10 Awesome Videos for Toddlers in 2024
Proponents of early childhood education strongly recommend the continuous stimulation of the juvenile brain by exposing young children to age-appropriate learning materials. When it comes to toddlers, the learning materials should be geared towards language, speech, and communications development. Of course, it should be entertaining as well since toddlers are not really known for their patience. As such, we’ve come up with the 10 awesome videos for toddlers in 2018 to keep your little tot fully entertained and at the same time build on his or her developmental skills.
10 Really Amazing Videos for Toddlers
Color Songs Collection Vol. 1 by Busy Beavers Kids Learn ABCs 123s and More
The world is painted in vibrant colors. Unfortunately, all the eyes can see are different shades and the brain technically doesn’t know which is blue and which is red. That’s why you have to train the brain into associating a certain name for a certain color or hue. The more the brain gets exposed to this association, the better it is in making the connection between the color and the name of that color. Such is the aim of Busy Beavers’ Color Songs Collection Volume 1. As the title implies, it is a collection of songs that teaches kids about the colors red, blue, green, yellow, brown, orange purple, pink, white, and black. Each video has the screen in exact the same color as the hue being taught. Additionally, it comes with an image of objects that have the color being depicted. Furthermore, the bottom of the screen displays the word itself including the simple sentence that the word is used in. For instance, “The ball is blue” is shown while a blue ball is bouncing on the blue screen. This helps train the brain to associate the color it sees with how blue is written and spoken. Moreover, toddlers are introduced to the different objects used in the video like apples and balls and a whole lot more. The video lasts 33 minutes and is composed of 11 videos about colors and presented in a variety of songs which kids can sing along to later on.
What We Like about It – It’s simple and straight to the point. It teaches the names of colors including how they sound and how they are supposed to be written or spelled. It’s also great for introducing kids to some common objects found in the real world.
Bob the Train Alphabet Adventure Children’s English Learning Videos and Songs for Kids to Sing by Kids TV Nursery Rhymes and Children’s Songs
In a very different twist for learning the alphabet, Bob the Train Alphabet Adventure takes your tot on a special train ride with our friendliest and most jolly steam locomotive this side of the planet. Bob takes children on a ride around town searching and stopping by to pick up his alphabet friends. But here’s where it gets interesting. Some alphabet friends are inconspicuous as they often match the color of their background. In such cases, kids will really have to use their keen sense of vision to find where our alphabet friends are. Each letter of the alphabet will typically let out a very simple phrase that can be taken as a rhyme. The 5-minute video culminates in Bob picking up all of his alphabet friends from A to Z complete with a very friendly tune playing in the background. Kids will have a great time recognizing the colors in the structures in the video. The sound and look of each letter will also be greatly appreciated by tots.
What We Like about It – Short and direct to the point. That’s what the video really is. The use of vibrant colors can also help enhance color recognition.
Phonics Song with Two Words – A for Apple ABC Alphabet Songs with Sounds for Children by ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes and Kids Songs
Writing the letters of the alphabet is one thing. Learning how to correctly pronounce it is a different matter. It should be evident by now that miscommunication can occur if we don’t pronounce the word right. And while toddlers are still a long way to mastering the correct pronunciation of words, it starts with the correct sound formation of the alphabet. This is what the Phonics Song with Two Words video is all about. Each letter is presented with two objects that begin with that letter. These are depicted with both images and written words. When the letter has been presented, the song video presents how the letter should sound. This helps toddlers learn and appreciate several things such as the sound, the form, and the objects that start with the given letter. The animation is very fun to watch and consists of things that are very common in everyday life. The tune is very easy to remember as well. Your kid will be humming and singing to the tune in minutes. This can help with better retention of the learning content.
What We Like about it – The tune is great and the animation is splendid for toddlers. The focus on phonics is a great way to teach kids how to say the letter correctly and associate it with very common objects or animals.
The Numbers Song – Learn to Count from 1 to 10 – Number Rhymes for Children by ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes and Kids Songs
We don’t believe we have seen a video about counting numbers that has been done in a very hip way. The upbeat tune on The Numbers Song – Learn to Count from 1 to 10 – Number Rhymes for Children can actually pass for a great dance tune. Even if kids will not be learning the content of the video, they will surely still benefit from it physically as the video can be used as great background music for kiddie physical exercises. But, going back to the educational content of the ChuChu TV video, the The Numbers Song teaches kids about the different numbers including their forms or how they look. The numbers are presented in twos like 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4 and so on and so forth. In each grouping of numbers, the appearance of the number is shown but it doesn’t really show how many a particular number really is.
What We Like about It – The tune is easy to follow and quite upbeat, too, making it extra-appealing to kids. The numbers are presented in rhyming fashion so they are easier to master.
Learn Names of Fruits and Vegetables with Toy Velcro Cutting Fruits and Vegetables by Toy & Play
One of the most crucial things that we need to provide to young kids especially toddlers is good nutrition. Unfortunately, tots are known for being picky, finicky, or choosy especially during mealtimes where you’re serving vegetables and/or fruits. One way to address this is by encouraging them to join you in preparing the fruits and vegetables. The Learn Names of Fruits and Vegetables is a great companion video for kids who already have those toy fruits and vegetables that come with Velcro attachment and a variety of kitchen instruments. The video itself is pretty straightforward. It uses the same toys as those Velcro-strapped toy fruits and vegetables, a plastic chopping board, and a plastic knife. Each fruit and vegetable is presented, what they look like, how the name is pronounced, and the correct spelling of the name. In many ways, it also helps improve color awareness. While we clearly would have appreciated a lot better if the video used actual fruits and vegetables, we thought kids might get so overwhelmed since they are not really supposed to be cutting and slicing those foods with a real knife yet.
What We Like about It – It’s a no-frills video that is predicated on the assumption that kids watching this already have a toy Velcro fruit and vegetable.
Boats and Ships for Children Construction Game: Tugboat by MizyakaDizyaka ENG
For families who are living near rivers and bays or seas, their kids will naturally be curious about how these floating water vessels work. From ships to yachts to sailboats and even tugboats, there is this natural tendency for children to ask things about how these things work. Instead of hitting your head when they begin asking you about how a tugboat works, why not let him or her watch the Boats and Ships for Children Construction Game: Tugboats? The video is presented in a manner that is simple and very easy to understand. In this particular video, a gift box is opened and in it is a tugboat kit that is just waiting to be assembled. The video goes on to describe the different parts of the tugboat including its function or purpose. One by one, the different components are assembled to form a great looking tugboat. This is a great introduction to tugboats. And if your child has a toy tugboat as a bath time accessory, he or she will be able to play with it in a more active and more engaging manner. The only downside to the video is that there are no written texts about the names of the different parts. Towards the end of the video, kids are treated to a fantastic experience exploring the inside of a tugboat and taking it for a ride down the river or up the harbor to meet a large ship.
What We Like about It – The Construction Game: Tugboat is a great way for young kids to understand how a tugboat works.
Laugh and Learn Cartoon for Babies: Let’s Go to the Farm by Fisher-Price
When we talk about Fisher-Price we often conjure images of toys but definitely not videos. But the Laugh and Learn Cartoon for Babies Let’s Go to the Farm is not actually a departure from what Fisher-Price is known for. In fact, it is a great addition to the many learning activities that are embedded in every toy that they make. The Let’s Go to the Farm is a very fun 3-minute video about Puppy, Sis, and Froggy’s adventures in the farm. There are easy tunes to sing to. The story talks about how our trio of friends met a duckling who is looking for his mom. So they went to the farm and encountered different farm animals complete with the written names of these animals and the distinctive sounds these create. It’s a happy ending as Puppy and Sis finally brings ducky to his mom on a pond who is happily swimming along with ducky’s 4 siblings. The storyline is very simple yet it is really effective as anything longer than 5 minutes can already bore a toddler. The Laugh and Learn teaches kids about the common animals in the farm, some simple words, and the counting numbers 1 to 5.
What We Like about it – It’s simple yet very effective. The tunes are sung in melodies that are very familiar to children.
Learn Letters with Max the Glow Train by coilbookLearning for Children
Max is a friendly and fun-loving kiddie toy train who loves nothing than teach young kids the alphabet. In the Learn Letters with Max the Glow Train, Max is joined in each sequence by his alphabet friends. There are vehicle names to master like an airplane and a helicopter and so much more. Then there are names of different fruits which toddlers may already be familiar with like oranges, lemons, and mangoes. The video also presents toy animals like an elephant, a mouse, a pig, and even a zebra. There are shapes being rescued by the fire truck as well. The video attempts to teach kids every letter in the alphabet by showing the different items – vehicles, fruits, shapes, or animals – that start with these letters. More than that, however, is the fact that children also get to understand the names of these different items. This can help expand their vocabulary.
What We Like about It – coilbook’s Max the Glow Train is friendly-looking toy train. The storyline of the video is just perfect for older toddlers as they get to understand some of the more common events happening around us including common items and objects found in the modern world.
JohnyJohny Yes Papa – Great Songs for Children by LooLoo Kids Nursery Rhymes and Children’s Songs
For most of us, nursery rhymes are nothing more than rhythmic songs that children love to sing. In fact these tunes can still be sung by adults even today. However, experts agree that these are more than just simple songs. The words contained in the lyrics provide an excellent resource for children to expand their vocabulary. The JohnyJohny Yes Papa offers a great collection of nursery rhyme songs that young children can listen and sing along to. The animation is also amazing as kids will follow the exploits of Bay Johny. The 55-minute video should keep your tot entertained while also learning of a variety of words which he or she can later on use to communicate with you and other caregivers.
What We Like about It – The animation is splendid. The nursery rhymes, while these have been modified a bit, still carry the same signature appeal that your child will be humming to for many years.
Learn English for Kids – Spelling of 17 English Words by HooplaKidz Official Nursery Rhymes Channel
Designed especially for children who need to study common English words, the Learn English for Kids provide a very entertaining way to learn 17 very common items of everyday use such as apple, banana, ball, fish, parrot, dog, tree, and ten other words. Each word is spelled out correctly and is presented in a mini poem. There are two things that kids can learn: the spelling and the appearance of the object being described. This helps in better learning and retention of the learning content. The graphics aren’t bad either.
What We Like about It – The 31-minute video is just the right length to teach young kids about 17 English words that they will be using to communicate with other people.
How We Chose the Awesome Videos for Toddlers
While we are no video experts, we have a fairly good understanding of what awesome videos for toddlers should be. We asked our child psychologist friends to give us an idea of the best video content to look for that will bring out the best in any toddler. While the sensorimotor stage of development is already completed by this time, we learned that it doesn’t really hurt to keep on building on the different developmental milestones established in the first 18 months of a child’s life. As such, this is exactly what we did. We chose videos that provided an excellent array of sensory information from colors to patterns and shapes and even to the different sounds, music, melodies, and phrases. While these bits of sensory information are processed and integrated in the infant brain, these are built upon during toddlerhood.
Our choice of videos reflected our understanding of the unique developmental needs of toddlers. One of the major issues that majority of parents with toddlers face is the supposedly negativistic behavior of these kids. Toddlers are not inherently authority-averse or negativistic or even antisocial. They just happen to lack the faculties to communicate what they really want. Like us, we also get frustrated when we seem unable to convey our true feelings or even our deepest concerns to specific persons. What more among young kids who don’t have any idea yet on how to manage their stress levels? However, if we provide them with tools that will help build on their vocabulary, teach them how to talk and communicate, and encourage them to express themselves in more constructive ways, we believe toddlers will never get easily frustrated and throw temper tantrums. As such, the videos we have selected are those that are designed primarily to help kids develop their language and communication skills.
Of course, there are literally millions of YouTube videos to choose from. So, we went ahead and chose those that have the most views. We did wanted to correlate this with the vid’s Like-Dislike ratio but decided against it since it is quite subjective. Hopefully, you found the videos we listed as truly engaging and educational for your own toddler.
Tips to Choosing the Right Videos for Your Toddler
The age of technology has spawned the creation of videos of various genres. Unfortunately, many of these are simply not appropriate for kids, especially toddlers. Of course, you can control what your kid watches on YouTube and other popular free online video platforms. You can also learn how to make YouTube safer for kids but a better approach is to choose the right videos for them before applying any parental controls. Here’s how.
- Always understand the unique developmental needs of your toddler. Not all kids progress at the same rate. Some may already be eloquent as young as 18 months while others may still find difficulty talking even when they are already 3 years old. So, observe your child and determine his or her developmental level.
- Choose videos that can help your child address some of the developmental concerns you have noted. For instance, maybe he or she is having difficulty with numbers. So, you make sure to include in his or her playlist videos about counting numbers. The same can be said for other aspects of his or her development.
- Take time to watch the videos yourself. However, you will need to evaluate these videos from the perspective of your child. It may look boring and dull for you but for your kid, it might already be a treasure trove.
- Check out reviews especially those performed by authoritative figures in the field of child development. They can offer a variety of tips as well on how certain videos can help toddlers develop to their full potential.
The Bottom Line
Videos come in a variety of genres. However, for toddlers, it is crucial that these provide great educational value especially in terms of helping toddlers develop their language and communication skills. With the 10 awesome videos for toddlers in 2017 we just shared with you, we’re confident your kid is on the right track to optimum growth and development.