While the world of podcasts is largely aimed towards keeping restless adults entertained, it’s hard not to notice the burgeoning interest in podcasts directed towards children, especially primary and middle-school kids. Combining entertainment, education and a dash of wonder, these programmes are ideal if you want to introduce the joy of radio, even if its digital, to your kids. Here are five podcasts you can begin with:
The Show About Science
Nate, now six and a first-grader, began hosting this conversational science podcast when he was five. Most of the time, Nate picks a topic and his father Eric finds a guest, generally a scientist or author. Nate, in all the pluckiness that only a six-year-old can muster, interviews a different scientist/author every episode, and discusses everything from whales to radiation and genome editing. We recommend this podcast to both adults and kids because there’s nothing like a child’s curiosity to spur you on to learning.
Story Pirates
The Story Pirates are a bunch of actors, comedians, and improvisers who act out original stories sent in by kids. The format involves the host reading the story as sent in by the child, the troupe performs the story, and then the author speaks about his or her story and the inspiration behind it. The laughter comes non-stop and there’s plenty of heart in there, too.
The Unexplainable Disappearance Of Mars Patel
If your kids are into mysteries and like some old-school PG-13 horror, Blobfish Radio’s new serialised mystery, The Unexplained Disappearance of Mars Patel, centres around Mars Patel and his friends who are on a quest to find their missing friends. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it may or may not be highly influenced by shows such as The Goonies, Explorers and the more recent, Stranger Things. Season two’s currently going on, so it’s not too late to catch up on this mystery series.
Kids on Comics
Father and son duo Don and Jim Garvey discover comics together and while this is in no way a podcast that can boast of great production values, the content keeps it going. In each episode, the two talk about what they’re reading together (everything from Avengers to One Piece) and it’s a great introduction for parents who are trying to get their kids into reading, especially comics.
Story Time
Not always enthused about reading a bedtime story? There’s a podcast for that. British host Rob Griffiths reads one original bed time story twice a week in episodes that are usually under 20 minutes long. Griffiths’ soothing British accent and a voice that will keep also the adults engaged is the clincher for this podcast.
