fiona, who takes on the character of the wacky teacher. Like its predecessor, the show still focuses on all of the same theories of science, exploration, discovery, and fun times. The original, The Magic School Bus, had aired from 1994 to 1997 and is called "a cult classic" by many people. Based on the best-selling book series of the same name, the show trails the eccentric Ms. Frizzle and her class as they set off on field trips via a virtual bus ride.

The same happens in the Netflix version, where students go on magical adventures in their high-tech school bus, discovering the spectacles of science across various places and time periods.  The bus takes them to outer space, under the sea, and even inside the human body.

The show encourages creativity and innovation as the students go on absolutely interesting adventures in every episode.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Ages 8+

An entertaining classic that is the perfect formula for learning.

Parents worldwide are aware that Bill Nye the Science Guy is a 1990s educational kids TV show that blends humor, action, and quality informative content related to the sciences.

Your kids will enjoy these 25-minute exciting episodes that look at various subjects from different angles. It makes a fun watch for just about any age.

Each episode begins in his tricked-out laboratory, where Nye explains the show's idea with captivating visual aids. The guy covers topics like biological science (humans, living things), physical science (chemistry, physics), and planetary science (earth, space) on his namesake show. He is called the science guy, after all. His episodes are still widely streamed even after 20 years after the show wrapped.

FamiSafe - A Tool to Manage Kid's Digital Device Screen Time

Parents are anxious over how these current times will affect their child and wish to take some control of these unsettling times.

One way for them to do so is to use their own medicine against them and use technology to check the screen time. You can use tools to protect your kids from locating explicit content on the Internet and TV. Many routers, web browsers, and TVs have parental controls to install a filter or block undesired content.

If your kids own smartphones, there are also built-in settings or apps you can download that permit you to install content filters. A lot of them allow you to block specific websites, web searches, or even keywords. Among all the currently available options, we would like to recommend FamiSafe as a powerful tool to help you restrict your kid's screen time.

FamiSafe has incredible and convenient features to limit your kids' screen time on digital apps in iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, Mac, and Windows. All you need to do is to download FamiSafe, complete the setup and you can start to check and restrict screen time on your device.

Features of FamiSafe that are going to help with restricting screen time:

• Activity Report: Monitoring kid's phones to provide all the activity details in timeline form for review. Check the amount of time the kid has used when watching TV and how many episodes and shows they have tuned into.
• Screen Time: Can track the overall screen usage on one tap and block the device remotely. Parents can set up different screen time rules for different dates.Block inappropriate social or game apps while they are watching an educational TV show.
• Smart Schedule: Allow you to set up different schedule to block apps or games for different occasions. It is feasible to set up rules to block social apps or games at school using this feature.

Screen use has increased at significant levels during the coronavirus pandemic. Kids are caught up in a world of digital screens where they obtain education and enjoyment. Are concerns over the adverse impact of screens on children justified or overstated?  Should we be concerned about this unnecessary screen use right now? Or should we ultimately get over it and welcome the benefits of our digital devices?

Educational TV shows for kids seem to be the happy medium between what you desire and what your kids want. Your kids can soak up new knowledge as well as enjoy themselves with these shows.