They have been growing in popularity with adults for some time now but did you know that there is a whole world of podcasts out there that have been created specifically for our children to listen to? That’s right, from scientific and educational to silly and quirky, storytelling, meditation and answers to those burning and unique questions that all children fire upon us on a regular basis, whatever interests your child there is bound to be a podcast they will love.
The best part? These fun audio tales involve no screen time and studies prove that when children are really listening to something without any visual distraction they are more likely to use their imagination and become fully engaged in the topic. Made by and for children, most of these podcasts run at shorter lengths to help captivate a child’s usually short attention span quickly and can be listened to on their own or shared with family members. Ideal for long road trips, rainy days or just curious young minds, below are a range of podcasts for kids that we think your Brisbane kids (and you!) will love.
Imagine This: A Podcast for Kids
For the past year, online news and research site, The Conversation, have been collecting questions from kids and publishing answers from experts on their website. The section, titled Curious Kids, has each question listed with answers written in a way that are easy for children to understand. Taking our children’s thirst for knowledge one step further, The Conversation have now teamed up with ABC KIDS Listen to create Imagine This, a podcast based on the Curious Kids articles.
Hosted by Brianna Peterson, the podcasts take these questions and gets preschool-aged children to chat alongside Australia’s leading academics as they explore and discover the science behind the answers. That’s right, now your child can find out the answer to that pressing question of whether or not sharks sneeze at the click of a button and really, could it get any more perfect than that?
Average length: 7 – 9 minutes
Suitable for children aged 3 years and older.
Find it here: iTunes
What If World
What If World is another podcast aimed at answering our children’s questions but this time they do it by exploring and breathing life, momentarily, into their beautiful imaginations. Questions like “What if it rained candy?”, “What if cars could talk?” or “What if robots could turn into dragons?” are given their own reality as the host describes in vivid, colourful and realistic detail what the world would be like if these things did indeed happen. A fun and inspiring podcast that builds and expands on a child’s imagination.
Average length: 15 – 20mins
Suitable for children aged 3 and over.
Find it here: iTunes
Peace Out
In a world as demanding and hectic as ours now is, teaching our children lessons in mindfulness and meditation is a wonderful way to help them learn to self-calm and relax. The Peace Out podcast is a perfect introduction to cultivating this life-long skill. Each podcast starts with a calming countdown over gentle, soothing music. Then, while either standing or sitting, kids can listen to stories about the world around them and be guided through gentle movements, yoga poses, stretches, breathing exercises and meditation based on the story being told. The stories are both informative tales about things in the world or different emotions and challenges.
Average length: 10 – 15 mins
Suitable for children aged 4 – 12 (most episodes list a specific age recommendation).
Find it here: iTunes | Website
Short and Curly
Short and Curly is a podcast that is great to listen to as a family. Tackling ethical questions within entertaining content, this podcast opens conversation and is a brilliant way to engage in discussions on what is wrong and what is right and why this might be the case with your kids. The podcasts in the Short and Curly series are a little longer than most kids-centred ones – usually lasting between 15-20 mins – but it is paced well and easy to follow. Kids are regularly asked ethical questions before being asked to push pause so they can have a think about what they would choose to do and why. Very entertaining, enlightening, and discussion-worthy podcast which opens communication about subjects like bullying, virtual reality, invisibility and fairness.
Average length: 15 – 20mins
Suitable for children aged 6 years and over.
Find it here: iTunes
Fierce Girls
What better way to inspire our daughters then to have them listen to stories about inspirational Australian women who have achieved great things in their lives? Fierce Girls is a fantastic podcast that will inspire whole families (yep, boys too!) with the tales of Aussie women who were adventurous, brave, spirited and who dared to do things a little differently. Written for children, the podcast is an easy to follow, interesting and entertaining listen.
Average length: 15 minutes
Suitable for children aged 8 years +
Find it here: iTunes | Website
Story Pirates
This extremely popular podcast takes stories that are written by children and has world-class actors, comedians, improv artists and musicians adapt and then reenact them as sketch comedy and musical theatre pieces. Highly entertaining, engaging and funny, these live shows are recorded and uploaded as a podcast for everyone to enjoy. Whilst some of the podcasts can get quite long (some over 40 minutes) they each include two stories written by two different children and are very easy to get lost in – even for adults!
Average length: 10 – 30mins
Suitable for children aged 3 – 10 years
Find it here: iTunes | Website
Tumble
Tumble is a science podcast for kids and features stories of scientific discoveries that are both fun and easy for kids to enjoy. Hosted by a teacher and a science journalist, children can listen along to podcasts such as “Dinosaur Poop, Who Dung it?”, “How to Build a Robotic Eel” or “The Case of the Missing Brains”. A great listen for children with a love of science and fun facts.
Average length: 15 minutes
Suitable for children aged 6 – 15 years
Find it here: iTunes | Website
The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
A dramatic podcast where 11-year-old Mars Patel and his pals JP, Toothpick and Cadde set out on an audacious adventure in search of two missing friends. This high-quality serial mystery story for school children is performed by actual kids and like any mystery story is completely addictive. It is also one for a slightly older audience with The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel being described as a mix between Goonies, meets Spy Kids, meets Stranger Things for 8-12 year-olds.
Average length: 15 – 20 mins
Suitable for children aged 8 years and older.
Find it here: iTunes | Website
Eleanor Amplified
Eleanor Amplified is another adventure series that older kids will love. Easy for the whole family to enjoy, this podcast follows world-famous radio reporter Eleanor as she foils devious plots and outwits crafty villains, all in pursuit of the big story. Perfect for the child that dreams of being an investigative reporter or for a family that loves to listen to the clever ways she gets both her way out of danger and the information she needs.
Average length: 15 minutes
Suitable for children aged 8 – 12 years
Find it here: iTunes | Website
Bedtime Explorers and Daytime Explorers
Combining bedtime stories and meditation, this podcast series by Kinderling features the calming voice of a mindfulness coach and beautiful sound design. A gentle and magical way to help your child’s active body and mind slow down and ready itself for sleep, kids will learn and use basic meditation techniques while being led through adventures, meet and play with animals, visit far away lands or explore new spaces.
This series also has a daytime version of its popular nighttime series. Perfect as an emotional reset at any time of the day, each daytime explorer podcast episode invites little listeners to take a WALKING MEDITATION in their imagination. With each gentle step along a snowy path, in a leafy forest, or along a sandy beach, children will gradually slow down and let go of their worries.
Average length: 12 mins
Suitable for children aged 3 years +
Find it here: iTunes | Website
Start Listening Now!
If you are new to the podcast game then don’t worry, getting started is actually extremely easy and you can be listening to one of your choices in just a few clicks of a button. Podcasts can be easily streamed online and there are also plenty of apps you can download specifically for podcasts to make it easy to listen from your phone. If you have iTunes you can simply search for kid’s podcasts or by a particular topic and when you have found one that interests you hit play!
Podcasts are a brilliant way to both educate and entertain your children at the same time. Whether this is done on their own for some quality downtime or with the whole family together, podcasts for kids are a great way to open up conversation and foster imagination in our children. So what are you waiting for? There is a whole world of interesting podcasts out there just waiting for you all to explore!
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