Funny, inventive animated show spotlights creative thinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Positive Role Models
a lot
Lyla is curious about the world around her and how things work. She relies on teamwork and problem-solving skills to find answers and solutions. She choosed to preserve even when things are difficult or confusing. The Loop family is a close-knit group that cares about their local community.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Lyla and her family live in a diverse, welcoming community. The show highlights some of her family's Jamaican heritage. Lyla's best friend, Everett's family is from Vietnam. The show's characters showcase beautiful, natural hairstyles. One of the show's creators is also Black and the voice cast is diverse and representative of its characters.
The show's curriculum applies STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills to everyday problems and highlights creative and critical thinking.
Positive Messages
a lot
Teamwork is an important part of problem-solving skills. Be clear and specific when sharing information, so everyone can understand you. Have fun and be curious about the world around you. Never stop thinking of new ideas.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Lyla in the Loop is a funny, inventive animated series about Lyla (voiced by Liyou Abere), a 7-year-old Black girl who lives with her parents, older twin sisters, and younger brother in a diverse community. She's the middle child of her close-knit family and loves finding solutions to problems. The show's curriculum emphasizes STEM skills, creative problem-solving, and critical thinking. Lyla's upbeat and quirky nature, paired with its introduction to basic coding and multi-step problem-solving skills (and very little iffy content), make this show an enjoyable watch for children from pre-K to early elementary.
My niece loves Lyla and their sidekick Stu. This blue pet helps Lyla to solve many problems and this will be very important for my niece. Even with their siblings Liana and Louisa lots of fun. Even their little brother Luke had a collection of socks, including the pair of socks with the Wombats printed on it (Work It Out Wombats!) featured as courtesy of GBH. Their games and activities are available on https://pbskids.org/lyla or in the PBS kids games app. Also on the website or on the video app (U.S. only, games can be played worldwide), got segments and full episodes. My niece is watchin' on PBS GUAM KGTF TV12 streaming live on YouTube at 6 pm ET (8 am local time next day). This series is a hit, so my niece will be watchin'. Waitin' for new episodes and season 2.
LYLA IN THE LOOP finds 7-year-old Lyla Loop (voiced by Liyou Abere) tackling relatable problems in creative and intelligent ways. From creating a new daily special at her family's restaurant, Loop's Lunch Diner, to finding things in hard to reach places -- no problem is too difficult for Lyla to solve. She thoughtfully asks for help from her animal sidekick, Stu, her best friend, Everett, and her siblings Louisa, Liana, and Luke, making sure that everyone's voice is heard. Lyla's parents, Louis and Lydia, encourage Lyla's curiosity and encourage her to keep trying when things are hard. There will always be humor and kindness whenever Lyla is near.
Creator Dave Peth (Odd Squad and Peg + Cat) and head writer Fracaswell Hyman (Little Bill and Gullah Gullah Island) have created magic with this show. Lyla in the Loop is a fun-filled watch for the whole family, jam-packed with learning opportunities. The showportrays positive role models and prioritizes representation. STEM, creativity, and critical thinking skills are highlighted throughout the show, encouraging viewers to user their own problem-solving skills.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk aboutLyla's special sidekick,Stu. If you could spend time with Stu, what would you do together?
What kinds of problems does Lyla have to solve? How does she use creative and critical thinking skills to find a solution?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Diondra K. Brown
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
