You’re not supposed to let your kids watch television in the morning and blah blah blah. I’m a bad parent. Whatever. Kids wake up early. Too early. I’m tired and they’re not and I need more sleep so rather than lie and tell you you should be attending to your kids every need at all hours, I’m suggesting the 10 best children’s TV shows that are easy to fall asleep to. In other words, stuff good for them and quiet enough for you to sleep through.

The following are not the top 10 best children’s TV shows. If that was the case I’d have included Yo Gabba Gabba!, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and a few more. Those shows are great but some are loud (Yo Gabba Gabba!), some are too visually stimulating (Cat in the Hat) and some are too boring for my kid (Mister Rogers).

10. Clifford The Big Red Dog

The PBS Kids app doesn’t discriminate between the 2000-2003 John Ritter voiced Clifford and the 2019-2021 Adam Sanders voiced Clifford. The 2019 series considers itself to be the third season of the show and that’s absolute bullshit because the theme is different, the animation is different and all the voice actors are different. Though the Clifford universe is full of lies, it’s a pleasant show. 

9. Bluey 

Bad because it’s good and you may end up wanting to rewatch episodes you kinda, sorta remember because you dozed off. Good because you can put them on again and again and again and most everyone is happy. 

8. Doc McStuffins 

Just the first three seasons are good for sleep. Related, is Doc McStuffins in a coma for the hospital seasons? In one episode she mentions missing her family. If she was still at her home office, why would she miss her family? The first three seasons are quieter. The final two seasons may be a fever dream. 

7. Sesame Street

I hated Elmo before I had kids. Now I love Elmo. I do not like Abby and her brother Rudy. Those two are problems and may wake you up. 

6. Thomas & Friends

If you’re a heavy sleeper and won’t be woken up by the intro and outro music every 9-11 minutes, the classic Thomas is fantastic. Some episodes have no point. There’s no real beginning, middle or end. Or moral. But it doesn’t rank higher because I’m a George Carlin fan and my brain won’t allow me to easily fall asleep when I hear his narration. I’m more able to pass out during the Alec Baldwin seasons but they’re not as good. I do want my kids to get as much Carlin in their lives as possible and, as of now, this is the only kid friendly stuff. 

Somewhat related, there’s one scene in the initial run that wasn’t correctly overdubbed and for like 3 seconds you get Ringo State’s original narration. I can’t tell you what season or episode and it’s been driving me crazy for years so whenever Thomas is on I’m paying closer attention to any other audio errors. 

Anyways, it’s good if you can convince your unconscious self you’re supposed to dream with the Thomas & Friends theme. The Netflix era Thomas & Friends show is horrible. It’s animated, faster and louder, negating all reasons the original run was fantastic. Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go is even worse. It’s like they’re speed reading through the script. Skip the entire Netflix Thomas experience.  

5. Super Why!

The worst show that you no longer have to watch, Super Why! is actually a fantastic show for kids. I’m happy mine loves it because it’s about the power to read. Great! But it’s so formulaic I feel my brain rotting with each consecutive episode. This is the one show I will put on only when I can leave the room or sleep on the couch. 

The new Super Why’s Comic Book Adventures are not good to sleep to. They’re only 3 minutes and way more entertaining than classic Super Why!, but much too short and loud to nod off. 

4. Pete the Cat  

Extremely quiet but not for quiet enough for babies. The music, lots of Elvis Costello early on because he plays Pete’s dad in the first season, is really good for a kids show but it’s never too loud. The worst part is there aren’t enough episodes. Even when you’re trying to sleep you don’t want to put on the same show for the hundredth time. 

3. Curious George

Quiet and no chance of having to teach an unfamiliar lesson once you wake up. The TV show is much, much better than the TV movies. There are too many musical numbers in the movies. 

2. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

Quiet and no fear of a child getting too wound up. They may be a nicer, calmer person after a few episodes. The only reason it’s not number 1 is there have been multiple voice actors playing Daniel Tiger. I find it jarring. Don’t cast children to voice children. The Simpsons still works because Bart and Lisa aren’t played by actual 10 and 8-year-olds.

1. Trash Truck

The quietest which makes it one of the best. This Netflix show is about a caring young boy who is friends with a raccoon, bear, mouse and trash truck. Occasionally the trash truck is a bit loud but if you use a sound machine already, your sleeping brain may just think someone turned it on. There’s two seasons and a Christmas special and all of them will lull you to sleep in a good way. It’s technically not cancelled so fingers crossed for a third season. 

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