Shows for Kids While You're Making Dinner

Last updated: July 17, 2025

Let's be honest: Sometimes you just need 15 uninterrupted minutes to get dinner going -- so you put on a TV show. But you don't want to leave your kids hanging on a plot that takes a full 30 minutes to solve. That's where these great shows with short and sweet episodes come in. Between five and 22 minutes long (often two stories are broken up into shorter 11-minute chunks), these shows can give you just enough time to get things organized, and none of them will rile up your preschoolers enough that they won't be able to sit still for a meal. For more options, check out our Best Preschool TV Shows.