[McGucks]

We were completely media-free with our son (except radio/music) until he was 2.5, after which we bought a bunch of 11 minute "Franklin" (the animated turtle) episodes. We watch a couple a day with him. DH got a Netflix subscription last night, but even "G" rated stuff had violence.<br><br>
We do not have a t.v. but obviously have a computer. PBSkids.org seems fine.<br><br>
Any other ideas?

 

[wishin'&hopin']

<p>Kipper, Pingu and Sean the Sheep (or Shawn?) are all safe (Sean the Sheep can be pretty slapsticky--it's the Wallace and Grommit folk).  My super sensitive 3 y/o likes all of them.  Thomas (the train) is good as well.  </p>

 

[katelove]

Peppa Pig is good. It doesn't beat you over the head with a "message" but some good subtle stuff. Mummy Pig is a WAHM and in more than one episode Daddy Pig is vacuuming or cooking a meal while Mummy Pig is upstairs "doing important work on the computer".<br><br>
Little Princess is also good. A completely different sort of princess to the ones usually found in children's stories.

 

[dalia]

Kipper is good. Little Bear is AWESOME. There's a movie on Netflix called "Frogs and Toads" that really cute and totally non-violent. I don't understand how some movies get a G rating when they are so violent!!<br><br>
Some people can't stand it but I like Barney. And The Wiggles LOL.

 

[rainface]

My daughter really loves Oswald, and The Backyardigans <img alt="smile.gif" class="bbcode_smiley" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[Dianamal]

My almost 3 year old loves Thomas and I like for him to watch the older episodes that are about 30 min broken into 3 10 min stories. He also really likes watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood which I love because it is very slow paced, there is no content that I have to worry about and I like reliving some of the episodes I watched as a kid. These are both available on Hulu which I actually prefer to Netflix.

 

[kitteh]

I second the Little Bear suggestion. Its a really beautiful series that is very calming and sweet. My 3 yo dd has loved it for over a year, it was one of the only shows we allowed her to watch (another was Oswald. Also a very mellow show, and fred from the Wonder Years is the voice of Oswald! Brings me back...)

 

[McGucks]

These have been great suggestions! Thanks!<br><br>
When possible, please mention if any of the shows are on Netflix.<br><br>
We will be library regulars again this summer and plan to get lots of books and some movies...I will check out some of the above!<br><br>
With DS1, I swore I would never do Barney...as time went by, I realized it actually had good stuff in it. It is just intolerably annoying to adults. I ended up pulling the plug and telling him it was broken because every time I turned the t.v. off, he had huge tantrums.<br><br>
With this little guy, we just didn't do t.v. or movies at all until much later.

 

[SophieUK]

<p>I have twin 3 year old boys and we don't have a TV but I do use youtube - Peppa Pig was a favourite for a long time plus the episodes are 5 minutes which was about right.  Also Kipper the dog and Humf the bear are easy, friendly cartoons for 2+ and last less than ten minutes.  My boys also LOVE the different nursery rhymes also you youtube plus another British cartoon called Ben and Holly (by the makers of Peppa - for slightly older children). </p>

 

[Asiago]

Love Peppa Pig......except the lines 'that's disgusting' and 'yuck'. Apart from that....it's more appropriate than most of what we have viewed.

 

[dalia]

I forgot to mention that my son LOVES Pocoyo. It's a little hyper but really cute and short.

 

[RStelle]

<p>We watched one Pingu but I didn't like it because of the strict gender roles with the mom and dad penguins (in the one episode I watched, anyway). Right now DD likes Tinga Tinga on hulu. I like it because it's less annoying for me than most shows, and visually it's really pretty. It's about a group of animal friends and it has stories like "how the zebra got it's stripes" and so on.  Does anyone know of any nature shows that would be good for toddlers? I really want to find some but everything on Netflix has all this dramatic music and lots of animals eating each other, so that's not good. Also, I don't know if it's out there but I'd really like to find some about kids in different places around the world, cuz I think DD would love that, but I haven't been able to find much. Oh, I just thought of one--the movie Babies. Maybe I'll show her some clips from that.  IDK, I've decided one of the many reasons I like books better is because if I come across something I don't DD to hear I just leave that line out. Also, there are often way more boy characters than girls, so in books I just change the genders when I read them, of course I can't  do that with TV. I guess I can't shield her forever, I want to for a few more years, at least.</p>

 

[skycheattraffic]

Our favourite by far is Curious George (American Netflix - we "hacked" into it as the Canadian version has next to nothing). I love how George, the monkey is really so much like a toddler: inquisitive and innocent and sees the world in a way that isn't obvious to us adults. It's gentle, no violence but teaches some interesting things about everyday places. Honestly the other day I watched one while DD was asleep lol. There is also a Cat in the Hat series but I haven't checked if it's on netflix yet. Also very interesting, zero violence and lots of stuff about nature.

 

[KathrynH]

<p>We're almost TV-free (maybe one 5 to 15 minute video every 6 to 8 weeks) so I don't have a ton of suggestions, but I have discovered <em>Guess How Much I Love You.</em> It's based on a book by the same name. No violence, no whining, no overly dramatic reactions. We were able to find it online, but it may be on Netflix as well. I ran across the title on the Common Sense Media Website which has lots of great age appropriate suggestions...</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-lists" target="_blank">http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-lists</a></p>

 

[mama amie]

Curious George (PBS), Kipper, Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom, Doodlebops, Henry's World.

 

[P.J.]

Bagpuss. It's a British series from, I think, the 60s. Episodes are freely available on YouTube, although I'm not sure if American Netfix would have it. Probably - I mean, anyone who grew up in Britain knows it, it was very popular back then. I think each one is around 10mins. It's very slow-moving and sweet, stop-animation show about a stuffed cat called Bagpuss who lives in a shop and he and other characters (little mice, dolls, a frog) come to life when no one is there. 100% violence-free, and not at all trying to teach a lesson on anything. Just pure sweetness.