Sometimes, what you see is exactly what you get. And that’s the case with the educational YouTube channel CoComelon.
This channel has been around almost since YouTube’s beginning. And it’s reaped the rewards, viewership-wise, of providing families of young children safe, predictable and fun animated videos featuring sing-along songs. These include iterations of just about any kids song you’ve ever heard, as well as songs written for specific occasions, such as the “Doctor Check Up Song” and the “Loose Tooth Song.”
Each video features a family in a normal, everyday situations. Many feature a toddler named JJ who’s become a merchandising powerhouse in his own right. Chalk that up to the fact that this channel has raked in a whopping 86 billion views, making it among the most successful on YouTube.
And it’s not hard to see why: CoComelon’s videos are innocuous and fun, akin in a broad way to the kinds of animation that the Baby Einstein franchise helped to popularize.
As mentioned, you can find a sing-along song for just about any toddler-related subject under the sun on CoComelon’s channel. First day of school? There’s a CoComelon song for that. Taking a bath? Break out the song! Getting ready for school? Yup. Having lunch? Yes, too. “Baby Shark”? Of course!
All in all, these songs serve as gentle introductions to old standbys as well as newer fare that could help your littles deal with fear or anxiety in a difficult moment.
None, though parents might conceivably grow weary of a musical child who latches onto one of these songs and refuses to stop singing it.
CoComelon’s simplistic videos probalby won’t hold much appeal for kids above the age of four or five. But for the toddler crowd—and for their parents—CoComelon offers an engaging video distraction full of singing and laughter.
Note: Plugged In’s YouTube channel reviews are not exhaustive summaries of everything viewers will find, but a representative sample of recent videos to give you a sense of the kinds of things you might expect to see.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
