Parents' Guide to

Word Party

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Cute, fun preschool series puts kids in vocab-teaching role.

TV Netflix Kids' Animation 2016
Word Party Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 3+

Based on 55 parent reviews

marqueshawash
marqueshawash Adult
July 16, 2020
age 4+

Annoying

Word Party is a great show to teach kids words and feelings. However, the characters themselves are not realistically developed for "babies" their age. Franny, the cheetah seems to be the only one with common sense as well as the one who REALISTICALLY acts like a baby/child. Lulu, the panda, is uncharacteristically dumb and picks and chooses when she knows words and doesn't. It doesn't make sense. She's smart enough to know words that as the "baby" of the group that they're claiming her to be, but doesn't know simple words like "apple."
2 people found this helpful.
Slbats
Slbats Adult
January 19, 2019
age 2+

Teaches bad habits

The panda is always causing trouble, and it doesn't seem like she gets any real consequences. The elephant creeps me out, he sounds like a 30 year old man and gives off serial killer vibes. The only character that doesn't bug me is a cheetah. Why are the animals unsupervised? The voices are very annoying and the animals are always eating junk food. We have since switched to better shows.
2 people found this helpful.
See all 55 parent reviews

What's the Story?

WORD PARTY is an interactive preschool series from the Jim Henson Company. It centers on four animal babies -- Bailey, Franny, Kip, and Lulu -- who learn new words through play and their daily routines. Bouncing Clickety Clock drops in to tell them when it's time to eat, nap, and play, and every activity provides the kids with opportunities to explore language and other early learning skills, which they do with the help of the "big kids" in the viewing audience.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (55 ):
Kids say (2 ):

This engaging series broadens preschoolers' vocabulary in a unique way, putting kids in a position to "teach" the characters as they learn themselves. The tweak may seem minor to parents, but for little ones who are constantly on the receiving end of instruction, being looked at as the big kid in the room could be just the thing to get them on board for learning. The show is paced well for youngsters, mixing fun and funny experiences with simple vocabulary lessons and other important skills such as shape identification.

Word Party also incorporates less tangible lessons that are equally important for preschoolers. The characters' interactions often yield small conflicts that involve hurt feelings and differences of opinion, but they work through them by listening to each other, being patient, and finding kindness. At the same time, they learn about their own emotions and always end on a positive note, celebrating what they've learned as well as the learning process itself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the characters in Word Party and their relationships. How can you tell they're good friends? Does that mean they always get along?

  • Parents can reinforce the show's educational content by helping kids identify shapes, numbers, and words like the characters do. What opportunities do you have during the day to count? To rhyme? What is your child's favorite color?

  • Kids: Do you like being in a big-kid role? What can you teach kids littler than you? What can you learn from kids who are older and from grown-ups?

  • How do the characters in Word Party demonstrate curiosity, empathy, and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?

TV Details

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