Childrens' TV Shows

Dragon Tales, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Clifford Puppy Days,and Barney have many shows about sharing, being impatient, greed etc. Those shows are on PBS.

My 2 year old LOVES Boz. Its a green bear series. I have to get it from Christian bookstores b/c its a Christian series. Even if one is not religious, the messages are great and keep him enthralled. He always asks for "Boz!" I have the ones on healthy eating, helping others, good exercise, being thankful, imagination. I'm sure there's one on sharing. You should check them out. They are really done well.

I don't think she can really absorb manners and values at this age from shows. Shows for her age group, Sesame, etc, usually have people using good manners in them anyway. You are her greatest example for manners and values in your daily interactions with her and with other people. Speak out loud whenever you do the right little things, always say excuse me and please and thank you all day long. The massive repetition works wonders. let her see you being kind and friendly to people when you're out-paying for stuff etc. When she is a little older, stick to the shows on PBS. Reading Rainbow has a lot of life lessons on being nice. Avoid shows with too many commercials and kids acting bratty or robots fighting etc. Or even just empty entertainment with no real message is keeping her from learning and being more productive by playing. Little House on the Prarie is the best of all, but she's too young to follow the stories yet. Good job! Good luck!

Hey J.....check out PBS...Sesame Street is still on tv and is really great about caring and sharing! So is Mr. Rogers and Arther!

veggie tales are awesome. They teach values like how to be a good friend, not lying etc.

I fell in love with Veggie Tales. The not only teach about all the stuff your looking for but they also teach a little about God and his stories in the bible. If this is okay with you check it out, you wont be disapointed!

Calliou is the best for manners, the Wiggles are fun to watch too, they had a segment the other day on hand washing. My son is 18 months and he loves watching them, plus Seseme Street, Dragon Tales, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Baby Looney Tunes (I think thats the name) teaches right from wrong, they have some pretty good ones on right now. You're definately on the right track with books and she can always practice with her baby sister! :)

My 2 yr old is a boy, but he loves Dora the Explorer and the Backyardigans on Nickelodeon. I really love the Backyardigans because they teach about using your imagination, but in the stories they tell there's usually a good message about sharing or working together. One episode teaches them how to get what they want using manners. I also like the Wonder Pets because they teach all about working together and teamwork. Hope this answers your question.

Hi J.. My daughter is 2 as well, and we watch a show called 'Super Why' every morning. It's problem solving and manners and all that fun stuff. The other thing I can reccomend doing, when she gets around other kids her age, strongly enforce the sharing thing! My little one is getting better. Not perfect by all means...and no where near perfect!!! But she is better at it. When she gives you a toy to play with, tell her thank you, when she sneezes tell her 'Bless You' and so on. My daughter has the manners down!!
She knows when to say thank you and your welcome and bless you and all of that. That's only because my husband and I worekd with her all of the time. It's really a time issue I think. But like I said, we watch stuff on PBS and Noggin, and that seems to help with the sharing. Good luck to you. If you'd like to chit-chat more, you can e-mail me at:
____@____.com
Good luck again!
-C.

Hi J.,
I usually let my 4 year old son watch the shows on the PBS Sprout network. They run shows in 3-hour segments (he does not watch all 3 hours) and they include Kipper, Dragon Tales, Berenstein Bears, Noddy, Thomas the Train, etc. They have a different theme every day like sharing, friends, colors, etc.

Clifford was always a good choice for manners and working things out with friends. Go to your local library and see what they ahve in the childrens video section. They are cheap to rent so you won't have to go buy anything. I agree with lots of others PBS are the best choices for a 2 year old.

Barney!!! Don't dsregard right away. Barney may be a little cheezy, but the videos/shows teach all of the things you are talking about plus TONS of songs, rhymes, simple counting, letters, cleaning up after onesself and the environment, nature--barney is the best teaching show I have come across and my kids love it.
Good luck!

We're noggin all the way! Or in the mornings we might watch discovery kids (Paz).

Hi J.. I would suggest Barney actually. My 2 year old loves him. He does address some of the things you are looking for. Hope that helps.

N.

Hi J.! My favorite tv station is PBS Sprout, if you have comcast you would get this channel "on demand". It has Caillou, Sagwa, Dragontales, Berenstein Bears, plus many other shows, all that are very big on teaching kindness, patience, etc. Good luck, hope this helps!

Hi,
My daughter is two years old, and my son is ten months. My daughter's favorite show is The Wonder Pets. It had to do with working together as a team, sharing, caring, solving problems, and they travel to different places every episode. My son will actually sit and watch a little too. My husband and I love it too. It's on Nick Jr. and Noggin. They also have four DVD's out (we have all of them). There are two episodes in one half hour. They really are great. My daughter will sit through the whole thing. I let her watch it every morning, and if she's good once late in the afternoon. That's just one show though, we also love Sesame Street, and some shows on PBS, oh and she does like Dora. But other than her favorite show, she doesn't watch much tv. I've tried to get her interested in other shows, but she loves her Wonder Pets. Hope this helps.
C.

Barney and Sesame Street focus on the preschool values as well as learning. SuperWhy also does quite a bit problem solving, but some of the problems are preschool relationship related (sharing, taking turns, being nice, etc).

PBS is loaded with great shows. If you're looking to buy DVD's, I highly recommend (as I've seen others do) Boz and VeggieTales. Another good one is 3-2-1 Penguins.

www.bozthebear.com
www.bigidea.com

The Big Idea website is for VeggieTales and 3-2-1 Penguins, but it's mostly VT. To be more specific with your request, VeggieTales: Lyle, the Kindly Viking is a lesson on sharing. That's the great thing about VT, they all have a specific lesson involved. Same with 3-2-1 Penguins. As someone else mentioned, they are on NBC on Saturday afternoon. Also, if you get Qubo, they are on that channel on Sundays.

Boz is on DVD only. It also deals with specific topics and has three 15 minute episodes on each DVD. Thank You God for Friends and Helpers would be more specific to sharing and such.

Hi,

The best videos i have ever seen are the Veggie Tales. They do have a christian background in some of them but they teach everything, from manners to how not to be afraid of the dark. They have such a wide variety of learning information and they are fun for children. My daughter is 4 years old and absolutely loves them she's been watching them since she was 1.

B.

As stated already, Veggie Tales and Sesame Street are good choices. If you want a movie, I recommend The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. This specifically deals with sharing as Elmo's blanket is taken from him by the evil Huckley (who always takes and never shares). My son is two and loves this movie.

Sesame Street's "Learning to Share" is great. My kids who are 3 and 5 love it and still watch it now.

Good luck!
A.

Hello! I DEFINITELY recommend Dragon Tales...excellent show that addresses social interaction. I also recommend Little Bill and Little Bear (Nickelodeon/Noggin). I'm the wife to my beloved and the mom to two wee men, ages 4 and 6. I'm a professional counselor who works with children/adolescents, as well as an adjunct Professor of Sociology.

I know there is a show on Noggin that my older daughter really like. I'm not sure what all it had on it, but it was called Little Bear. It was pretty good with teaching stuff. Also, Dora and Diego are good learning show. Sesame Street too.

Veggie Tales is on Saturdays and they have good lessons like that.

I am not a fan, but I know Barney is usually liked among toddlers. Go to any childcare place and they sing Barney songs, whether they know it or not. The message in the show is always simple and the overexaggerated acting is what gets through to the kids. Although, I have heard the newer shows are a bit more hollywood. They hired real actors and the sets are a bit over the top for such a young crowd. Maybe look for the older shows? Good luck.

It's an old show so you'll have to go the library but Bear in the Big Blue House is a good show to watch.
Clifford the Big Red Dog on PBS

That's about all I can think of

I would second the suggestion of Berenstain Bears--books and videos--in addition to many of the others mentioned as well. With many of the pre-school shows, children may not pick up on the values unless we interact with them and discuss what is happening.

Veggie Tales is a christian based show with all the values that you would want instilled in your child. I don't know the channel or times that it is on I am sure you can do a internet search. They also sell tapes of these shows. You will Love it! Hope this helps!

Barney shows and videos are great for teaching values. As much as I get annoyed by the big purple dinosaur the show really does focus on great values like sharing, cleaning up and being a friend. They even have a DVD called Best Manners.

Goodmorning Jeniffer,

The Veggies Tales would be something to teach your daughters good soild values. Have a blessed day & congratulations on your new addition!

super why on pbs is good at teaching about sharing and can help with letter recognition as well.

We don't have cable by decision...what's out there doesn't help on a regular basis. Have you seen VeggieTales? and the 3-2-1 Penguin series? They are short videos with a lesson on how to behave usually with others; they're 30 min long and they also have some movies and silly songs. All these videos deal with character forming, which is a topic not taught everywhere. I get these my videos at the children's section at my public library - they are free for a week. There's also the PBS videos Adventures from the Book of Virtues - they're for older kids, not toddlers, and are really good.

Veggie Tales, and Sesame Street. My little boy will be 2 next Tuesday, and he loves these shows. They're fun and educational. And I must say, I like them too!!!

watch some of the shows on pbs. my son is only 10 months old but he watches, super why,clifford the red dog,word world and of course sesame street and barney. they are educational and mix in manners and the right things to do.

another vote for Veggie Tales

Hi J.,

I LOVE Bear in the Big Blue House. It is not on TV any more, but you can still buy videos/DVDs. It has great lessons on all sorts of topics, sharing, kindness, using the potty, self image, and respecting your own and others differences. THe songs are great and it is Jim Henson puppetry so you it looks terrific.

N.

Yo Gabba Gabba is good for that. It's pretty goofy!
Then there's good 'ole Barney. As lame as he is, he does teach good values.
The Koala Brothers teaches you to help everyone and be nice.

Two Words: Veggie Tales! It is an awesome cartoon with God/morals/ethics/decision making...It is fun to watch because it has music in the story. Plus, it has humor for the adults. I really enjoy it. I think it is on on Saturdays late morning on NBC and you can get the dvds in stores. Have fun

Hi J.! I am 53 yrs. old but if I had little ones again I would choose the "Veggie Tales" series. You can find them at a local Christian book store. The videos or CD's are awesome for teaching, encouraging and entertaining all in one.They have books too. You'll find everything you need to truly bless your kids & mom too! On the TBN Christian channel you can find children's shows also. God bless, wish you the best.

As an Early Childhood Educator I would have to agree with PBS although some programs may not be developmentaly appropriate for her age. Barney is great for this (I know that some adults don't like him but the fact remains that his message is great and children do.) As for DVD's I use Boz and Veggie Tales in my program - the 2 year olds love Boz.I follow up with activities that reinforce the lesson of the program.(Kindness Curriculum) Modeling is always the best of course and pointing that out to your child - See mommy is sharing her (insert item) with you. See mommy pets the (cat- dog) gently. See mommy doesn't (hit, push etc) you get the idea. ;)
Watching with your child is great and discussing the program is very important for reinforcing the concept.
Good Luck & God Bless

Barney does a really good job with manners, there is a video or Dvd that is titled Good Manners. Examples how to talk softly inside and say please and thank you, i aslo believe there is a part in there teaching how to share toys.

Hi, I am D.. I am SAHM of a beautiful, very active 18 mos little girl. I have found Veggie Tales to be very good for her. They are colorful, have music in all of them and each of them teach a lesson. They are based on the bible, but they address topics like Fear, self esteem, spreading rumors, being thankful...I am sure they have something to do with sharing.

One that I have found with a consistant theme of right and wrong and sharing and telling the truth is Clifford. Come on PBS in the am. There is also a wonderful book we use for our 2 year old daughter called "Cliffords Manners" I am sure you can find that book on dvd.
Sesame street also has a lot of the same theme, but you might want to search out a Sesame Street dvd with that particular theme.
Hope this helps!

Hi J., well my kids watch the TV show Noggin and there are many shows that show all the things you are looking for also elmo has alot of video's on sharing and good manners. Hope this helps you. Have a good weekend. R.

Try VeggieTales. It's cute - all the characters are fruits and vegetables. They have a variety of lessons that are taught - some moral lessons, some Bible lessons. You can get the videos at the Family Bookstore and the show is on Sunday mornings (I think) on NBC.

We like the Veggie Tail series. They are available on DVD and VCR (does anyone buy these anymore?) and if you can't find them in stores, they are available from Christian Book Stores. They end up being stories based upon Bible stories, and they promote a value based lifestyle. If you are an atheist, you won't like them, because the values are based upon the premise that there is a God. They are short, which is good for attention spans, and they are creative and fun. Our teens still have some of the veggietales songs on their mp3 players !!

i love pbs kids. i live in york, and ours is on channel 2. sometimes they also have it on channel 12. and there is a paid station too in the 100's something if you have digital cable. from 7am on they play really great shows. we dont watch all of them every day, but here and there by daughter really enjoys curious george, clifford, superwhy/super readers (this one is really great!) and my personal favorite is just plain old sesame street at 9am or 7pm every weekday. we usually watch that at nights and wind down for the evening. its soooo educational and they always add a little humor in there that you know is there for the parents enjoyment as they sit there and watch it with their kid. hope you find something that she enjoys!

When I was expecting my first child eight years ago, my sister (who is 14 years younger than I am) couldn't wait to purchase Veggie Tales for her first neice. Not ever having heard of them, I stated that my child(ren) wouldn't be watching any talking vegetable cartoons...EVER! Well after much convincing on her part, my sister got us to watch them and what a phenomenon she has created in our family! My daughter's first birthday theme was the Veggie Tales, in fact. The "genious" creators started out by taking Bible stories and translating them into kid-friendly videos that are meant to teach lessons in caring, sharing, telling the truth, ect. There is an episode every Saturday at noon on Channel 10 also if you'd like to check it out before making a purchase. They've even had two movies in the theater. Veggies Tales make up the majority of our video library and I promise that both you and your child will love them! My husband's aunt (who is 64) now purchases the new releases, watches them and when she's finished, hands them down to my daughters! You can find them anywhere dvd's are sold should you decide to purchase them for yourself! Enjoy!

I am surprised no one has mentioned Caillou. Each episode deals with a lesson like this. My kids love him!

Hello J.,

Have you heard of "Veggie Tales".

They have several videos that deal with various morals situations. They are religious based. I am not real religious, but I did use these tapes occasionaly when needed to get a point across for certian children in my childcare. See if you can check them out from the library to see if she likes them before buying them.

Good luck

Alot of shows on the channel Noggin deal with this. Little Bill, Franklin, Little Bear.

Hi J.,
My all time Favorite for all five of my kids is still the Barney Manner's Video! Catchy tunes and friendly faces really help them to remember that manners are important! I am sure you can find one at a yard sale or online. I am not sure if they are avaliable for DVD, all my kids are now 7 or older.
Hope that helps!
T. :)

Check out the shows on PBS Sprout, PBS and Noggin. The best ones are on PBS Sprout where you will find shows like Thomas the Tank Engine, The Berenstain Bears, Sesame Street, Barney, Caillou and many others that teach manners, behavior and social interaction as well as problem solving. On Noggin, you can find Little Bear, Miss Spider and Franklin which are also really good for teaching social interaction. On Noggin, they have a little blurb before each show also which will tell you what the show teaches or shows the audience.

We, also, like Discovery Kids. However, this seems to deal a little less with social interaction and values and more with knowledge. We like their animal shows and shows that tell how things work.

Anyhow, I hope this helps and good luck.

We're all about Ya Gabba Gabba (on Nick Jr and Noggin and On Demand- Comcast) in our house. Each episode has a specific theme, and there's one for sharing. It's very urban/contemporary and most moms I know either love it or hate it. We (me, my husband and 2 y/o daughter) LOVE it!

We also enjoy Little Einsteins and Little Bear.

I think Max and Ruby on Noggin shows things like that. Ruby's a good big sis to her little brother. Noggin has some good shows for preschoolers.

Ok you might not like the answer some parents cringe but BARNEY i personally love him but i am a little weird but he teaches please and thank you he teaches how to take turns and alot of other great things my son loves him and we have a lot of his videos and if you go to ROSS or even walmart you can get the videos pretty cheap even yard sale have them a lot of times.

We really like Veggie Tales. They do have a Christian theme, so if that isn't something you want, I thought I would just let you know. I think they are on TV now on NBC on Saturday mornings--we have several of the videos and borrow more from our church library.

Little Dogs on the Prairie is also a good series. I got a few of those videos at Ollies, haven't ever seen them anywhere else.

This is the ultimate choice for a show that teaches all of those life lessons that nobody mentioned which is on SPROUT and believe me this channel is worth having in your home. You have to upgrade to digital cable to have it. It is JAKERS! The adventures of Piggley Winks. The grandfather tells the story to his granchildren of his adventures with his friends and family and the situations he gets in and how he solves them. Its truley a heartwarming and wonderful program (as all of them are that have been mentioned) for both me and my child to watch together...........we both learn something!

My kids watch Noggin (Comcast ch. 131). They play a variety of shows specially designed for pre-schoolers, and they touch on all the topics...sharing, family, friends, telling the truth, being helpful, counting, matching, patterns, problem solving, etc. Very educational! And the best part is it is on 24 hours a day. Perfect when you need just a few minutes to yourself! Good luck!

Hi J.,

We really like Veggie Tales. Our favorite one (my son's and mine) is "The Wizard of Haa's." It's the story of the prodigal son. Initially I was hesitant to try Veggie Tales because I was afraid it might be the shove-it-down-your-throat Christian type video, but it's not. It does have some Bible verses, but they are universal and easy for the kids to understand. The show is funny and cute and incorporates good morals.
M.

I was surprised no one said "World Word" on PBS. It is a great new show and that is all my 2 year old ever wants to watch. It is a very educational show as well as having shows that include; sharing, taking turns, helping your friends, etc. It is very upbeat and has great music and catchy tunes. I can't recommend it enough. Good luck...2 is Fun(yea right).

My son loved (still does) the Veggie Tales stories and the Hermie & Wormie movies by Max Lucado even more. They teach Christian values and are VERY cute, too!

Barney, Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Clifford all have episodes that teach about manners, dealing with emotions, being a good friend, taking turns, etc. My kids watch them on PBS. We own Barney's Best Manners video. The love that one.

The Berestain Bears have tv shows, and videos, that go along with their books, they teach sharing and manners and such, so does Franklin ( the turtle) and I think Little Bear does as well. Hope that helps

J.,
Good ol Sesame Street is wonderful as is Barney (as much as I don't like Barney he is great for kids).
Good luck!
Chris