The Best Family Friendly Podcasts Broken Down by Age Group

Whether you’re looking for podcasts to listen to with the kids in the car or during your quiet time routine, here are some excellent options you might not have heard of before.

Family Friendly Podcasts

Check out these great family friendly podcasts that your kids will love. In addition to being entertained, they’ll also learn history or be engaged with a wonderful story. These are the best podcasts for a family road trip. They’re also a great way to entertain kids of all ages with original stories and without resorting to screen time.

Why Listen to Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to engage the whole family in a wide range of topics. You can learn new things by listening to special guests on podcast episodes, or you can enjoy a storytelling podcast. Podcasts are a great way to pass the time productively and in a fun way when you’re stuck in the car for long drives.

But even if you don’t have any road trips in your future, podcasts also provide a great way to wind down your day and enjoy a good story or episode. One of the cool things about podcasts is how many different topics are covered on these shows. There’s literally something for everyone and they include a wide range of topics, as you’ll see below. 

Podcasts for Quiet Time

If you include a quiet time routine in your home or homeschool, you’ll find that awesome podcasts are a great choice for your kids to listen to during this time. Or if you try to limit the TV and electronics, especially in the evenings, listening to family podcasts can be a great activity while you wind down your day. Encourage the kids to doodle or build with their hands while they engage their minds with wacky stories, history topics, or fairy tales.

Podcasts for Struggling Readers

Podcasts are also a great option for your reluctant or struggling readers. They’re a bit like audiobooks. Your reluctant readers can still engage their minds with podcasts, even if their reading ability is lagging behind.

Family Friendly Podcasts

We know you want appropriate options for your young listeners, so here’s a great list of family-friendly podcasts to try. These kid-friendly podcasts are sure to be a hit with your children. 

Storynory

Storynory brings audio stories to your kids, including poems, fairytales, myths, history stories, and more. The stories are read by professional actors and traditional tales from around the world. Some recent episodes include Jungle Book and Romulus and Remus.

Saturday Morning Theatre

Instead of watching cartoons on Saturday morning the way many of us did during our childhoods, your kids can tune in to Saturday Morning Theatre! The most recent episodes of this weekly show tell the adventures of The Tales of Deputy Guppy with a cast of adorable sea creatures.

Story Seeds

The Story Seeds podcast uses an interesting model where your kids ages 6-12 can submit their story ideas and children’s authors will collaborate with them to tell the story. You’ll get to hear the conversations between the aspiring young writer and their author mentor. At the end of the episode, you’ll hear the complete story read by the author.

The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd

The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd have an old time radio feel to them. Your kids will love the zany adventures of brilliant scientist Dr. Floyd. Each episode has Dr. Floyd fighting against his arch nemesis as your children learn the history of the earth. This podcast touts itself as the “first, and longest running, professionally produced audio drama podcast!”

Stuff You Missed in History Class

True to its name, Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast will bring you the strangest and most interesting historical tidbits that you never knew. Things like stories of famous shipwrecks, obscure famous people in historical events, a brief history of dentistry, and Charles Ponzi’s Schemes. These are the intriguing stories of the past that never make it into the history books.

Tuttle Twins Podcast

The Tuttle Twins books have become popular amongst homeschoolers, but did you know there is a Tuttle Twins Podcast too? The Tuttle Twins is written for kids with the goal of teaching basic economic principles. In addition, there are important topics about our government that are taught to children in a way that they can easy understand. 

Storytime

Want an audio story time book for your kids? Then the Storytime podcast is your answer! Made specifically for kids ages 2-13, or for the whole family, each Storytime episode brings a sweet story for the close of the day. Some of the latest good night stories include The Little Boy Who Wouldn’t Eat Cheesecake, A Sausage Dog’s Tale, and The Midnight Princess. Your younger kids will love this stories podcast!

Ear Snacks

On Ear Snacks, they “make car rides with kids more awesome, one episode at a time.” When you need something on during long car rides, then turn to the Ear Snacks podcast where you’ll hear fun episodes centered around culture, music, and art. Hosts Andrew and Polly have earned the Parents’ Choice Awards for their show.

Here are some recent episodes:

• Is It Going to Rain? This episode includes a fun look at the water cycle.
• Seeds & Ideas: How do they grow?
• How Marine Animals Communicate with Lights
• Bubbles: The Science Inside Those Floaty Poppy Sudsy Happy Spheres!

Wow in the World

If your kids love learning about science, technology, and innovation, then they’ll love the Wow in the World podcast. You’ll find new episodes every Monday of this show.

Here are some of the most recent episodes:

• NASA adventure in an X-59 aircraft
• Wombats
• Body Building

Circle Round

The storytelling podcast, Circle Round, is perfect for kids as young as two. They’ll enjoy folktales from around the world told in an engaging radio play style. Professionals narrate the stories while original music is composed for each episode. This podcast has earned the Parents’ Choice Gold Award among many others. Your kids will hear folktales from Ghana, West Africa, and Norway in some of the most recent episodes.

The History Chicks

Want history to be fun? Then your kids will love tuning in to The History Chicks podcast. Each week they’ll hear stories of interesting womens history heroes.. These episodes are long! Plan on an hour or two for each topic. Here are some of the women that have been featured by The History Chicks:

• Katherine of Aragon
• Abigail Adams
• Princess Charlotte
• Betty Crocker
• Clara Barton
• Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Cinderella

Interesting span of women, isn’t it?

Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl

The Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl is a music show for the whole family. Yes, two hours of music every week! So, if you’re looking for a ready-made playlist to get your kids up and active on a Saturday morning, this show’s for you.

Dream Big Podcast

The Dream Big podcast will help inspire your kids to follow their passions. Do they have goals that feel insurmountable? Then have them listen to a few episodes of this show and be inspired. Created for kids ages 5-14, this show features experts in their fields to share their story in each weekly podcast.

Check out these recent guests on the show:

• Bethany Hamilton, Unstoppable Surfer
• Jocko Willink, Retired Navy Seal
• Chris Hadfield, Canadian Astronaut
• Sasha Digiulian, Champion Climber

and more!

Book Club for Kids

Your avid readers will love the Book Club for Kids podcast. Featuring interviews and discussions about middle grade novels, each week is a virtual book club meeting for kids in grades 5-8. These 20 minute episodes are just the right length for your middle-grade kids to explore new books.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour

Here’s another podcast in the style of old time radio. On The Thrilling Adventure Hour, your kids will hear tales of a space cowboy. With over 200 episodes, this adventure series will keep your entire family entertained for a long time.

Aaron’s World

Aaron’s World is a fun science podcast that’s presented like an audio drama. It is the perfect podcast for your curious kids. With dinosaurs, time travel, and robots in this episodes, your kids will be hooked! The episodes follow the time travel of a little boy and his computer.

Noodle Loaf

Here’s a music education podcast that will engage your kids’ brains and creativity. This podcast has earned the Common Sense Media selection seal. But this isn’t simply a podcast which plays music the whole time – it’s interactive! Your kids will be asked to join in with movement activities, rhythm games, and play.

Hopefully you’ve found some new podcast ideas to check out for your family. As always, please screen each show to see if it fits your family’s expectations for appropriate content.

More Kid Friendly Podcasts

For more kid-friendly podcasts check out AOP’s list.