“It’s ok if you pause your usual screen-time rules,” Filucci told CNN. “You can let kids know that things will go back to normal once this situation is over. But it’s important to choose age-appropriate content, and if kids are out of school and not part of an organized distance learning program, it’s a good idea to supplement entertainment content with educational offerings.”
Here’s a selection of some of the (better) viewing options for kids.
Educational shows
For age 2+
“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” — Disney Channel
“Sesame Street” — PBS and HBO
For age 3+
“The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That” — PBS Kids
“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” — PBS
For age 4+
“Tumble Leaf” — Amazon Prime
“Doc McStuffins” — Disney Junior
“Sid the Science Kid” — PBS Kids
“Wallykazam!” — Nickelodeon
For age 5+
“The Electric Company” — PBS
“Word Girl” — PBS Kids
For age 6+
“Design Squad Nation” — PBS Kids
“Planet Earth” — Discovery Channel
Documentaries
For ages 6+
“March of the Penguins” — Amazon Prime (rental)
“Babies” — Netflix
For age 7+
“Pick of the Litter” — Netflix
“Wonders of the Sea” — Amazon Prime
Age 8+
“Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable” — Amazon Prime
“The Biggest Little Farm” — Amazon Prime
Age 9+
“Chasing Coral” — Netflix
“Kindness Is Contagious” — Amazon Prime
Age 10+
“Far From the Tree”
“Make Believe”- Amazon
“On the Way To School” — Amazon
Movies on Netflix
Age 6+
“Expedition China”
“Ghost of the Mountains”
Age 7+
“Dream Big: Engineering Our World”
“The Short Game”
Age 8+
“Dancing with the Birds”
Age 10+
“Before the Flood”
“Harry & Snowman”
Movies on Disney+
Age 3+
“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”
“Alice in Wonderland”
Age 4+
“The Jungle Book”
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
Age 5+
“101 Dalmatians”
“Bolt”
“A Bug’s Life”
“Cars”
“Dumbo”
“The Great Muppet Caper”
“Toy Story”
“Toy Story 4”
Age 6+
“The Absent-Minded Professor”
“Aladdin”
“The Emperor’s New Groove”
“Finding Dory”
“The Great Mouse Detective”
“Ice Age”
“The Lion King”
“Moana”
“The Muppet Movie”
“Ratatouille”
Age 7+
“Bedknobs and Broomsticks”
“Escape to Witch Mountain”
“Hercules”
“The Incredibles”
Movies on Hulu
Age 3+
“Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle”
“Lost and Found”
Age 4+
“A Boy Named Charlie Brown”
Age 5+
“Charlotte’s Web”
“Dr. Seuss: The Lorax”
Age 6+
“Free Willy”
“One Crazy Cruise”
“Snoopy, Come Home”
Age 7+
“Hercules”
“Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs: Wakko’s Wish”
Movies for teens and tweens
“Napoleon Dynamite”
“Three Amigos!”
“Clue”
“Spaceballs”
“What About Bob?”
“Young Frankenstein”
“Real Genius”
“The Wedding Singer”
“Dinner for Schmucks”
“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”
“Zoolander”
“Blazing Saddles”
“Coming to America”