5 Kid-Friendly Audio Programs

My mom used to tell me,

“Audio programs are as clean as your imagination.”

I love that thought and believe it to be true. As long is there is not filth in an audio program, it really is as clean as your imagination. You do not have to worry about modesty or other visual aspects that you must consider when picking out movies for your kids. Listening to an audio program allows you to imagine the characters and other elements of the stories however you wish to. 

With all of that said, I thought I would pull together a small round-up of some of my favorite audio programs from growing up. If I am being honest, I still listen to several of these audio programs on a regular basis!

1. Jonathan Park 

If you are looking for an educational, entertaining adventure series for children of all ages (probably best suited for children between the ages 5-13), then these volumes would be a great place to start! I have not listened to several of the newer ones, but I thoroughly enjoyed the earlier volumes as a kid. I was probably between the ages of 10-12 when I first started listening to them and would listen to them over and over again. 

One of the greatest perks about these volumes is that they present a great amount of scientific information throughout their stories, and that information is given from a Christian perspective. Another thing I really liked about them was that they also touched on the evolutionary standpoints while showing us why we believe what we do about the creation story. The Bible is true, and this audio program does an excellent job of making Biblical, scientific truths come to life in an exciting, engaging way!

2. Bible in Living Sound

When I was 10 years old and under, my parents had us listening to this series so often. To be honest, this series really helped me learn Bible stories more thoroughly. They are dramatized, so the stories are not put in a word-for-word fashion, but they are very well done. Over the years, this series helped me become more familiar with the lesser known Bible stories in a fun and engaging way. Obviously, nothing can be substituted for actually having devotions and reading the Bible together with your kids, but this audio program can be a helpful and neat resource for those times when you wish to entertain your kids in an educational and fun environment, as well. 

I would recommend this series for children of all ages!

3. Patch the Pirate

Out of all the audio programs I will discuss today, this series may be the most well-known within the Christian community, and for good reason. Patch the Pirate is a great option for younger children since the stories require a little more imagination, at times. With fun and meaningful adventures, Ron Hamilton did an incredible job of teaching children wholesome values through entertaining stories and songs. Not only that, but Ron Hamilton is also responsible for writing some absolutely beautiful songs including “Bow the Knee” and “The Secret Place” among many, many others. If you have young children under the age of 12, I encourage you to give “Patch the Pirate” a listen!

4. Several books in the Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre series.

The Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre has a huge variety of different books and series presented as radio dramas. Two of my very favorites are the ones pictured above. The Chronicles of Narnia series is excellent, and the Little Women is a precious collection! As an important side note, my brother reminded me that one of the adventures in the Chronicles of Narnia series (“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”) did have a curse word which makes me sad since it would have been so easy to avoid putting it in there. Other than that, though, the other episodes were very good. 

Though I would not recommend all of the audio dramas since I have not listened to them all and did not like a couple of them, I can vouch for the two above minus that one episode. They are both very worth the listen! 

Here is a quote from The Last Battle, a Chronicles of Narnia story written about some of the characters in the adventure,

“They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.” – The Last Battle

There really are some precious thoughts in both of these series! I would recommend these programs for children ages 9 and up. 

5. Adventures in Odyssey

Last, but not least, would be Adventures in Odyssey which I still listen to on a regular basis! To be honest, I would not necessarily recommend this series for younger kids since they do not follow the same child training standards that I believe in and support. For example, the kids are permitted to show negative attitudes towards their parents which would not have been permitted in my home growing up). With that said, if your children are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong in this department, I would recommend several of the albums in this series. My brother and I have nearly listened to them all and thoroughly enjoyed so many them!

One of the perks in this series is that the narrators will warn you if the topics covered in the audio program may be more sensitive for younger children which is very helpful. I would probably recommend these audio adventures for children ages 13 and up. 

I sincerely hope that these audio programs provide educational enjoyment for you and your family, as they have mine! That said, I would recommend listening to each of these audio programs before presenting them to your children to make sure they are a good fit for you and your family. Every family is different, and you likely know your kids’ needs when it comes to entertainment resources such as these audio programs.

In my personal experience, these resources can definitely be helpful on road trips or during quiet times when you just need some time to regroup and refresh. They are fun and, oftentimes, inspirational! 

Do you have any other audio programs that you and your family enjoy?

I would love to hear about them.

Please let me know in the comments below!

Until next time