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Developing a sense of empathy is an important process that all children go through. As they learn how to be compassionate, they establish strong social bonds with peers and teachers and learn how to be tolerant and accept others. In short, it’s one of the main building blocks of emotional regulation, which helps children adapt and succeed in life.
We carefully selected the shows on this list because they encourage preschoolers, little kids, and big kids to be compassionate and develop healthy friendships with others. They feature characters who teach the importance of compassion and promote kindness by demonstrating how we should love others despite our differences.
Young children mimic the behaviors and emotions of others, which is a necessary first step in developing those same feelings themselves, including the ability to demonstrate compassion. The following shows will help model and encourage empathy among toddlers and preschoolers by offering relatable and simple examples.
<h3><a class="BlogPostShowTitle" href="https://www.sensical.tv/shows/kipper">Kipper<br></a></h3>
Kipper stars a cute talking dog who goes on fun adventures with his friends. Along the way, he teaches important lessons about kindness, friendship, and how to make good decisions. The interactions between Kipper and his pals promote positive social and emotional skills that will help little ones build on their own relationships and establish healthy attitudes early in life.
If your preschooler loves cars, they’ll love this show! The main character, Chuck, is a friendly little dump truck who has big dreams. Together, he and his amazing car friends race through life taking on challenges and devising solutions. In each episode, your preschooler will see valuable lessons about responsibility, friendship, and teamwork in action through these fun stories featuring Chuck and his friends.
Purple Turtle is a sweet series full of positive messages and values for preschoolers. The show follows the adventures of Purple Turtle and his best friends, Roxy the Chameleon, Zing the Rabbit, Melody the Bird, and Tadley the Bear. The friends love having fun and figuring things out together, which encourages kids to explore, learn from their mistakes, and inspire one another to do the best they can.
This show is based on the children’s book series Dear Dragon and features a princess named Florrie whose best friend is a dragon. The duo has fun exploring the world together while learning about the value of friendship and the meaning of compassion. This show also focuses on positive messages about community, acceptance, and individuality to help preschool-aged children develop a sense of self while also improving their interpersonal skills.
Little kids at this age may not be able to fully understand the concept of empathy, but they can understand the importance of kind behaviors, learn how to treat others well, and consider how others might be feeling in a certain situation. These shows help little kids develop the necessary skills and emotional tools to begin demonstrating empathy in their own lives with friends and family.
This show features a band of fun puppet friends who come to life when no one else is around. The crew has to work together to make sure their secret life remains a secret, often tackling challenging situations and obstacles. In doing so, the lively characters demonstrate how healthy relationships work and show little kids how to identify and comprehend their emotions, communicate, and show empathy for others.
This silly series features Moka, an adventurous and curious crocodile prince who often finds himself in trouble due to his recklessness. Fortunately, Cherry, a rhino from the Royal Guard, is tasked with keeping Moka safe and guiding him through the perilous adventures that await him in the kingdom of Savannah. By watching the pair’s silly adventures, your child will learn the importance of being kind, setting aside differences, and making an effort to understand another’s habits and ambitions.
This lively and colorful show features exciting and familiar Dr. Seuss characters who have a special way of teaching important life lessons. As the puppet friends explore and solve mysteries together, they help kids understand the importance of concepts like being a good friend, using one’s imagination, being able to ask for help when needed, and learning how to deal with big emotions like fear or nervousness.
Ricky Zoom is an ambitious little rescue motorcycle and the head of the Bike Buddies. He and his friends Loop, DJ, and Scootio love going on adventures and jumping in to save the day when others need help. In each episode, they work to solve problems together. As they travel around the town of Wheelford, they meet different bikes with varying personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. The show heavily emphasizes community, communication, teamwork, and creativity as the bikes work through issues together and learn how to respect one another’s feelings.
As kids get older, they’ll have more opportunities to practice compassion and empathy. These shows are ideal for big kids ages 8 to 10 and will help them grow and mature as they deepen their understanding and perspectives of other people’s needs and feelings in their lives.
This show is a sci-fi adventure that takes place in the underground world of Slugterra. Eli Shane is a young teen who’s determined to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become the greatest slug-slinging hero around by collecting, training, and dueling strange creatures called slugs. As he and the rest of the Shane gang duel slugs and fight the villainous Dr. Blakk, they learn lessons about how to work together to achieve a common goal.
This anime-style show for tweens features Iris, a teenage girl who’s a princess with magical powers and is also a member of a rock band, LoliRock! Each episode focuses on themes like justice and friendship as the girls fight for what’s right in a world full of magical powers and mysteries.
Bakugan is an anime adventure series featuring Dan and his group of friends. These kids bravely band together with creatures from another dimension to boldly save the world. Themes like trust, loyalty, and friendship feature prominently in this show, but it also touches on heavy subject matter such as loss. Overall, the positive messages in Bakugan can help big kids understand and navigate their world, develop empathy for others, and create positive change in the world just like Dan and his friends do.
These hilarious and silly videos are a tween favorite. From adventure videos and music videos to entertaining challenges, parodies, and more, big kids will enjoy watching their favorite characters sing, dance, and even fight crime with their magical superpowers. Although it might seem like all the sketches, rap battles, and makeovers in Totally TV videos are just silly, they highlight the importance of creativity and being encouraging to friends, and they’re uplifting and positive.
Sensical is a free video streaming service for kids that’s chock full of fun shows promoting compassion, kindness, and empathy. With a variety of expert-approved shows for preschoolers, little kids, and big kids to choose from, you can feel confident that your children are enjoying high-quality entertainment with long-lasting value. Sign up for free with Sensical and start watching today!
Kids are learning lessons about friendship and kindness all the time, so we’ve selected some of our favorite shows about friendship!
