Amazon is helping parents who are self distancing at home either because they work there or they're hoping to flatten the coronavirus pandemic curve. It is keeping their out-of-school children busy for a bit, by making some family-friendly content available to watch for free on Prime Video.

Starting 23 March, Amazon said it will offer about 40 shows for free. These are family and children-focused titles you can stream on Prime Video. It's available to all customers, however, including ones without a Prime membership. You just need a free Amazon account to start watching.

A couple of the more popular free titles include Arthur and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. There are Amazon Original series, too, such as Just Add Magic, Pete the Cat, and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. In Europe, programming also includes Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.

You can view the full list of free Prime Video shows here. You may also notice selections from Amazon's other free streaming service, IMDb TV, as it's also offering 80 family movies for free with ads. Example titles include Scooby-Doo: The Movie, Shrek 2, The Smurfs, and Little Giants.

Keep in mind Amazon-owned Audible has also opened up a free-to-listen catalogue of children's stories. Kids everywhere can instantly stream titles across six languages, and all the stories are free from a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Just visit the Audible Stories site to get started.

Amazon hasn't said how long these new offerings will last, but we've contacted the company for more information.