While in the past the radio was turned on to listen to the favorite show or radio play, today it is the mobile device that can be used to access a huge selection of podcasts on the web. Children and young people are also among those who hear. Whether exciting and funny stories, news suitable for children or music programs – there is something for everyone.
Podcasts are audios or videos that can be accessed on the Internet, subscribed to, and sometimes saved to listen to or watch over and over again. Mostly, however, this means audios. New episodes are published on a regular basis. Many podcast formats have a major overarching theme, such as sports, culture, or news. Typically, they are not completed stories, but there may be new sequels. For example, there are also true crime podcasts, in which real criminal cases are retold, you can read more about this in our article.
Children love stories. And if parents don’t have time to read aloud, audio plays and audio books are a good alternative. The older children get, the more interesting other podcast formats become. The offer on the net is huge and is aimed at different age groups (from about three years). Podcasts are available on various websites and via apps, e.g. from music streaming services or podcast portals. Podcast for children can be stories from well-known media characters such as the “Sendung mit der Maus” and from children’s radio programs or fairy tales.
If you look around the sites of public radio stations, you’ll come across a lot of child-friendly podcasts. But other portals also offer a good selection of free podcasts for children. Our recommendations:
Also check out streaming portals Spotify, Soundcloud, Amazon Prime Music and iTunes. You can view podcasts filtered by category.
When choosing, pay attention to the age recommendation. Until now, there has been no mandatory age rating as there is for videos or games. Podcasts can be published by virtually anyone. Therefore, you should be very careful when choosing. Read the description carefully to decide if the podcast is appropriate for your child. To be safe, listen to an episode before your child listens in. In principle, you should always listen to the first episodes of a new podcast series together to assess whether it is suitable for your child. Talk about what they heard afterwards: Did they enjoy listening to the podcast? Did your child understand everything? Was your child able to learn something new? Is there anything that has scared your child?
By the way, there are also plenty of podcasts for parents that revolve around family topics. You can play them on your phone or stream them and listen to them while driving to work, for example.
Why always just listen to or watch media? Making a podcast yourself is easier than you think. Here’s our guide to a beautiful media family project.
