The school year can be both a blessing and a curse for parents, giving children a place to go and learn new things while also bringing homework and extracurricular activities that demand attention. And then there are the truly tough days when, for whatever reason, the kids are stuck at home. Whether it’s a sick day or a snow day, finding ways to keep children occupied during these unexpected scheduling interruptions can make all the difference in maintaining one’s sanity.
Luckily, there are plenty of options for children’s shows on Netflix that will allow you to make the best of an unexpected situation. These shows run the gamut from educational to entertaining and have enough episodes to keep the kiddos engaged for as long as you need. With options appropriate for every age — sorted below from youngest to oldest — you’ll be glad you added these kids’ shows to the queue ahead of time. Who knows — you might even want to sit down, take a breather, and watch along.
With her educational focus, Ms. Rachel (Rachel Accurso) will have your children singing, learning sign language, expanding their vocabulary, and practicing their verbal skills with each episode. Celebrated worldwide, the cheerful host makes a great stand-in teacher on days out of school for preschoolers and younger kids who could benefit from her engaging, patient approach.
There’s a reason it’s been a staple of children’s programming since 1969. Few shows have captured the attention of generations of preschoolers and younger kids as well as Sesame Street. With its recognizable cast of characters, including Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster, the show teaches children about math, the alphabet, colors, and other basics. The show remains a favorite, however, for how it incorporates themes of emotional well-being, friendship, and community.
Younger kids will have fun watching this series based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book. In it, odd-couple fish friends Red (Brian Drummond) and Blue (Andrea Libman) take on new tasks and actions based on words that are opposites. With slapstick humor and simple stories, children will have fun expanding their vocabulary and understanding opposing concepts in action.
She’s become a household name among families with small children. With 12 seasons of stories, Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner) and her friends easily provide a day’s worth of entertainment as they take viewers along on Gabby’s adventures in her dollhouse, along with her pal Pandy Paws (Tucker Chandler) and the other Gabby Cats. Kids will love exploring the dollhouse with Gabby, but fair warning: your children may start using “meow” repeatedly in conversation.
Millennial parents will appreciate the opportunity to expose their children to the series that opened their imaginations and taught them about everything from outer space to the inner workings of the body. Teacher Ms. Frizzle (Lily Tomlin) takes her class on “field trips” aboard her magic school bus, which allows them to do the impossible and see their classroom lessons come to life. Once your kids have made their way through the ’90s original, introduce them to The Magic School Bus Rides Again, where Tomlin reprises her role as Ms. Frizzle, who hands her school bus keys over to her younger sister Fiona (voiced by Kate McKinnon).
If the kids need a break from educational content and classroom settings, a fun family-friendly sitcom might be a great distraction. The Thunderman family lives in the suburbs, trying to keep a low profile and maintain a normal existence — but that’s something of a challenge when the whole family has superpowers. Phoebe (Kira Kosarin) and her twin brother Max (Jack Griffo) can both move things with their minds, but while Phoebe dreams of using her powers for good, Max is more interested in being a supervillain. Hiding their superpowers proves entertainingly difficult.
Based on the Sanrio characters of the same name, this cute series follows My Melody (Michelle Marie) and her frenemy Kuromi (Jenny Yokobori), who run competing bake shops in Mariland. While Kuromi searches for the secret to My Melody’s baking success, My Melody stumbles upon a strange discovery in the forest that could threaten them all. The stop-motion animation, featuring fluffy figurines and the story’s heartwarming characters, makes this show easy to eat up on a day of vegging out.
Making light of the Justice League’s more serious adult superheroes, this series focuses on the teenage superheroes known as the Teen Titans, including Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), Robin (Scott Menville), Cyborg (Khary Payton), Raven (Tara Strong), and Starfire (Hynden Walch). The young heroes spend plenty of time bickering and competing when not fighting the occasional villain. A few recognizable superheroes from the DC Universe show up from time to time, and there are plenty of jokes at the expense of the DC canon that will make any comic book reader in the family chuckle.
Curious older kids will love the intricate science experiments and epic contraptions that former NASA mechanical engineer Mark Rober and his team take on in this high-energy — and highly educational — series. Extreme hide-and-seek, robot battles, swimming pools of Jell-O, and egg drops from outer space are just a few of the fun challenges he undertakes, all while remaining accessible to younger minds.
Hilariously simple in concept, this two-season series delivers quick vignettes from the life of two small larvae living on a tropical island. They don’t speak, but they grunt, scream, and otherwise express their intense emotions despite their small size. Finding food, avoiding birds, and meeting other insects on the island make up the bulk of their colorfully illustrated antics. With slightly older humor and a TV-Y7 rating, this one also skews toward older kids, but the younger crowd will likely find it engaging as well.
Master of monsters Guillermo del Toro created this series, featuring award-winning animation and a truly stacked voice cast. Older kids who have started to appreciate more intricate lore and world-building will love the tale of James Lake Jr. (Anton Yelchin and Emile Hirsch), a teen in the fictional town of Arcadia Oaks who finds an amulet that makes him the first human Trollhunter. James is tasked with protecting the trolls who live in secret beneath the town, as well as with protecting humans from the evil trolls who attack at the surface. Once fans have devoured all three parts of Trollhunters, they can move on to the next two chapters in the franchise, 3Below and Wizards, as well as the movie Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans.
An onscreen adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s darkly comedic tale of the Baudelaire children, this series is great for kids who can appreciate the humor and love a good puzzle. After their parents die, Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and Sunny (Presley Smith) are sent to live with their evil uncle, Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), who seeks to steal their inheritance. As the children are passed around among distant relatives and friends of the family, the Count follows them at each turn, disguising himself in his pursuit of the money. But the children are clever, evading him and uncovering new information about their mysterious parents at each new place they stay.
Ideal for slightly older kids with its TV-Y7 rating, this series includes a few spooky elements. So if your kids love Halloween, they may love this series about a teenager, Barney (Zach Barack), who runs away to a paranormal theme park, Phoenix Parks. There, he makes friends with Norma (Kody Kavitha), an autistic Pakistani-American girl obsessed with the park, and the two get jobs as security guards. Barney has a talking dog who moves with him into the park’s haunted house, complete with a demon roommate. Together, Barney and Norma tackle ghosts, zombies, and broken rides as they navigate the hilariously odd place.
