I’m a Preschool Teacher and Here Are 3 Shows I’d Never Let My Kid Watch

Is screen time for kids really that bad? After all, we millennials grew up on after school specials and we turned out (mostly) fine. Not to mention that popular kids’ shows like Bluey and Stillwater aren’t just enjoyable to watch, but they’re also loaded with valuable lessons in problem-solving, resilience, teamwork and emotional intelligence. What if it’s not that screen time itself is a problem, per se, but it’s the type of viewing that your kid engages in that matters? Translation: Some kids’ shows are just god-awful (as anyone who’s stared into the bright, bug-eyed babies of Cocomelon can attest to).

New York-based preschool teacher and mom to a 5-year-old boy Nicole agrees. “From what I see in my work, children take inspiration directly from their real world experiences (both off-screen and on) and try to make sense of it all through play,” she explains. “One might take the argument that these shows are harmless entertainment or even ‘background noise,’ but the repetition in these narratives is ingrained on some level and it all gets processed,” she adds. And so we had to ask: which shows would she not want her own child watching, and why?

1. Cocomelon

“The songs, the too-bright colors, the giant eyes…This show has been compared to serious drugs, and I don’t think it’s a hyperbolic statement. I truly believe this show holds addictive powers, and while not every child will be taken by it, I have seen it put children into a trance and then go completely wild once it is turned off. In addition to managing behavioral problems that could stem from this, I find the pacing way too frenetic for young attention spans. While other shows geared towards children of the same age range may switch scenes every four to six seconds, Cocomelon is operating at a jacked-up pace of every one-to-three seconds, and everything is moving the entire time. In my opinion, one should not grow accustomed to this intense level of stimulation.”

2. Paw Patrol

“Ok, now why’d they have to go and do this to dogs? The plot is lazy, the characters have no depth, but most problematic for me is the gender inequality—ONE female character (dressed in pink, of course). I’m also opposed to any show that seems to exist solely to sell toys—and with this one, there is so much terrible, terrible merch. Woof, hard pass.”

3. Peppa Pig

“I thought this one was benign enough until I happened to tune in for a moment and heard characters teasing the brother George pig as he played dress-up, saying, ‘silly George, boys don’t wear dresses!’ I thought surely this would be redeemed throughout the episode, but nope. Once I started paying attention I found this show to be rife with rudeness, body shaming, sexism and snorting that makes my skin crawl.”

So, what’s a parent to do when they need an uninterrupted 20 minutes? We already name dropped two of our faves— Bluey and Stillwater— but we’ve got plenty more educational (and not overly stimulating) shows that we recommend for young viewers (and their grown-ups).

The 15 Best Shows for Toddlers to Turn on When You Need Some Downtime