Minno is a streaming platform for Bible and faith-based children’s entertainment. Minno’s website claims they are “the leading voice around the globe for using media to spark kids’ imaginations and curiosity around God and the Bible.”
With so much of a child’s life already supplemented (and supplanted) by a screen, is a Bible-based entertainment platform what kids need – or is it just better than the alternatives? The first FIVE FACTS cover the basics of the app from a Biblical perspective.
At Brave Parenting, we care deeply about the discipleship of children. This discipleship is intended to occur through the intimate, life-on-life relationship between parent and child. Our second FIVE FACTS explores the impact of this dynamic.
Considering Kids Bible Videos
#1 Christian Content for Kids Ages 0-12
Creating an account is easy, requiring only a name, email, and password. Every account begins with a FREE 7-day trial.
#2 Looks Like Netflix
The Minno app is easy to use as it models the feel of Netflix. There are subcategories of content such as “New,” “Popular,” “Minno Originals,” and “Worship.”
In our test account for a six-year-old, age categories: Preschool Picks, Elementary Picks, and Tween Picks are listed. The Tween Picks were not restricted or limited in our six-year-old’s account. On one hand, we would hope and assume that there wouldn’t be anything “inappropriate” in the Tween picks. On the other hand, we also assume that if we are creating an account for our six-year-old child, it would specifically deliver content for the six-year-old. This is the purpose of algorithms, right?
#3 Feels Like TikTok
Many of the Minno originals are between 2-3 minutes long per episode. Shows like Cocoa Talk, Suni the Super Unicorn, Pops and Peanut, and Otto’s Joyful Noise are so short they don’t even make the one-minute mark. Many Minno videos hover under 5 minutes.
We all know modern media and its mode of delivery through portable devices have eroded our attention spans. We are an impatient society of adults because media outlets like TikTok repetitively serve us bite-sized instant gratification.
But Minno is not created for adults – it is content created for kids. So why is Minno contributing to this kind of fragmented attention span and repetitive delivery of immediate gratification in kids? Minno has the opportunity to provide deep and rich content that doesn’t contribute to this problem. However, it seems to be catering to the already present ADD in children instead.
#4 Available on TV Streaming Platforms as Well
Minno is available as a downloadable app for smartphones and tablets and also for AppleTV, Roku, FireTV, and Chromecast.
Phones and tablets may be convenient and portable, but IF your child is going to engage in entertainment media, we highly recommend it be on a television instead. The larger the screen, the less temptation there will be to swipe, tap, jump around, and satiate the desire to be instantly and perpetually entertained.
#5 Privacy/Safety and General Recommendation
The Privacy Policy states:
“Minno Kids is intended for individuals age 18 and over. We do not accept subscriptions from or provide access to the Minno Kids Service to children under the age of 18 unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.”
This is the typical language used in privacy policies to protect companies. Nevertheless, it feels slightly disingenuous when a Christian media outlet markets its product as “The #1 Source of Christian Content for Kids” while also stating it is intended for individuals 18 and over.
The reality of this juxtaposition is found in their next statement:
It is the parent’s responsibility to apply such limitations on a user’s account so as to prevent them from accessing material that is deemed inappropriate for younger audiences. Minno Kids will never require your child to submit any more personal information other than what is required for activity participation.
This is the key when it comes to privacy and safety online. We are grateful that Minno highlights this important aspect of online media for children. Just because this media service offers Christian content does not mean parents can forgo previewing or co-viewing the content to help them learn – not just passively entertained.
Also noteworthy is their open acknowledgment that there can be backdoor access to websites. We did not find any of these in our research, but that does not mean that a child with time and motivation cannot find them.
Apple App Store: 4+
Google Play: E for Everyone
Brave Parenting: 5+ on Televisions, NOT on personal devices such as iPads or parents’ smartphones.
We do not believe the content offered for “Ages: 0-12” is at all healthy and edifying for infants and toddlers. One example is Cocoa Talk, “a fun and fast-paced talk show led by the adorable Cocoa and his friend Marsha.” It sits in the 2-minute length range. These short videos are detrimental to the developing mind and add no value to their spiritual development.
This shapes our recommendation for children over 5 years old. Parents should always be previewing/co-viewing every show and applying healthy limits and boundaries to how it is watched (television instead of personal device) and for how long (minimal and always less than time actively playing).
Considering Discipleship…
#1 Power of Media
The mission statement of Minno reads:
Minno uses the power of media to invite kids into God’s Story and help them experience Jesus every day, in every way — on and off screens.
Media is a powerful medium to influence. One doesn’t have to look far into culture or politics to see its power! When it comes to the discipleship of children, parents should think critically about the “power of media.” Consider the following:
- Superficial Engagement: Modern media entertainment encourages passive consumption rather than active engagement
- Entertainment Dependency: Learning about faithful obedience to Christ and submission to Him as Lord of our lives is not always fun, engaging, and visually stimulating. The medium of entertainment neglects the necessary contemplative time alone with God in prayer and study of His word.
- Misinterpretation of Theology: Biblical media content created for children is often oversimplified and can misrepresent important biblical concepts and doctrine.
- Consumer Mentality: The consumption of entertaining media is so easy; it is always available and with very little effort. And when the consumption is of biblical entertainment, there is a great risk that children understand faith as something to be consumed rather than lived out.
#2 Shallow Content, Shallow Faith
In the About Us section on Minno’s website, they say: “Every single show on Minno goes through a rigorous 50+ point checkpoint system to ensure that it meets our high standards. Christian kids deserve excellence, and Minno delivers!”
We did a broad and wide search to learn exactly what the 50+ point checklist is and could only find this from another website: (The 50+ checklist is a..) vetting process that includes rigorous standards for quality, theology, education, ages, and stage, and entertainment. The result is shows that greet kids right at their level, in their language, that illuminates the life Jesus calls them to.
What kind of theology? What kind of education? Those are the questions parents must ask, even if it’s a Christian company producing content for children.
Many of the short Bible story videos are shallow. Some have little dialogue, and others express communication through grunts (Holy Moly “family devotionals). The explanations for a miracle or God’s redemptive purposes are not properly explained, which can leave children feeling like the Holy Trinity is no different than any other superhero in a cartoon.
#3 Can Easily Feel Like Discipleship (but it’s not!)
Kids growing up in church and learning about God in the church’s children’s ministries will love Minno’s content. Watching the content and hearing some Bible narratives through a fresh and entertaining perspective can feel like a form of discipleship. When parents hear their children repeat names and biblical stories, it can give a false sense of discipleship.
At Brave Parenting, we affirm God’s command that parents are the primary discipler of their child (Deut 6:6-7, Eph 6:4). Next in line is the local church through the Lord’s Day services, Sunday School, Youth Group, Small Groups, and counseling/mentoring. Everything else is a resource – especially entertainment media for children.
Any parent who leans on Minno to disciple their children to know and love Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will only build shallow faith because the content is not designed to disciple. Biblical entertainment content cannot establish a person’s faith; it is solely a supplementary – and entertaining – resource.
Discipleship is guiding and nurturing your child to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Discipleship helps them be more like Christ in character and deed every day. Watching Minno’s content every day can never replace the parent-child discipleship that involves teaching, modeling, and witnessing the truth of Scripture.
#4 Worship is Concert-like
Concerning superficial engagement and shallow content, “Worship” content for ages 10-12 is represented as more of a secular concert or a Disney special than of humble worship of our King of Kings.
It is not that contemporary Christian music is bad, but when worship is represented by lots of youth surrounding a stage accented with strobe lights and fog, it is unclear if the children are worshipping the band or God.
Our concern is that children only experience this kind of high-energy worship, which is not realistic throughout the church. Worshipping Christ through music is also calm and reflective.
#5 The Bottom Line: Is Minno an Option for Christian Entertainment?
In most ways, Minno is better than any alternative secular source of entertainment. With that said, parents must still be discerning and consider the impact that “media” in general has on kids today.
The broader culture of entertainment prioritizes instant gratification, sensationalism, and superficial values. Minno certainly does better, but they, too, fall prey to the allure of bite-sized content aimed to quickly gratify with sensationalized biblical content.
Therefore, Brave Parenting believes that all Minno content must be previewed or co-viewed by parents. Avoid quick, pointless content. While we always recommend a limited time be spent consuming media entertainment, in many cases, it is better to watch 30 minutes of a show that develops character and resolves a problem biblically than a 5-minute show that does neither.
True and faithful discipleship of children requires parents to actively and continuously teach and train children in obedience to the Lord. This means that you cannot hand over a screen in the hope that passive media consumption will accomplish the task.
