*This is a collaborative post. If your kids loved watching the Octonauts then you might be able to relate to it*
There are many tv programs my kids watched and still watched that I wasn’t or am still not that fond of but there were a handful that I liked and found educational and fun. My kids are a little old for Octonauts now but it was a programme that we as a family loved and I was always happy for them to watch. Quirky characters, fun plots and storylines, and most of all, it’s educational, but in a gentle and child-appropriate way.
There were many times when I would be chatting to my small son about something to do with nature and he would say “Mum, did you know this sea creature does this” and I would look at him, and then have to go Google and he would be correct. I would then ask him how he knew that, and his response would be “Octonauts told me”.
For example, “vampire squid” are real. I had no idea. We watched an episode one lunchtime and I had to go check. There it is, in all, its glory, a real, actual creature, whose habits our beloved Captain Barnacles and his crew have taught us about. Who knew?
It’s one of those programs you can leave your kids to watch knowing they it’s safe, gentle, funny but also educational, and as a parent, that’s invaluable. I know I sound old and grumpy, but sometimes these things are few and far between and there is a lot of really bad tv that is aimed at children, or maybe I am just very fussy about what my kids watch.
But I can cheerfully say that Octonauts taught us more about life, our planet and marine biology than we learned anywhere else, and I also used to enjoy watching the series too. Honestly, I learned things I wouldn’t have learned elsewhere and my son certainly garnered a lot of knowledge that he’s kept stored in his head and still uses now. A cartoon series really did promote learning for us.
My son had a small (ok, not small) collection of Octonaut toys that he loved and played with often, and that used to keep him happy and busy using his imagination for many happy hours. It’s always fun to find toys that work with things you have watched and can relate to, and we let him collect them, and ask for them for birthday and Christmas presents for a few years too. We only recently gave his collection away, to someone else, who loves Octonauts and now treasures them as much as we do.
He had all of the characters and a vast array of sea creatures, all the various sea vehicles the characters used and a few extra accessories. They were fun at bathtime and for playdates too.
I was quite sad when we grew out of them as a family. Fortunately, the little boy I babysit for every now and then is still at the stage where he loves them, so we get to watch Octonauts when he comes over. Don’t tell anyone, but my almost too grown up for kids tv son joins us still too… 😉
What kids program did you love and were sad that your kids grew out of?