You know how your kid gets in one of those moods where they want to watch an episode of say, Wonder Pets or Wow Wow Wubbzy and you know that it’s not on right now? Or, you have to finish a project or get dinner on the table and damn the programmers at Time Warner for only showing reruns of Batman or some other show your kid is sooo not interested in.
I used to pull out a DVD for these situations, but once the kids had seen the episodes a gazillion times, the DVDs didn’t hold their attention long. Instead of running out and buying new DVDs, I can admit that I’m lazy – and cheap! – and found more than enough videos online to satisfy their “More Dora!” requests. Check out your options below and thank me later. 
(Click images below to go to the sites.)
Home of, I’d argue, some of the most popular kids shows – Dora the Explorer, Wonder Pets, Go Diego Go, Max and Ruby, Yo Gabba Gabba, Olivia, Blues Clues, Little Bill and the list goes on and on. NickJr usually keeps its popular shows on air multiple times a day, but check out NickJr.com for your favorite show at your fingertips.
Full episodes available? Yes
Cost: Free
Commercials:Yes. This is the only issue I had with the videos on NickJr.com. Why are there commercials for CoverGirl and other adult products? I mean, maybe it’s preferable to say, bombarding kids with a bunch of toy commercials. And it’s obvious they’re targeting the mom that’s watching the videos with the kid – what two-year-old is gonna say, “Mom, you need some easy, breezy, beautiful CoverGirl waterproof illuminating lash mascara!” Um, no. Plus, the commercials are kind of frequent and kids hate that.
Now, I know that most kid shows are designed to be educational (at least somewhat – Sesame Street raised the bar on that one – see below). But I always think of PBSKids as the “smart channel” with all those “smart shows.” My kids watch a few PBSKids shows, mainly Curious George. (Am I the only onewho thinks the Man in the Yellow Hat should have lost custody of George a looong time ago? Dude is negligent, truly.)
Full episodes available? Only for certain shows
Cost: Free
Commercials: No
Ahh, my favorite! I am not ashamed to say that I STILL get excited when Sesame Street is on. It’s so catchy and smart and fun and Elmo is still the cutest character on TV. Hands down.
Full episodes available? Not full episodes but clips for certain segments
Cost: Free
Commercials: No
If you have a Netflix account, more than likely you have the unlimited streaming online option, meaning you have TONS of kids’ shows to choose from. Thomas and Friends, Barney, Care Bears, SpongeBob, VeggieTales, all the Dora you can stand and more. Honestly, I’m surprised Netflix hasn’t marketed it to moms – “Pay $8/month – get 30 kid-free minutes a day!” LOL.
Full episodes available? Yes, ma’am
Cost: At least $4.99 a month for the lowest plan. Allows only 2 hours online viewing per month. Upgrade to the $8.99 plan for unlimited viewing.
Commercials: Nope.
My kids’ favorite TV shows first came from Playhouse Disney. I’m an “old school” young mom and I had them watching the shows that I remembered – Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Yo Gabba Gabba frightened me (and still does). But now I’m a fan of their new shows, like Special Agent Oso and Timmy Time.
Full episodes: Yes
Cost: Free
Commercials: No
These are my favorites, but there are a couple more options – Hulu.com for shows for older kids, and Amazon.com’s Video on Demand has episodes available, but you have to pay $1.99 per episode in most cases. Those are just meh, in my opinion.
Did I miss any of your favorite places to watch shows online? Let me know in the comments!
We’re huge Nick Jr. fans! I love all those shows you named, esp. Yo Gabba Gabba and Dora the Explorer. We also love The Fresh beat Band, which now comes on both Nickolodeon and Nick Jr.
Gosh, I feel a little bad that my boys are as into Sesame Street, since that was a show I loved so much growing up. We’ve gotta watch that more!!!! Chase does love Elmo, but that’s only because they have so many pictures/stuffed animals of him at his daycare.
Btw, Nick Jr. actually doesn’t have commercials. Between shows, Nick Jr. plays little videos, from Laurie Berkner, The Backyardigans, and from the other little shows. Nickolodeon does have the commericlas you described though, so maybe you’re thinking of Nick?
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@Yakini – When my kids watch NickJr online, there are commercials. (Kind of frequent, too. ) But how weird is it that they don’t have commercials when broadcast on TV and they do online? And CoverGirl commercials no less?
I meant, they “aren’t” as into Sesame Street (not “are”)
.-= Yakini´s last blog ..Breastfeeding Updates THANK YOU to Two Awesome Bloggers =-.
I decided to skip cable and only use netflix! I love it because there are no commercials and I am choosing what my daughter can and can’t watch without her even knowing what the other options on tv may be. We stream live on to our tv and she doesn’t know the difference. And I like that there aren’t any commercials for her to learn what new toys are out. I definitely get a peaceful 30 minutes a day!
Nick Jr. is the best and Yo Gabba is a hoot the kids absolutely love!
Hi ——,
Hope you are keeping fine.
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I totally think that cable tv is going to go away.
Or at a minimum have to change with the times.
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