A cartoon about a hard moment, starring your child.

Children learn by watching.

Since the 1960s, experiments have shown that young children often copy what they see others do [1]. In research settings, a film showing another child going through surgery has been linked with less anxiety before the operation [3], and in one laboratory study, seeing someone react positively beforehand made children less likely to pick up a fear of a new animal [4].

Zubby does not replace the preparation your child's health team gives.

Fears are common. If fear keeps stopping your child from sleeping or doing everyday things, talk to your child's doctor.

Stories about you may land harder.

In two small, preliminary studies, pre-schoolers learned more new words from the parts of a book made about them [5], and children in kindergarten retold and understood a story better when its hero looked like them [6]. In lab tasks, children aged 4 to 6 remembered objects better when they were paired with a picture of themselves [7]. That is why, in Zubby, your child is the hero. Those studies used picture books and memory tasks, not cartoons, and none has tested Zubby.

The studies we cite used books, films, programmes or lab tasks, some made for the study, with different groups of children. Their results may not apply to Zubby.

Zubby is a family storytelling tool, not a medical, therapeutic or educational treatment. Zubby cartoons have not been tested in studies.

Talking together helps.

Paediatric guidance and small studies suggest children tend to learn more from a screen story when a grown-up watches along and asks questions [8, 9, 10]. So Zubby cartoons are short and made to be watched together, then talked about or played out. Health guidance also suggests keeping screens away from bedtime [8], so Zubby is not made for bed.

The studies we cite used books, films, programmes or lab tasks, some made for the study, with different groups of children. Their results may not apply to Zubby.

Best watched together, then followed by a chat or a game.

Not for watching in bed or just before sleep. Health guidance suggests turning screens off an hour before bedtime.

What it isn't.

Each Zubby cartoon is made to be talked about together. It can't do the work of routine, patience or your child's doctor. For some moments there are studies. In a randomised trial of 127 toddlers, parents who first looked at a vegetable picture book with their child for two weeks, and then offered the vegetable daily, reported more liking, and more eating three months later, than parents who only offered it [11]. Relaxed, repeated tasting is what builds acceptance. A cartoon can't do that for you. These were picture-book studies, not cartoons.

The studies we cite used books, films, programmes or lab tasks, some made for the study, with different groups of children. Their results may not apply to Zubby.

Zubby is a family storytelling tool, not a medical, therapeutic or educational treatment. Zubby cartoons have not been tested in studies.

In one study of 73 children, a five-week parent-led book programme with exercises was followed by fewer night-time fears than waiting, which a film on its own is not [12]. For others, such as a new baby or starting nursery, we found guidance but no trials [13, 14]. Fears are common: in one study, about 7 in 10 children aged 4 to 12 reported night-time fears [15]. If worry stops your child sleeping or doing everyday things, talk to your child's doctor.

Research on stories and films for young children is limited. Most studies are small, and none has tested Zubby.

The studies we cite used books, films, programmes or lab tasks, some made for the study, with different groups of children. Their results may not apply to Zubby.

Zubby is a family storytelling tool, not a medical, therapeutic or educational treatment. Zubby cartoons have not been tested in studies.