“Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” is one of the sweetest preschool shows on television, and today it’s airing a very special one-hour premiere in which our favorite little tiger finds out his Mama is pregnant. In the second of the back-to-back episodes, Mama Tiger has a baby girl, making Daniel a Big Brother. Baby Margaret’s arrival comes with some challenges, and the PBS show allows young viewers to experience the excitement of welcoming a newborn sibling.
PBS Kids sent my family a “Meet the Baby” kit that allowed us to watch a sneak-peek of the premiere. My two younger kids — ages 6 and 9 — and I watched the show (each one is two 15-minute installments) and loved how Daniel learns the importance of being a Big Brother Helper to his family. He can feed the family’s pet fish, help his Dad paint a mural on the nursery wall, and pass down his crib and baby clothes.
During the interstitials, there’s a live-action segment following a young girl whose mother is about to have a baby. She too is able to help her family. She assists her mother and father with the nursery and eventually goes to the hospital to meet her own baby sister — just like Daniel!
The episode with the actual birth is great. Daniel stays with his grandfather and enjoys informing his best pals O the Owl, Katerina Kittycat, Miss Elaina, and Prince Wednesday about the baby’s impending arrival. The kids are so excited for Daniel, and Daniel can’t wait to give the baby his gift — a beloved picture book of his.
I highly recommend “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” to families with young kids — especially if you’ve recently had or are about to have a little addition to the family!
Sandie is a PBS Kids VIP (Very Important Parent) and was sent a screener and activity kit. She was not financially compensated for this post.
