Common Sense Media Review
By Amanda Bindel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Stream or download baby-oriented shows, but with balance.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 2+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
BabyFirst Video
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
BABYFIRST VIDEO presents kids with large pictures representing each program available with a subscription. Free content is marked with a red badge. Kids scroll through the pages of shows and tap their choices. Then they can select a specific episode. From there, the show plays continuously, automatically starting new episodes, until a parent stops it. Dozens of programs, such as Harry the Bunny, Color Crew, and Rainbow Horse, are included, with multiple episodes of each. Many shows revolve around colors, letters, words, and numbers.
Is It Any Good?
Though BabyFirst Video offers a nice selection of shows for the youngest viewers and some controls parents will find helpful, it's missing a few controls that some parents may want. Parents can select languages and choose which shows are available to kids, but there's no way to pause a show in progress or limit viewing to one show or a specified length of time. The biggest standout for parents on the go is the ability to download shows for offline viewing. As for the content, it's pretty standard fare for toddlers, with mostly animated shows and a few live-action and puppet shows. The "Fan Favorites" selection includes four popular shows, easily accessible in one place. New episodes are added frequently to keep content fresh and are marked with a red badge. Marketing any media as educational for babies is tricky, as experts assert that a screen just can't teach the way a caregiver can, so be aware that any possible educational benefits for babies and toddlers are likely limited and screen time should always be balanced with interaction and real-world activities.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what they see on the shows. Use the images on the screen or the situations the characters face as a conversation starter; remember that TV programming billed as "educational" still isn't necessary or important. The youngest kids will learn the language and concepts they need to from listening to you talk and observing the world around them.
Find tips on choosing your baby's first videos in our article 5 Tips for Picking your Preschooler's First TV Shows.
Use our media tips for little ones and consider how much screen time you want to give your child.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Kindle Fire
- Pricing structure : Free to try ($5.99/month)
- Release date : March 10, 2015
- Genre : Education
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , Arts ( Music and Sing-Along ) , Numbers and Letters
- Publisher : BabyFirst
- Version : 2.4.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 7.0 or later; Android 2.3.3 and up
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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