What is CBeebies?

CBeebies is a television channel and online platform made by the BBC featuring content created for under-6s. The platform has games, songs and videos to support children’s learning and development. Many of these activities feature popular children’s characters, such as Peter Rabbit and Bluey.

CBeebies can be used within a browser, and there are also apps featuring activities that can be downloaded for free from the Apple and Google Play stores.

All the content on CBeebies is designed for children under 6.

On the CBeebies website, users can find a wide range of activities. These include:

• Games
• Recipe sheets
• Videos
• Songs
• Information about school
• TV shows
• Quizzes
• Colouring sheets

These activities can all be accessed for free once the parent has created and logged into their BBC account.

Games and TV shows can be watched directly in the browser, while activity sheets are downloadable so that they can be printed out and used offline.

CBeebies apps

CBeebies has 4 apps available on the Google Play and Apple stores. Each app offers a different group of activities:

• CBeebies Playtime Island: entertaining games for children to play.
• CBeebies Learn: activities that support children’s education, including co-learning and independent learning activities.
• CBeebies Get Creative: art activities such as painting and building games.
• CBeebies Storytime: A range of bedtime stories and children’s books, which children can either read themselves or listen to.

These apps are all free to download and feature no in-app transactions.

CBeebies Parenting

There is also a CBeebies Parenting section on the platform to help parents handle any questions or issues they have about supporting their child. Examples of advice include articles like ‘How to help a shy child feel confident about school’ and morning routine checklists.

This advice is for expectant parents through to parents of 5-year-olds

CBeebies offers no parental controls, as all the content on the platform is intended for under-6s.

If you wish to manage your child’s screen time while using CBeebies, you can use the parental controls available on the device they use to access the platform.

Device parental controls

Explore step-by-step guides to set controls on your child’s device.

• Pre-school appropriate content
• Free to use
• Huge library of content
• Wide range of activities
• Educational content to support learning
• Parenting advice also available

As CBeebies is created specifically for young children, all the content has been deemed appropriate for this audience. There are no social features or mature content, so it is overall a safe platform that can entertain children and support their learning. However, there are still some things you should consider if your child uses the platform.

While many of CBeebies activities are educational, they are also intended to be entertaining for children, with many coming in the form of games or tv shows. Because of this, children might want to spend long periods of time on the platform, leading to an increase in screen time. Setting device-level controls can help prevent your child from spending too much time on the platform.

Encouraging your child to engage with activity sheets can also help reduce screentime, as these are intended to be downloaded and used offline.

Screen time hub

Find advice to help manage your child’s screen time.