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I have been thinking more and more about how I am going to put good influences and shows in front of my children. Kids respond to and are so apt to watch videos with all of our increasing technology. We MUST find good things for them to watch. I totally understand this.
When I began this search, I had no idea I would find this many great Catholic and Christian kid resources. This is usually what happens when I’m mildly curious about a topic and then don’t really think it will bring much fruit. I sure proved myself wrong.
What Goes In Must Go Out, shows included
This concept I know from my own spiritual and mental formation. As an adult, I am more likely to pray every day if I put good things in front of me that remind me to do so.
They say children are like sponges. Yes, my 2-yr-old son has lately been repeating everything I say. This is a vital brain development stage. I want him to develop with Christian influences so that what we teach him will be reinforced.
I’m no child psychologist, but parents are the primary and first teachers of their children. And I wish more than anything to teach them the Truth of the Gospel!
And to provide entertainment that is the most in line with their human dignity and the Catholic worldview.
Guide to Catholic Kids’ Shows – So Many Options!
That is when I decided to research and create a printout for Catholic Kids’ Shows. Since I found much more than just video options, I might have to make another post with audio and book resources.
However, rest assured this post will give you all the links to each individual video resource for you to check out. I am so excited to do this for you! Please enjoy the wonderful resources that others have created.
*Some of these I use often with my kids and others not so much, but they are worth looking into!
Covered in this post:
Catholic Kids’ TV Shows
There are a few options available, whether you prefer online, apps, or actual TV watching. However, each show is geared toward the formation of spiritual Catholic children.
These Christian shows are sure to be a hit with both kid(s) and mom.
CatholicTV Kids Club
This website allows you to watch streaming for free online. The Kids Club features shows like Adventures in Odyssey (I grew up with the audio series!), What’s in the Bible?, Upbeat Kids, and The Adventures of Donkey Ollie.
Just watching a few minutes of the show that was streaming live, is meant for an older kid or for a family watching. We all know that the stories in the Bible are not violent-proof or sin-free. It seems these shows are portraying the stories accurately.
I might encourage adult presence to answer and explain what might be going on.
EWTN Kids’ Shows
I adore adult programming on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), and the kid’s programming is no different. The Kids Faith Factory includes shows like The Friar, Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids, The Donut Man, My Catholic Family, The Roamin’ Catholic, and We Are Catholic.
The shows are available once a week on EWTN television, so you will have to check the times in order to catch the right show. Most are in the 8 AM and 3 PM hours.
EWTN Kids Games
There is additionally an online interactive kids games through EWTN. You can visit a church, a post office, and various families’ homes to play games, take quizzes, and learn about the faith.
This would be cool to check out for kids who like to learn things on their own.
YouTube Shows — Channels and Playlists
Catholic Movies for Kids
One YouTube user craftily put together this playlist of Catholic Bible Stories for children, including stories about the saints.
The Good News
This channel has a story of the Birth of Jesus for the family to watch together. It has videos from different languages as well, which is really cool if you are in a bilingual family or teach your children different languages from an early age.
Bible Stories for Kids
A channel with half-hour episodes of Bible stories for children to watch. These would be great as a family or as a little something in the morning or after-school hours. Super helpful for children to learn the awesome stories from the Bible.
They also have some great music in their videos, but that’s just me saying that as a music teacher.
Catholic Kids
Another user created a great playlist of Catholic resources for kids. I love that YouTube allows users to create public playlists so others can benefit from their curated information!
EWTN Kids
An extensive playlist of shows and resources from the EWTN channel. This would be a great option if you don’t want to wait for those once-a-week times to watch some of your favorite shows. Most kids don’t mind watching the same episode over and over anyway, right?
The Beginners Bible
The final channel that I will feature is videos from the Beginners Bible. I totally had that book when I was a kid. It was a huge white kid Bible with lots of awesome stories!
How cool that they have turned the stories into videos! It only makes sense for our media-driven world, though.
Other Christian Kids Shows on YouTube Channels
- The Holy Tales
- Superbook (also on Roku)
- Giggle Mug
- Christian Kids TV – Saint Stories
- Jesus Wonder Animations
- NEW! The Little Francis on Saturday Morning TV (note: this one is not included in the free PDF download or in the video)
What About YouTube Ads?
The downside of YouTube for me is waiting through all of the commercials. At times, they are family-friendly. Other times, not so much, especially if they are promoting the latest gross or scary movie, or talking about contraception.
Options to get rid of youtube ads
An option you could consider is YouTube Red, which is the ad-free version of the site. It is $11.99/month to subscribe to it, or they have a family option for $17.99/month.
I have been using the 11.99 option for almost 2 years now, and it has been very nice to not have any ads!
Another option is using ViewPure. It takes a little more work, but you can copy and paste the desired YouTube link into their website, and it will show you the video without ads, comments, or any other info other than the video. This is super great to limit distractions and to keep the content as clean as possible.
Third option: StopAd Blog actually gives you many options to try with this helpful post on how to stop YouTube ads.
GodTube
If you need some video time with your kid and don’t want to resort to cartoons all the time, GodTube is a good site to find inspirational, cute and funny videos that are family-friendly.
They give you great suggestions on what to watch based on what you have watched before. I personally have seen some really good videos from here.
The comedy section has quite a few comedy skits from popular Christian comedians. There are a few that always make me laugh, especially Bob Smiley! (I saw him live!)
Minno (formerly Jelly Telly)
With their tagline being, “shows and movies where God is real”, you can’t go wrong here. Subscription prices are quite decent, starting at 6.99/ month. If you know you are going to like it, you can pay 69.99/year and get two months for free. Both prices offer a free week’s trial to see if it’s a good fit for your family.
Minno features the ever-popular Veggie Tales, as well as Owlegories, Bible Notes with Cliff, 3 2 1 Penguins!, Davey and Goliath, and many many more. I will admit I have never heard of any of them except for Veggie Tales, but the site is created by Phil Vischer, who is a pretty cool guy himself.
If you are willing to pay for good programming suitable for all ages, this might be a good option for you.
Pure Flix
Ironically, I came across Pure Flix while using YouTube one day. These are family-friendly movies that also come with a small price to subscribe to. You can watch anywhere online with any device or with your Television. Great options for all families here!
Your options are to pay $99.99 a year, or $10.99 a month. The prices are a little bit closer to Netflix, but as the quality of content is better, I say go for it. This option would be great if you regularly engage in a family movie night at your house. They house almost every genre with a special section for kids aged 1-10!
I love it when a service breaks things down and makes them super simple to use. While I would recommend still watching a bit of the show or pre-watching before the kids get to view it, having services like this can bring a whole lot more peace of mind to the entertainment part of a family dynamic.
Netflix Kids
If you subscribe to Netflix, there can be some great family-friendly movies and shows.
- We actually have canceled our Netflix for over a year now. It seemed like the best thing for my family, though if you have it, there are some quality options for your kids; I would suggest a lot of browsing and pre-viewing things on there.
You can find other shows on there that are great for kids that don’t have all the weird stuff on them. We have watched in the past Little Baby Bum, Chuggington, and Learning Songs by Little Baby Bum.
PBS Kids
These are not religious-centric shows. However, they are very educational and mostly (not so much as it used to be) clean. You can watch it on television and also on the viewing app. There are also games to play if you want.
- I will also caution parents that newer versions of these shows do contain homosexual references and same-sex couples. I trust that as a parent you will follow your instinct and do what works best for your family. Personally, I have taken this off of my Roku screen as well as Netflix and Disney+.
*Formed App*
This app is pure gold when it comes to finding shows and movies that are in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Formed offers a 7-day free trial, and you can use the app for either $9.99/month or $100/year (saving you about $20).
You get everything from kids’ shows to family movies, faith formation, Bible studies, sacrament series, and many features on saints and Church history. Even videos on current topics in the culture and audio dramas.
We have been using this app for over 2 years, and it is a gem to have in your arsenal for those times when you need 20 minutes as a break!
We LOVE Benjamin Cello, The Slugs and Bugs Show, Brother Francis, and a few other kids’ shows they have on there.
Other ones that get us excited are the saint movies (like The Day the Sun Danced) and the marriage series Beloved and the parenting series Me and My House (read my full honest review here)
We have also used the Brother Francis audio drama and the Rosary songs to help us settle down for naps and bedtime.
*IF YOU GET ANY of these resources – get this one! I cannot recommend it enough.*
Note: check with your parish to see if they have the parish subscription, then you can sign up for free just by affiliating with your parish. Super cool!
This app also works on your Roku, so if you have one already… it might be time to get the Formed app!
Angel Studios
I’m sure you’ve heard about Angel by now, with the ever-popular, expanding The Chosen series!
I highly recommend Angel not only for The Chosen, but for kid shows like Jungle Beat, The Wingfeather Saga, and Tuttle Twins. The DryBar comedy videos are pretty great for adults, too!
It’s totally free, and all of the shows are crowd-funded, which means you have the option to give money to support your favorites!
Even if you do give money, it can be more affordable than perhaps a different subscription option.
Can be used on any phone/tablet/computer/Roku device.
Roku – Works with several options
A Roku can work with PBS Kids, Disney+, Formed, Catholic Kids TV, Angel Studios, EWTN, YouTube, and Netflix.
We purchased a Roku stick to help a fundraiser, and we really like it. The awesome thing is that we can get the channels listed above!
The only thing: you need to make sure you have a pretty decent internet download speed.
You can purchase on Amazon for about $50.(affiliate link)
Shows for All Ages, Really!
There is my crazy long guide for Catholic Christian kid shows and resources. Hopefully, there is something for everyone, with videos from apps, TV, and sites.
I did not get into the videos you can buy because those are everywhere. Just find a local Catholic bookstore or search online.
Please let me know what you think! If there are any other resources you know of or have discovered, let me know and I will add them to my list!
Happy watching, all! Here’s to clean media for our children!
Disclaimer
Please do not think that I am advocating for putting your child in front of a tablet, phone, or television screen and letting them watch shows for hours. That is not my goal.
The primary reason that such entertainment exists is to let us relax while enjoying something that somebody skillfully created! Watching a movie should be something we do together with our families, where adult supervision and explanations, and eyes can be present at all times.
A time to prepare a snack together, get snuggled in to enjoy a show, and then share that time with each other.
Use this list any way you like, but that’s my idea :D.
And if you sometimes turn the TV on so you can go get something done, no judgment here! Been there, and do that a LOT!
At any rate, if you feel like you are watching too much TV, or if your child is, be sure to check out my free printable download of “Should I Watch TV?”, which gives a practical visual guide to stop yourself from binge-watching.
Or you can find other activities that don’t involve TV!
Thank you for this Gessica – have you had a chance to review the Easter and Christmas stories by Spark ? Their videos are on YouTube, I don’t think they are Catholic but I couldn’t find anything wrong with them. Keen to hear your thoughts
I have not heard of that. But thank you for the suggestion. I’m sure there are so many more great videos and resources that I failed to mention. I trust you all to discern what is decent media and what might be appropriate for young children.