Sensical Review
Sensical is a free streaming service for children ages 2-10. It includes on-demand access to 15,000+ hand-selected videos and 50+ topic-based channels.
Sensical serves three distinct audiences: preschoolers (ages 2-4), little kids (ages 5-7) and big kids (8-10). Each child can have his or her own profile, and parents can get weekly or monthly reports on what their children are watching and learning.
Every video is viewed, vetted, and rated by dozens of individuals trained in child development.
Parents can see specific viewing reports for each child so they can see what kind of content is being consumed.
You’ll find content from studios like CAKE (Poppy Cat), Cyber Group Studios (Leo The Wildlife Ranger), The Jim Henson Company (The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Jim Henson’s Animal Show with Stinky and Jake), Mattel (Kipper, Pingu, Max Steel), Raydar Media (Five Apples’ limited series, Apple Tree House), Superights (Bo Bear, Handico), WildBrain (Teletubbies, Rev & Roll), Xilam Animation (Learn and Play with Paprika, Moka’s Fabulous Adventures), ZDF Enterprises (Lexi & Lottie, School of Roars), and Zodiak Kids (Mister Maker, Tee and Mo).
Review
We tested Sensical and other subscription streaming services for more than 100 hours. Sensical is compatible with Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, LG Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and VIZIO Smart TV.
Content
TV Shows
There is a good selection of full-length (20-minute) TV shows available, including “Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle,” “Secret Life of Toys,” and “Zerby Derby.” Older kid profiles have access to animated titles like “Bakugan” and “Max Steel.”
If you’re not sure what to watch, you can simply pull up a virtual live streaming channel, like one focused on games and puzzles, or history, or sports, or science, or music.
Movies
The service has almost no full-length films, but there is “Babar the Movie.”
Kids
Everything available on Sensical is curated for kids. Beyond the TV shows, you’ll also find very short videos (1-5 minutes), including “Pinkfong Songs and Stories,” “Toy Hackers,” and “Little Heroes Rescue Squad.” Older kids can see Minecraft tutorials and science content. You may recognize some content from other online video platforms.
Whether you want to select a specific video or choose a virtual live streaming channel curated by topic is up to you.
Features
Parental Controls
Sensical automatically curates safe content specifically for its target age groups. But the service also offers a suite of outstanding tools for parents in the ParentZone. That’s a dashboard that offers reports on your child’s viewing. You’ll see daily viewing time ranked by topics your child is learning about.
You can also set viewing limits for each child across all screens or just on one device. Parents can temporarily extend that viewing time with their PIN code.
Parents can also click on the “i” icon embedded on every page to access the “Why It’s Sensical” feature to better understand the inherent benefits of a specific title (e.g. reading, math, science, movement, making, friendship, positive messages, problem-solving).
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount Plus, Peacock, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, and STARZ also have parental control features.
Ads
Sensical is ad-supported, but upon launch, we didn’t see any commercials.
Compatible Devices
Sensical is compatible with these devices:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Apple TV
- Roku
- iPhone/iPad
- Android Phone/Tablet
- Mac
- Windows
- LG Smart TV (AirPlay)
- Samsung Smart TV (AirPlay)
- Sony Smart TV (AirPlay)
- VIZIO Smart TV (AirPlay)
Sensical is not compatible with Google Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo devices.
