Sesamstraat (Sesame Street): still the benchmark
Sesame Street began in 1969 on an unusual premise: that children's television ought to be tested rather than guessed at. The Dutch version has been running since the 1970s, and forty of its episodes are on KidsTube.
What it is
A magazine rather than a story — a song, then a sketch, then a short explanation, then a puppet doing something silly. That structure was designed rather than stumbled upon: the programme was built with educational researchers involved, and the pacing reflects how long a small child can actually attend to one thing.
The Dutch cast has its own characters alongside the familiar ones. Pino, Tommie and Ieniemienie are local; Bert and Ernie, Elmo and Koekiemonster came from New York.
What is on KidsTube
Forty videos, largely the NPO Zappelin compilations — which is useful, because they come cut into fifteen-, twenty- and thirty-minute blocks by theme. There is a Bert and Ernie fairytale set, fifteen minutes of Elmo, a Koekiemonster block, one on Pino, and several collections of classic Sesamstraat songs.
What to know
Dutch, and more of this rests on language than Nijntje does, because the explanations are spoken. It remains the most carefully made thing we carry, and the one to choose if a child is only going to watch one thing.
Two to six.