A better next episode

9 Best Educational Cartoons for Toddlers in the UK

You want something better than the next noisy video that autoplay has served up. Fair enough. The useful question is what your child is interested in today: counting everything in the room, copying a new word, inventing a game or trying to understand why a friend said no.

These nine shows give you somewhere to start. Each has a suggested episode and something easy to do afterwards. All nine had episodes listed on BBC iPlayer when checked on 4 October 2026; the links go to official pages. BBC iPlayer requires a UK TV licence, and its available episodes can change.

The best educational cartoons at a glance

The lengths refer to the starting episodes in this guide, rather than every episode or special. Yakka Dee! includes animation and real children. Bluey, Bing and Love Monster are stories to talk about together; they do not follow the sort of maths or phonics sequence you get in the Blocks shows.

What are the best cartoons for two-, three- and four-year-olds?

Choose by what your child can follow, rather than trying to get them onto the most advanced show. These are starting suggestions, rather than official age ratings.

• At two: try Yakka Dee! for a single familiar word, Colourblocks for one colour, Bing for a recognisable little problem, or early Numberblocks if counting has caught their attention.
• At three: add Hey Duggee for an activity idea, Love Monster for turn-taking conversations, and early Alphablocks if letter sounds interest them. Bluey gives you plenty of pretend-play ideas.
• At four and five: follow the child’s interests further in Numberblocks or Alphablocks, and try Octonauts if they enjoy a longer rescue story. There is no need to graduate from a favourite simpler show.

For babies and one-year-olds, a daily cartoon playlist is not the starting point. England’s current under-five guidance advises avoiding screens under two except for shared family activities that encourage interaction, such as a video call or looking through photos together. The fuller screen-time advice is below.

1. Numberblocks: best for counting that makes sense

Numberblocks makes a number into a character built from that many blocks. One, Two and Three can be seen as different quantities, rather than just sounds in a counting song. The programme was developed with the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.

Start with: One, a five-minute introduction to Numberblock One. Stay with the early episodes when your child is finding their feet with counting; the later maths can wait.

Try afterwards: build a tower of three chunky blocks, touch each one as you count, then ask for one more. Knock it down and start again if that is the best bit. For more things to count in the kitchen or on a walk, try the practical games in our low-pressure learning activities.

2. Alphablocks: best for playful letter sounds

Alphablocks turns 26 letters into characters who join together to make words. Its focus is phonics: hearing sounds and seeing how they combine. That makes it a better match for a child curious about words than an alphabet song on an endless loop.

Start with: Alphablocks A–Z, a roughly three-minute introduction to the characters.

Try afterwards: choose one sound and find an object beginning with it. “Sss” might lead you to a sock, then a very silly sock puppet. If your child is learning phonics at nursery or school, ask which sounds they are working on and follow that sequence. Our UK reading programmes guide explains the options when you want more structure.

3. Colourblocks: best for a colour-spotting game

Colourblocks gives colours their own characters and uses their adventures to explore colour. It is an easy choice when your child has started naming everything red, including things that are enthusiastically not red.

Start with: Red, a five-minute introduction to that colour.

Try afterwards: hunt for three red things in the room. Put a red sock, a red toy and a red pencil together, then let your child set the next colour challenge. Keep the objects large enough for your child to handle safely. Later episodes on patterns or lighter and darker colours can supply another day’s game.

4. Yakka Dee!: best for one useful word

Dee takes one word and shows it in different, funny ways, mixing cartoons with real children. The early series focus on words; Yakka Dee! Sounds moves into letter sounds. Pick the version that matches what you want to do today.

Start with: Book, a five-minute word adventure.

Try afterwards: fetch an actual book, describe its cover and let your child choose a page. You can repeat “book” naturally without turning the sofa into an oral exam. Accept a point, a sound or a contribution in their own words, then carry on enjoying it together.

5. Hey Duggee: best for the next thing to make or do

Duggee runs the Squirrel Club, where the Squirrels try activities and earn badges. That gives you a ready-made answer to “What shall we do now?” Choose a badge that fits what you have at home, rather than setting yourself a craft-shop mission.

Start with: The Drawing Badge, a seven-minute rainy-day drawing story.

Try afterwards: draw something together and make a paper badge for finishing it. The picture does not have to be recognisable to anyone outside your household. A bear, a car or “Daddy with enormous feet” all count.

6. Bluey: best for games you can steal for the afternoon

Bluey follows a young Blue Heeler puppy and her family. The useful part here is the imaginative play: a familiar room can become the setting for a much bigger story. It is an entertainment series, rather than a phonics or counting course.

Start with: The Adventure, a seven-minute story in which Bluey and Chloe play different roles.

Try afterwards: let your child decide who you are and where you have landed. You can be a shopkeeper serving invisible soup while remaining firmly seated. One short game is enough; you do not have to match a cartoon parent’s entire afternoon.

7. Bing: best for very familiar toddler dramas

Bing is a young bunny working things out with help from Flop and his friends. Sharing toys, getting frustrated and stopping a good game are all big events when you are small. His stories give you a way to talk about those moments while nobody in your own kitchen is having one.

Start with: Say Goodbye, a seven-minute story about Bing and Sula not wanting their time together to end.

Try afterwards: ask what made saying goodbye hard, then invent a goodbye wave together. If nursery goodbyes are the sticking point at home, our nursery settling guide has a practical routine to try.

8. Love Monster: best for friendship and feelings

Love Monster lives among the cute animals of Fluffytown and finds himself facing friendship dilemmas. It is a good choice for a conversation about waiting, feeling left out or trying something difficult.

Start with: Taking Turns Day, a seven-minute story about waiting in a queue for a game.

Try afterwards: take turns choosing a song or adding a block to a tower. If the wait is frustrating, name it: “You really want another go.” Practising with you is more useful than expecting a cartoon to make every playground queue easy.

9. Octonauts: best for an animal-obsessed preschooler

The Octonauts explore underwater and rescue sea creatures. The adventures are longer than the other starting episodes here, so this is a useful next try for a preschooler who enjoys following a mission.

Start with: The Narwhal, an 11-minute Arctic adventure in which their ship gets trapped in the ice.

Try afterwards: pick the creature that caught your child’s attention and find it in an animal book. Draw it a home, or make a sea scene from blue paper and chunky toy animals. Keep pretend rescues on the table; there is no need for a water setup to have an ocean adventure.

Make one episode go further in five minutes

The smallest follow-up is often the one that happens. Choose one thing from the episode to count, find, draw or pretend. Then let the child change the plan.

• No equipment: count three claps, look for a colour, or give a teddy the voice of a character.
• A few toys: build the episode’s number, take turns with a car, or turn a box into a shop.
• A sheet of paper: draw a badge, a favourite animal or the next part of the story.
• A book: find the featured word, compare a real animal with its cartoon version, or make up a different ending.

You do not need a worksheet after every programme. A conversation counts too: “Which bit would you do differently?” is plenty to start with. Our education and learning guides have more ideas for reading, maths and everyday play.

How much screen time, and how do you switch it off?

England’s current Best Start in Life guidance says to avoid screen use under two apart from shared family activities that encourage interaction. For ages two to five, try to keep total screen time to one hour a day or less. Watching together and talking about what you see is encouraged.

It also recommends simple, slower content, keeping meals screen-free and avoiding screens in the hour before bed. Screens should leave time for sleep, active play and conversation. Children who use screen-based assistive technology may need a tailored approach.

For an ordinary cartoon session, make the finish visible before you start: “One Bing, then we find your shoes.” Choose the episode yourself and finish at the credits, rather than waiting for a feed to run out.

If your child is upset when it ends, acknowledge that they wanted more and keep the next step simple. Try a shorter session or a different time tomorrow if the same battle keeps happening. Our toddler tantrum guide explains what to do in the moment.

Keep control of what plays next. For help with child profiles and age settings, use our online safety guide for parents.

Quick questions

Which cartoon is best for a two-year-old?

Try Yakka Dee! or Colourblocks for one clear word or colour, early Numberblocks for a child already interested in counting, or Bing for a familiar story. Start with one episode together and see whether your child can follow it.

Is Bluey educational?

It offers stories and games you can use for pretend play and talking about family life. Choose Numberblocks or Alphablocks when you specifically want a maths or letter-sound programme.

Where can I watch these shows in the UK?

The official BBC iPlayer links above take you to a suggested episode. If that episode is no longer listed, look up the show’s current series page through the sources below. You need a UK TV licence to use iPlayer.

What if my child just wants the same episode again?

You can keep the familiar episode and change the little game afterwards. One day count the blocks; another day build the tower; another day let your child tell you what happens next. A new programme is not compulsory.

Sources and official show pages

1. BBC iPlayer: Numberblocks; Numberblocks learning approach
2. BBC iPlayer: Alphablocks; Alphablocks phonics approach
3. BBC iPlayer: Colourblocks
4. BBC iPlayer: Yakka Dee!; Yakka Dee! series and sounds
5. BBC iPlayer: Hey Duggee
6. BBC iPlayer: Bluey
7. BBC iPlayer: Bing
8. BBC iPlayer: Love Monster
9. BBC iPlayer: Octonauts
10. Best Start in Life: screen-time guidance for under-fives
11. BBC Help: iPlayer access and the UK TV licence