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The title character is bigger and bulkier now than in the Tom Cruise movies. But so are the problems.
Let’s talk about our feelings! That’s the newest mission of Netflix’s uber popular animated preschool series, CoComelon Lane.
This new show, a spinoff from the original CoComelon, uses nursery rhymes, original songs and the same well-loved characters to teach kids how to work through their big emotions as they interact with their parents, talk with one another and experience the highs and lows of being a kid.
If you have a toddler or elementary-aged student, you know just how important it is to help your kids walk through those big emotions, which can go from peaceful and kind to feral and unhinged in a matter of seconds (I’m still in the thick of this, and it is hard).
Creative Executive Sarah Perry says of this series, “We were able to lean into a very intentional social-emotional learning curriculum and explore relatable milestones and emotions for our preschool audience.”
Although plopping your kids in front of a screen for an extended period of time is frowned upon by experts, I understand the need to have a second of sanity while cooking dinner. So, perhaps these 25-minute episodes, broken into three parts, can help.
The downside for parents, is that you’ll be listening to nursery rhymes and other tunes for nearly half an hour. But if you can clear that hurdle, this show features sweet, loving moments between children and their parents that aim to encourage quality time, kind interactions and social-emotional awareness.
However, parents should be aware the show has some same-sex content. For instance, two gay dads are featured in the show, and they also appear in the series’ opening song–standing together and singing. In addition, the son of the two dads dresses up in a tiara and a tutu during one episode segment.
JJ learns to use his imagination, wash a firetruck and help a friend work through a disappointment; Cody makes a cake for his mom but gets upset when everything doesn’t go as planned; Nina is scared to ride the bus. Each child, although they experience big emotions and some occasional disappointments, has a parent, sibling or friend nearby to help them work through their big feelings.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
The title character is bigger and bulkier now than in the Tom Cruise movies. But so are the problems.
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