Introduction
At around the age of five or six, children begin to think of leaving CBeebies and progressing to CBBC. This often comes at the same time as they are moving on up to Year 1 at school.
Your little one is not so little any more - it's time to celebrate their developing maturity, but how do you ensure these times of transition are managed well?
How CBeebies can help
Although your child might be flicking over to CBBC, there will still be times when they will return to their old favourites on CBeebies.
Watching Baby Jake where the relationship between the baby and his six-year-old brother is explored is helpful in reminding them of how far they have come since babyhood. All good for confidence building. And, at times when your child is perhaps experiencing challenges around getting on with others (eg younger siblings), then shows like Charlie and Lola and The Koala Brothers are on hand to reassure and guide them. The shows are based on helping children's personal, social and emotional development.
Not forgetting times when they feel under the weather or just very tired then you might just find that a dose of Jackanory Junior or Jollywobbles is what they need. Or, there's Little Charley Bear which is a playful, gentle animation following a fun-loving little bear on his adventures discovering the world. Just the ticket when recovering from a bout of illness.
How to make a magic moment
Of course, as children start digging deeper into the curriculum areas at school, they might wish to return to Barnaby Bear - which is very useful for supporting geography skills.
There's more geographical support available from Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies which is a series combining an animated world with live-action footage from the National Geographic and BBC archives. It will illuminate the real world for them - and their place in it.
Little Human Planet follows the lives of young children from around the world, giving the CBeebies viewer a glimpse into how their counterparts live wherever they may be.
Of course, The Lingo Show, Razzeldazzle and Fun with Phonics are all brilliant for brushing up on language, communication and literacy skills.
Then, there's all-round help in the form of fun-based quizzes from Kerwhizz which might support skills already learned. It always feels good to 'know what you know' at any age!
