Podcasts have become a popular form of entertainment and education for kids, offering a wide range of topics and storytelling styles to captivate young audiences. As we step into 2024, here are some of the best podcasts tailored specifically for kids:
Child-Friendly Podcsts
- Wow in the World: Hosted by Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas, this podcast explores fascinating scientific discoveries and intriguing questions about the world around us, making learning fun and engaging for young listeners.
- Story Pirates: In this podcast, talented improvisational comedians adapt stories written by kids into hilarious and imaginative sketches and songs.
- Brains On!: This science podcast for kids is hosted by a team of curious kids and scientists who explore a wide range of scientific topics in a fun and interactive way. From the mysteries of the universe to the wonders of the human body, Brains On! makes learning about science entertaining and accessible.
- Circle Round: In each episode of Circle Round, host Rebecca Sheir presents a captivating folktale from around the world, accompanied by immersive sound design and music. These timeless stories teach valuable lessons about kindness, empathy, and resilience, making them perfect for family listening.
- But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids: Kids are naturally curious, and this podcast encourages them to ask questions about the world and seek out answers. Host Jane Lindholm explores a wide range of topics submitted by young listeners, providing informative and engaging answers to their curious inquiries.
Fun and Educational Listening
- Smash Boom Best: This lively debate show invites kids to argue about their favorite things, from superheroes to pizza toppings. Hosted by Molly Bloom, this podcast encourages critical thinking, persuasive communication, and respectful disagreement in a fun and entertaining format.
- Storynory: Storynory offers a vast collection of classic fairy tales, original stories, and myths, all expertly narrated with captivating voices and sound effects.
- Peace Out: Designed to help kids wind down and relax, this podcast offers guided meditation and mindfulness exercises tailored for children. Host Chanel Tsang leads listeners through calming visualizations and breathing exercises, promoting emotional well-being and peaceful sleep.
- Ear Snacks: This musical podcast for kids explores a wide range of topics through catchy songs and fun conversations. Hosts Andrew and Polly cover everything from animals and friendship to emotions and creativity, making learning enjoyable and accessible for young listeners.
- The Past and The Curious: History comes alive in this entertaining and educational podcast, which presents fascinating stories and quirky facts from the past in a humorous and engaging way. Host Mick Sullivan introduces young listeners to historical figures, events, and discoveries that shaped the world we live in today.
With their diverse range of topics and engaging formats, these podcasts offer endless opportunities for kids to learn, laugh, and explore the world around them in 2024 and beyond.
5 Frightening Symptoms in Infants That Are Actually Normal
It’s common for new parents to make a frantic call to their pediatricians when they find out about new symptoms in their infants. While these irregular symptoms sometimes can call for true emergencies, surprisingly, many of them aren’t at all dangerous. Rapidly changing hormones and physical immaturity can make a newborn’s body react in many unpredictable ways. Here are a few scary-looking but normal baby symptoms to put your mind at ease.
Twitching During Sleep
If your baby twitches or jerks during sleep, even uncontrollably, it’s totally harmless if it stops instantly when the baby awakes. According to pediatricians, these seizure-like symptoms are a harmless phenomenon named benign sleep myoclonus. Pediatric neurologist Dr. Michael Zimbric explains that the immature nervous systems in babies make their movements even more uncoordinated during sleep, but it’s entirely harmless.
Abnormal Breathing and Stuffy Nose
We always link symptoms like a stuffy nose or abnormal breathing with a cold. But in the case of infants, congested sound and breathing is a normal form of stuffiness, which is caused by the estrogen hormone stimulating the nasal passages. This condition usually subsides within two months, whether the baby is formula-fed or breastfed. By six months, a baby’s nasal passages double in size, alleviating the stuffiness.
Mildly Erratic Breathing
Symptoms during sleep like intermittent or mild erratic breathing in a baby can look alarming. But in reality, irregular or periodic breathing is quite common in infants. As pediatricians explain, babies generally breathe faster, as they have smaller lungs compared to their bodies. They also have underdeveloped chemical sensors that detect CO2 in our bodies. So, sometimes they pause breathing until the CO2 levels are high enough to trigger those sensors to work.
Chest Lumps
If you ever notice a warm red lump on the chest of your newborn baby, don’t panic! Symptoms like chest lumps can form in both infant boys and girls and are caused by estrogen. The excess estrogen level falls in a baby after birth, making the milk-producing hormone prolactin increase temporarily. This results in mild breast growth, often on just one side, in at least 50% of healthy newborns. It vanishes within the first month or lasts for three months.
Orange-Hued Skin
If your baby’s skin suddenly turns orange-shaded, it’s a common phenomenon named carotenemia, which doesn’t affect adults. This is caused by eating a lot of beta-carotene-rich veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes, mashed or pureed. It also comes with several non-orange veggies like broccoli and spinach. The color will fade as your baby’s diet changes.