A guide for parents of toddlers and preschoolers
CoComelon Alternatives: Kids’ Music and Shows Parents Choose Instead
If you’re looking for something different from CoComelon — shorter, screen-free, more learning-focused, or simply a change — these are the options parents mention most, and what each one actually does well.
The short answer
- For learning words and speech with a real person: Ms Rachel.
- For simple, clear songs with ideas for grown-ups: Super Simple Songs.
- For classic nursery rhymes in long playlists: Little Baby Bum, Pinkfong or BabyBus.
- For getting up and moving: The Wiggles or The Laurie Berkner Band.
- For music with the screen off: Raffi — or any audio-first catalog on Spotify or Apple Music.
- For songs about feelings inside a gentle show: Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood or Sesame Street.
- For one short story song about a specific feeling or moment: MoMo Star TV — that’s us, so read the disclosure below.
First, a disclosure
This site is MoMo Star TV's own website. MoMo Star TV is one of the options described on this page, and it appears last, in the same format as everything else.
This guide is not an independent ranking. Nothing on it is tested, scored or rated. It describes real alternatives factually — including ones that may suit your family better than MoMo Star TV — and leaves the choosing to you. Where we link an option, the link goes to its own official home or channel — never an affiliate or tracked link.
MoMo Star TV’s YouTube channel presents itself as a gentler alternative to CoComelon. That describes what we’re aiming for — it isn’t a finding about anyone else, and this page makes no claim that any show is harmful, unhealthy or too much for children.
What parents usually mean by “gentler”
When parents search for a gentler option, they are usually describing preferences, not making a claim about a show. The preferences that come up again and again are things a parent can actually check:
- One song at a time — choosing a single song and stopping there, instead of a long compilation or an autoplay chain that keeps going.
- Audio-only listening — songs that work in the car, in the kitchen, or at bedtime without a screen at all.
- Songs organised by the moment — bedtime, big feelings, waiting, getting moving — rather than one long mixed stream.
- A pace and style the family likes — some families prefer live-action singers, some prefer simple animation, some prefer a single guitar. That is taste, and every family gets to have its own.
You will also see the phrase “low-stimulation” in parenting articles and lists about slower-paced children's shows. That phrase belongs to that wider parenting discussion; this site has not measured any show's pacing, and nothing on this page should be read as a health claim about any option — including MoMo Star TV. On this page, “gentler” means only the checkable things above: format, length, and how much control the grown-up keeps over what plays next.
And a note about the reference point itself: CoComelon is a very large, video-first catalogue of animated songs, organised on YouTube and streaming services mainly as long compilations and playlists built around daily routines — mealtime, bath time, bedtime. Many families are perfectly happy with it. Parents arrive at a page like this one when they want something different in format — shorter, audio-first, or organised differently — and the options below are different in exactly those ways.
The options, by what each one actually offers
Ms Rachel — a teacher who sings and talks with toddlers
Ms Rachel (Rachel Accurso, a teacher, with her husband Aron Accurso) makes long-form videos for babies and toddlers in which she speaks and sings straight to the camera, using simple songs, gestures and lots of repetition built around early speech and language milestones. The channel started on YouTube in 2019, and compilations of her videos have also been on Netflix since January 2025. Choose it if: you want a real person modelling words, sounds and gestures for a baby or young toddler, rather than an animated song list. Format: video-first, long episodes. Cost/ads: on YouTube, or with a Netflix subscription. (source)
Super Simple Songs — songs with teaching notes for grown-ups
A long-running children's song channel and website. Its own song pages pair each song with short teaching notes and printable games and activities for grown-ups and teachers, and its songs can be browsed and played on its website as well as on YouTube. Choose it if: you want a big, familiar song catalogue and ideas for what to do with each song. Format: video-first, one song per page. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads; it also offers paid options.
Pinkfong and Baby Shark — short, character-led songs and stories
A character-led brand built around a pink fox, Pinkfong, and the Baby Shark family — the “Baby Shark” song is its best-known release. Its songs and stories are short (often one to two minutes), aimed at the youngest end of preschool, and gathered into compilations as well as standing alone. Choose it if: your child is one to five and loves character songs and dance-alongs. Format: video-first on YouTube, plus apps. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads; its apps are the paid path.
Little Baby Bum — nursery rhymes in long compilations
Animated nursery rhymes for babies and toddlers, organised mainly as long compilations — including multi-hour ones — with the individual rhymes listed by timestamp inside each video. It is now owned by the same company as CoComelon (Moonbug), and its music is also available on the major streaming services. Choose it if: you want a familiar rhyme to keep playing through a routine without choosing the next song yourself. Format: video-first compilations; audio available on streaming. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads, or through a streaming subscription you may already have.
BabyBus — animated rhymes and everyday-safety songs
A very large animated channel of nursery rhymes, songs and stories for toddlers, built around a cast of baby panda characters, with many songs about everyday routines and staying safe. Like CoComelon, it is video-first and gathered into long compilations, and it also has its own apps. Choose it if: you want a big animated rhyme library that covers everyday routines. Format: video-first; compilations and apps. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads; apps are separate.
The Wiggles — live-action singing and dancing, for getting moving
A live-action performing group with more than thirty years of songs, concerts and videos, describing its own style as high-energy: a blend of education, music and movement made for pre-K, preschool and kindergarten children. Its catalogue is large, includes plenty of nursery rhymes alongside its own songs, and is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music. Choose it if: you want real performers and a dance-along more than a wind-down. Format: video and audio, both substantial. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads, or through a streaming subscription.
Raffi — singer-songwriter albums, audio-first
A singer-songwriter — often called a children's troubadour — whose albums have been sung along to since Singable Songs for the Very Young in 1976, the album with “Down by the Bay” and “Brush Your Teeth”; “Baby Beluga” is his best-known song. His style is folk and sing-along, one voice and a guitar at the centre. Choose it if: you want music that works with the screen off, sung by a person rather than performed by characters. Format: audio-first albums, sold and streamed. Cost/ads: albums on the major streaming services (free tiers carry ads; paid tiers do not), and for purchase.
The Laurie Berkner Band — original movement songs by a singer-songwriter
Original songs by a singer-songwriter and her band, built around movement and imagination — “We Are The Dinosaurs” and “The Goldfish” are longtime favourites — and used widely in preschool and kindergarten classrooms for movement breaks and transitions, as well as at home. Choose it if: you want songs that get children marching, swimming, stomping and then settling, written for exactly that. Format: videos on YouTube and music on streaming, plus live concerts. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads, or through a streaming subscription.
Sesame Street — songs inside a bigger educational programme
Songs from the long-running educational television programme made by the nonprofit Sesame Workshop. Its characters — Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and friends — sing original songs and playful parodies, gathered into long song compilations on its YouTube channel, and its current song releases also stream on Apple Music, Spotify and other major services. Choose it if: songs are one part of what you want, alongside stories, letters, numbers and feelings woven through a full programme. Format: television and video first, with real audio releases. Cost/ads: depends on the service — free with ads on YouTube; the programme itself airs and streams through public and paid services.
Blippi's music — songs inside exploration videos
Blippi is a live-action presenter who explores vehicles, workplaces and how things work, in videos now produced by Moonbug. Music is part of those videos rather than a standalone song catalogue: there are dedicated song collections and a songs channel, and its music collections are on the streaming services. Choose it if: your child's real interest is diggers, trucks and finding out how things work, with songs along the way. Format: video-first; audio collections secondary. Cost/ads: free on YouTube with ads, or through a streaming subscription.
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood — short songs about feelings, inside a show
An animated PBS KIDS series from Fred Rogers Productions. Each episode is a story, and inside it are short, catchy songs that give young children a phrase to remember for a feeling or a routine — waiting, trying new food, calming down. Choose it if: you want songs about feelings that come with a gentle story around them. Format: a TV show first; the songs are part of the episodes. Cost/ads: free on PBS KIDS, and on other streaming services.
Two specialists worth knowing
The Kiboomers — songs organised around classroom jobs: circle time, transitions, freeze dances and brain breaks. A teacher's tool more than a home one, with its music on YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Spotify. BusSongs — a lyrics-first website that presents the words of traditional songs as readable, printable pages, No streaming, no characters: just the words, for a grown-up who wants to sing without a screen.
Compare on the things you can actually check
| If what you want is… | Look at… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Learning first words with a real person | Ms Rachel | A teacher talking and singing straight to the child, with lots of repetition |
| Songs about feelings inside a story | Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood; Sesame Street | Short songs carried by an episode’s story |
| One short song, then stop | Super Simple Songs (one song per page); MoMo Star TV (every song separate) | Each song has its own page, so it’s easy to pick one song and stop |
| Music with the screen off | Raffi; Laurie Berkner; MoMo Star TV | Album- and streaming-first catalogues that were made to be listened to |
| A long stretch without choosing | Little Baby Bum; BabyBus; Pinkfong; CoComelon | Compilations run from an hour to several hours |
| Getting up and moving | The Wiggles; Laurie Berkner | Movement is the point of both catalogues |
| The words, to sing it yourself | BusSongs | Full traditional-song words as printable pages |
| A short story song for one specific feeling or moment | MoMo Star TV; Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood | Songs about patience, bravery, sharing, saying sorry, bedtime — one at a time |
A general note on cost and ads, true of every option above: on YouTube, children's music is free and ad-supported unless your household pays for an ad-free tier; on Spotify and Apple Music, the same songs are usually included in a subscription you may already have, and free tiers carry ads or limits. Apps are the main extra cost in this space — treat an app as a separate purchase decision, not as part of choosing the songs.
Where MoMo Star TV fits — honestly
MoMo Star TV is a small, new children’s music project for ages 2–8: 80 singles released in 2026, all on Apple Music and most on Spotify, plus a handful of videos on YouTube. If you want a big video library, the options above are far larger. MoMo Star TV is streaming-first, and every song is its own single.
What it does have is a particular shape. Most songs are short story songs with Momo the Star, Panda and Bunny, and their covers name what each one is about: a patience song, a bravery song about talking about feelings, an apology song, a sharing song, a bedtime lullaby. There are also Momo’s versions of familiar rhymes (Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Humpty Dumpty, Row Row Row Your Boat), and learning songs about counting, telling time and listening. There’s no app and there are no long compilations — a grown-up picks one song at a time.
Three places to start: Momo Waits and Sees (waiting and curiosity), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Momo’s version, with a video), and Momo Counts To Ten (a counting song with finger play).
MoMo Star TV on Spotify · MoMo Star TV on Apple Music · MoMo Star TV on YouTube
Choose by the moment
- Bedtime and wind-down: Bedtime & Night Songs.
- Feelings, waiting and friendship: the Feelings & Friendship songs collection.
- Familiar rhymes: Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Songs.
- Counting, time and thinking games: Learning Songs.
- Teaching, or planning a preschool day: the Preschool Transitions & Circle Time guide, which states plainly which classroom songs MoMo Star TV does not have yet.
- Not sure: find a song by the moment you're in.
Questions parents ask
What are the best alternatives to CoComelon?
It depends on what you want to change. Parents most often name Ms Rachel (for learning to talk), Super Simple Songs (simple songs), Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Sesame Street (shows with songs about feelings), The Wiggles (movement), and Raffi (screen-off albums). The table above matches each one to a need.
Is this page a ranking?
No. It is a guide written by one of the options it describes, with that interest disclosed at the top. Nothing here is scored, rated, or presented as independent research — and several options above may well suit your family better than MoMo Star TV.
Are you saying other shows are overstimulating or harmful?
No. This page makes no claim like that about any named option, and no claim that any show harms children. “Gentler” here describes what some parents prefer, in checkable terms: pace, length, audio-only options, and control over what plays next.
Is MoMo Star TV popular?
No — and this page won't pretend otherwise. It is a small, new project with a small, new channel. Its case is not popularity; it is fit: original story songs about feelings and waiting, traditional rhymes, and one-song-at-a-time listening, for families who want exactly that shape.
How do I listen to MoMo Star TV?
Every song page has a button for that song on Apple Music, plus Spotify for the 48 songs that are there, and the links above open the MoMo Star TV artist pages and YouTube channel. There is no MoMo Star TV app.
Why does this page link to other options at all?
Because a guide that only points at its own brand isn't a guide. If Super Simple's teaching notes, BusSongs' printable words, or a Wiggles dance-along is what your family actually needs, this page has done its job by saying so.