Have you watched kids television lately? I mean, really sat down, and paid attention to the shows kids enjoy watching? The vast majority of them are horrible beyond description. So you would think that introducing them to something as awesome as Doctor Who would be a slam dunk, right? Right?

So many kids can be seriously resistant to anything that’s not animated, and other programming may have some questionable (at best) content, so this time around, we we offer some pointers to help you in-Doctor-nate the little geeks-in-training in your life.

Our (non-comprehensive) list:

  • The Girl in the Fireplace

  • Love and Monsters

  • Partners in Crime

  • The Eleventh Hour

  • The Doctor’s Wife

  • Closing Time

  • Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

  • The Sarah Jane Adventures (spin-off series)

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3 Thoughts on “Taking Kids to the Doctor”

  • Great conversation, guys. My 12-year-old son is finally feeling “brave enough” for “Doctor Who” — he saw “The Eleventh Hour” and a few other Matt Smith episodes a few years ago, but when he tried to watch the premiere of Series Six with us, found the Silence too much (and I can understand why) and was scared off for a while (so exercise caution when inviting your kids to watch new “Doctor Who” live with you — lesson learned!). (Poor kid, the next one he tried was “The Doctor’s Wife” – House and rapidly-aging Rory gave him nightmares!) Right now, we’re working our way through Series 4, and he’s really enjoying them, especially the Sontaran two-parter.

    Let me also recommend that listeners don’t overlook the First Doctor! When my son was too scared by Matt Smith’s then-current stories, he really enjoyed “An Unearthly Child” and “The Daleks.” I’m not saying he watched every episode in each arc – he didn’t – but he enjoyed the ones he did watch, and they really engaged him, even though he appreciated they were old, black-and-white, and different in storytelling sensibility. So, no, they won’t work for every kid; but some kids are still as interested in them as kids of the 1960s were. Whether or not you think Doctor Who is a kid’s show, that early stuff still has some power to attract!

  • We’re getting my daughter into the show after she met some cosplayers. She’s almost 5 so I’m pretty careful. She loved 11th hour and we watch parts of other episodes. Partly to avoid certain content and partly because her attention span is limited. A friend sent me to this page. Love this list. It’s pretty close to what people have been recommending.

    • That is great to hear, Joe. I’ve got a 6 year old and we go through the same thing with him. “You can watch this one, skip one or two, here’s one, skip the next 4” and so on.

      Like we said in the show, the most important thing is to know your child.I’m sure it won’t take long before your little girl is claiming the Doctor as her favorite superhero too.

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