Preschool Videos Where Kids Can Be Active While Watching

Updated on December 13, 2012
M.N. asks from Torrance, CA
17 answers

I'm in search of some videos for my really active 3 1/2 year old son. (please no comments about how kids shouldn't watch TV). We have a couple of videos that involve dancing that my son loves to dance along to. I love them because he's actually doing something active while watching TV rather than just looking at the TV mindlessly and he really does get a work out. Anyone have any suggestions for videos that your kids dance along to? Or where they are active participants in some way?

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C.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

When the weather got bad we put a small trampoline in the tv room and my daughter would bounce when she watched tv... 4 years later we still pull it out on rainy days

1 mom found this helpful

S.H.

answers from San Diego on

If it hasn't already been mentioned a thousand times...Yo Gabba Gabba. Get up and Dance! is pretty much the motto of this whole series of shows;)

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

My friend actually checked out some kids "workout" videos from the library recently. She hasn't told me how her kids liked them, but she kinda got a kick out of it! I looked at the back cover and it basically looked like dancing around and doing movement.

It's kind of a stretch but I will say that as far as regular TV goes, Yo Gabba Gabba has more movement opportunities than most of the others. They have a dance segment and the kids wiggle around sometimes too.

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C.B.

answers from Houston on

YouTube! My kids love to do the Zumba ones...I preview to make sure the song lyrics are OK with me though. They also love to "exercise" along next to me when I do my own workouts. It doesn't have to be kid focused necessarily.

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☆.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

We used to call this "the Wiggles"!

1 mom found this helpful

Y.M.

answers from Iowa City on

You could check out 'Bo on the Go'. That show asks kids to actively participate.

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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Save yourself a lot of money AND get more variety -- go to the library and look at the kids' video section! They will have music videos, exercise videos (yes, for kids) and more. Look for one called (dreadfully) "Chicken Fat." It uses a song that's been around forever but has a ton of simple but fun exercise moves to it. Remember -- you should do them alongside your son and he will LOVE that; they adore doing this stuff with adults. Look for dance videos for kids too. (And don't hesitate to get him kids' ballet videos as well as hip-hop stuff -- ballet builds balance and body awareness in both boys and girls!!) The library is a terrific resource because you can change videos when he tires of one and get something new and varied -- for free.

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S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

4 Square and The Wiggles.

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B.W.

answers from Seattle on

I second the Wiggles and Backyardigans, plus Yo Gabba Gabba.

1 mom found this helpful

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

My toddler loves the Backyardigans and is always doing their dances along with them and acting out the episodes. It's a huge bonus that I find the show very sweet, and the music so pleasing that I bought one of the soundtracks and yes, I'll admit it, I listen to it in the car even when no children are in the car with me. :)

And I have absolutely NO issue with children watching TV. I have issues with all sorts of things, but I think TV can be extremely educational and in the right context, doesn't make for lazy kids. I have never put a limit on my kid's screen time and I have two active, healthy (physically and mentally), bright children.

As a matter of fact, with my first, I had the time to sit and teach her every day and by the time she was 2.5 years old, I was so proud that she knew all her letters in caps, her numbers through 10, could count to 20, and knew her shapes and colors.

Haha, laughing now...my second child, NOW 2.5 years old, won't sit and let me teach her anything. However, she has SOMEHOW managed to learn ALL her letters, both upper and lower case, most of the phonics that go with them, her numbers, shapes and colors BEYOND the basics, and I don't know how many crazy words you'd never hear coming out of a two year old. What's the difference? Well, she watches a lot more TV than her younger sister did, for many various reasons.

Don't feel guilty about letting your children watch TV. As long as they aren't obese, and have other interests and activities, it really isn't a problem.

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D..

answers from Miami on

Men doing zumba? The women are too pretty! LOL!)

Oter than that, "I got nothin'!"

Good luck!
Dawn

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Ha!!!

My son is ADHD-c

The ONLY time I could breathe for a moment was when he was plugged in, when he was little. 3miles (running, as in he ran while I walked), 10 minutes later gymnastics, 20 minutes to eat, the 3 hours of swimming. 10 minutes later.. Then he was climbing the walls for an hour (literally... He'd stovepipe the corners)... Then, and then, and then. The ONLY peace I could buy was electronic.

It wasn't out then (use it lots now!), but xBox Kinnect is AWESOME.
- Dancing games
- jumping & ducking games
- yoga
- Pilates
- tons and tons and tons of awesome, awesome games.

It films your whole body, so there's no way to 'cheat'.

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L.M.

answers from Cleveland on

there is one called yoga for kids.

my dd liked the bella Bella dancerella videos cheerleading, ballet, and a few others.

lol wasn't there a motorcylce kind of toy that kids could ride on to make the video game play. it was for toddlers and was like a stationary bike, but maybe i'm remembering the commercials wrong it was while ago

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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

My kids loved The Wiggles. The videos with Greg are better for this than the videos with Sam. When Sam came on board the really kicked the dancing into high gear. It's great to watch, but not easy to copy. The dancing with Greg was dancing the kids can do with the "Wiggly Dancers." (Or "Friendly Pirate Crew," depending on the video you choose.)

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A.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Do you have a Wii? There is a great workout video game specifically for ages 3-6 that features Nickalodean characters. My 4.5 year old gets a great workout and gets to use up some of her endless energy ;-)
Great for rainy and cold days.

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T.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

There is a great preschool show called Hi-5 that is no longer on cable as far as I have looked, but can be bought on amazon. I bought the entire series from amazon for my 3 year old, because my now 10 year LOVED the show. It's high energy and very educational. It's all my 3 year old wants to watch besides Yo Gabba Gabba.

At the beginning and end of each show they do a very high energy dance/song routine and they do the same song for the entire week's worth of a show (5 episodes), so the kids really get to know the song and dance to it. I even dance with them, and really get my heart rate going. They probably have at least 20 different songs which means about 80-100 episodes if you buy the whole series.

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

You probably won't like this, but...
when mine were little the ONLY video that got them up and moving was Barney.
Remember Barney? The obnoxious purple dinosaur?
They also liked Sesame Street and would occasionally dance to some of the stuff played on that.
Honestly, playing music, especially really good dance, rock n roll, r & b or hip hop/disco music would get them up and moving.
I used to do work out videos at home, and sometimes they joined in, using cans of soup as weights, lol!!!

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