Need to entertain the kids for half an hour? (CBeebies)

Member Name: Rosie78

Product:	CBeebies
Date:	28/10/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great programming, no violence, educational

Disadvantages: Lose a star for the crappy magazine

CBeebies is the BBC channel which caters for children up to the age of about 5 years. It airs from 6am to 7pm in the evening and shows a variety of programmes, a lot of animation plus some more factual things. Some of the shows such as Come Outside have been around for a long time, but there are new programmes appearing all the time. The latest, I Can Cook, is a cooking show demonstrating simple recipes that children can make pretty much by themselves. We have tried some of the recipes and they are great! Also showing at the moment is Tellytales, 10 minute adaptations of fairy tales using both acting and animation. There are lots of music based shows (Carrie and David's Popshop is one example) in fact I can't think of a show that doesn't include music or singing of some kind. There are also many of the classic shows such as Postman Pat and Bob the Builder. All the shows seem to be carefully selected to support children's development, they are educational and don't include any violence. My 4 year old is starting to be interested in some of the superhero type shows on other channels that do include some violence, but he's still happy to watch CBeebies most of the time. Another great show is Something Special, developed for children with special educational needs who use Makaton, but appealing for all children in my opinion.

Some of the shows are repeated during the day, for example and episode of Postman Pat might be shown in a morning and afternoon slot, but that's not a problem unless you are watching TV all day! ;). There is a bit of a gender bias on CBeebies. Most of the superhero/main characters are male, and any girls in leading roles tend to be pink and frilly! But that's a minor criticism really, I think other channels aimed at children tend to be a lot worse for this!

The best thing about this channel is that there are no adverts. However, whenever we go to the newsagent I am pestered to buy the CBeebies magazine. The magazine is fine itself, but it always comes with a crappy plastic toy on the front which ends up in the bin after a few days. Given that CBeebies seem to be pushing a green message in a lot of their shows, it's a bit hypocritical for them to sell us this stuff.

Otherwise, a great channel, I have no worries about letting my children watch CBeebies.

Summary: You'll be singing the jingle before you know it.