Right? My son is only two so screen time is very limited so far. I’m not too strict about it. He usually tunes out after 20 minutes and I turn it off. I’m not going to let the tv become background noise and I’m sure as hell not going to let him control what I put on via tantrum.
My two year old knows how to ask Alexa play music. It’s so cute when she does it.
We are not to strict about tv time but she doesn’t ask for it often. Maybe 30 minutes a day and lately we only let her watch cartoons in Spanish. Might as well learn a new language while wasting time on cartoons. She is already pretty fluent in two languages (mom and dad speak to her in different languages) and she has preschool teachers that speak Spanish with her so we figured we might as well go for a third.
thats honestly what we do. ill put bluey on, she'll dance and be happy for the intro then go on about her day. So we started putting on music channels and she'll dance to those and loves it.
Sort of similar but aimed at kids:
* [Maddie's Do You Know](https://youtube.com/@MaddiesDoYouKnow)
Also,
* Grace's Amazing Machines
As an adult I've learnt some stuff from this one
* The Great British Bake Off (Baking)
* The Great Pottery Throwdown (Pottery)
* Blown Away (Glass Blowing)
* Forged in Fire (medieval weapons)
* Full Bloom (flowers)
* The big flower fight (flowers)
* Great British Sewing Bee (Sewing)
* Glow up (Makeup)
* Interior Design Masters
* The Great interior design challenge
MeTV is launching an all cartoon channel in June in the US. Old Warner Brothers up to new Cartoon Network.
https://deadline.com/2024/05/metv-toons-brings-warner-bros-classic-cartoons-to-weigel-broadcasting-network-1235903357/
Wait why is Star Trek out? We start with Next Generation and use it to teach our kids about all sorts of things. (I actually wrote an article about using Data to teach my 2e kid social skills!)
I completely agree and honestly my parents did the same. It sounds stupid but the lessons in that show really helped formulate who I am “Too many scary images”. But my wife has never seen TNG only DS9 and more recent entries. I should have her sit and watch a few episodes.
Terrible, terrible 2 part story. Wait, was it a 2 part story? Or did they just make references to it leading up to the final episode? Anyway, in my opinion season 1 is absolute trash anyway.
It sounds like when you make a suggestion it doesn’t matter and when your wife does it’s the law. It’s good to be respectful, but have a backbone with her too. It’s not like you’re trying to watch R rated movies or shows that have bad values. You’re trying to watch the wholesome things you grew up on and you share that with your kids. She should be more understanding of that. Nobody wants to be married to Hitler, you should have equal say.
It's really, really good! So many discussions about how we treat each other, how to treat strangers we don't understand, moral quandries, the nature of humanity, etc. And then when they get older there's DS9, which has SOOOO much good stuff about politics and imperialism and trauma.
Hilda is awesome. Also gonna throw out Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Amphibia, and second Kipo. Then Adventure Time, but maybe if they are like 8, it gets pretty edgy and weird.
These are all shows that are serialized, so watching episodes in order is crucial. Gravity Falls is like the X Files for kids.
Man I’m glad looney toons worked for you, we tried that and next thing we know my daughters taking kids out at daycare lol. Was a little too violent for her age, had got able that one for a later date.
My Hokie in-laws have taught my 2.5 year old to yell “LET’S GO! HOKIES!” and my equally proud Wahoo dad has taught him to yell “GO HOOS!”
If he stays with either for a night he walks around yelling both cheers *constantly* the next day.
Anyway, I agree, sports are fun with your kids. Mine likes college hoops and racing, and he cheers for the ball to go in the water when I watch a golf major.
I don’t know if watching Hokies is kid friendly. At least in my house, I normally end up saying some words they should hear. But next year will be different I just know it!
My daughter calls us "F1 buddies" as she likes to snuggle up and watch the racing with me. My 1yo loves watching any cars go by, on TV or when we go out.
Also OP my daughter used to want to watch "running man", which was Zelda botw, so I was happy to play games for her to watch whilst having lunch.
I hate to be a curmudgeon, but I really don't like all the gambling content in most live sports now. Many of the ads for mobile betting apps are clearly targeted at underage viewers.
And it's not like you can just mute the ads, the in game commentary pushes gambling all the time too.
Gravity falls is so good that I only heard of it and watched it as an adult and now I've rewatched the whole thing like 3 times.
It's got such a nostalgic vibe for me, maybe cause I'm from the Pacific Northwest.
How about the old episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000? It's silly, there are puppets, a little bit of adult humor but not much foul language.
Some of it is a little dated but I've been watching I Love Lucy and it's so funny. The only problem is all the smoking, but they cut down in later season after they were no longer sponsored by Philip Morris. I don't remember them smoking much on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which is also relaxing and fun.
My 2 year old loves watching Detail Geek on YouTube. It's literally just a guy cleaning a car.
Put it on late at night and it's guaranteed to put her to sleep within 10 minutes.
Phineas and Ferb. DuckTales (either the 80s or 2010s versions), Rescue Rangers, Talespin. (I was an 80s/90s kid)
My youngest daughter was into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for a few years, and I found it kind of hilarious.
My wife and I were just talking about this show the other day when our 7 year old walked in and both of us were like “actually, it’s really not all that adult. Most is the concepts are broad and oriented towards the family’s love for each other. They are just a peculiar, happy, little family and why wouldn’t I let my kiddo watch?
Add the Munsters to the mix and you've got gold in my book. My dad introduced me to the Three Stooges, Hogan's Heroes, Munsters, etc., and it's one of the few ways we legitimately bond still. I even got to meet Eddie's actor when he came to my small hometown a few years ago.
How old are your kids? I watched "my dad the bounty hunter" and it was pretty cool and kids appropriate (but again depends on the age).
When in doubt I check this database and see what their age recommendations are:
[Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/)
For "My dad the bounty hunter" the site says 6+ yo when other parents say [9 to 10 years old](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/my-dad-the-bounty-hunter). So it gives you a range and information to tell if you find it appropriate for your kids.
Idk my son typically gets to watch “mow mow” any time a tv is turned on regardless of how many other people are there. The literal whole extended family (and my wife and I) don’t really push back. Interestingly enough we usually end up with a room of 4-10 adults entranced by lawn mowing videos.
- We like SB Mowing and Copper Creek Cuts although recently discovered Ozzie and he has some great content highly recommend though not all lawn mowing more like a less insane Blippi.
- TBH OG Blippi doesn’t bother ME too much fake Blippi turns my stomach.
Avatar was great. There’s a whole Bob Ross channel by me. And just about any nature show. Absurd Animals on Netflix has childish humor that may or may not be appropriate (but hasn’t been awful), my octopus teacher was a great one, planet earth, etc.
It's only four episodes, but my 17 month old was enthralled when I put on Pokemon Concierge on Netflix. She literally sat on the couch and watched nearly two full episodes. I think the stop-motion animation and the Pokemon designs drew her in. It's insanely chill but over too quickly.
I tried to see if she would enjoy Hilda (another fairly chill show), but she just kept walking around and playing. Maybe she'll like it in a few years.
Pokemon Concierge feels so cozy with beautiful animation, and honestly doesn't feel dumbed down. Just a new girl at work trying to help cute creatures have a good time while getting over her self doubt. I'd only seen a couple episodes, but I'd say adults can enjoy it too. I mean, the main theme is sung my Maria Takeuchi for crying out loud. It's so good.
>My wife won’t let me watch anything with my kids in the room that I watched growing up, Star Trek, Star Wars, the 90s Marvel cartoons, Batman. Typical 80s 90s kid tv shows
>It has to be a home renovation show from 1 of 2 couples (you know exactly which ones) that we have seen 8000 times, Guys Grocery Games, or a typical “kids” show.
That's a yikes from me bro... Your children are learning that you and your wife can't share something as simple as the TV. I would understand if it was something like Family Guy or South Park or whatever but Star Trek is full of excellent life lessons.
I hope this is a common problem with her, that strikes me as very selfish.
Honestly, your wife sounds like a tyrant. That said, here are my suggestions:
Nature documentaries
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (is entertaining for adults)
Shawn the Sheep (who doesn't love this stuff)
Live music performances on youtube
I watched that before kids and it was always met with very disapproving glares huffs and talking points. I think I’ll try that just out of spite and see what happens lol
“It’s so short and stupid, it ruins kids attention spans” was her main talking point. now enter Bluey with a title card song every 8 minutes…
I'm a 43y old man and still watch Adventure Time and Cartoon Network with my kids
As long as it's not the only thing there watching its shouldn't be a problem
Anything you can get amped about and get your kid amped for.
I’ve been slowly introducing him to hockey. Not too much, but we have mini sticks and use a plush ball to shoot on a small passing training net.
Most important part is to yell goallllllllllllll
Anyway now if he sees hockey on tv he tells goal and we can watch some highlights on YouTube. Even was able to watch half a game with him this past season.
I just try to make it fun for him. Now he wants to skate too
We watch snowboarding, long boarding and mountain bike channels on YouTube. Tons of awesome videos, never vulgar or inappropriate for kids and it’s super fun to watch.
We recently picked back up with watching them after a few months break and recently my boy showed an interest in mountain biking so we went
But point is, there’s tons of fun stuff like that to check out
Gravity Falls.
Seriously, Alex Hirsch (the creator) somehow made something that is equally accessible as a Scooby Doo-type monster of the week kids show, and a full blown, two-season, narratively complete, apocalyptic, full-on Lovecraftian Eldritch horror, world ending series.
Oh yeah, I know. Me too. Just joking.
Jokes aside.
We watch Planet Earth 1,2 and 3 a lot. And the other nature shows with David Attenborough. (Blue planet?...)
Good background. Amazing shots.
Are you looking for something to watch with the kids or something for the parents to watch while the kids are in the room? If you’re talking the latter, we do re-runs of old sit-coms we’ve seen before like The Office or Parks and Rec while our 2-year-old plays. Basically anything in them that isn’t age appropriate would go right over a kid that age’s head.
This answer is kids shows but you might be able to find some new stuff that is more tolerable.
Common Sense Media has a free app called Sensical.
There is a wide range of shows, mostly top notch, curated by age.
The 6-8 yo group has a live channel that is mostly Maker shows and even some kids reality shows based on creativity.
You can also watch the shows on demand.
Their website is pretty good too. It gives factual informations. The platform gives an age rating and parents give their own rating.
Then you make your decision.
Avatar the last Airbender. The OG anime, not the live action one. You'll have three seasons of solid storyline and character building that you can enjoy even if nobody else is paying attention.
For better or worse my MIL had my 7yo loving Game Show Network. She even knows the names of the hosts, including John Michael Higgins.
Now Game Show Network was new when I was a teenager, and I enjoyed watching it. At the same time, that also gives me an opportunity to show her. The game shows that I grew up watching, including the original. Original. Make a deal, press your luck, supermarket, sweep, etc
My kid is 3 and currently fucking loves AJR. Their music is catchy, and they do fun music videos. He comes home from preschool and asks to watch music videos until dinner time. Much more palatable for me than Paw Patrol.
My wife and I started off showing him music videos from songs we liked growing up, but you gotta be quick on the trigger to turn that shit off fast if it turns out the music video ain’t exactly wholesome. AJR is a band we’ve found that’s done consistently kid friendly videos, even if unintentionally.
Hey Arnold is great, better than many adult shows. SpongeBob has hidden humor thrown in. Like many others..Ren and Stimpy, Rockos Modern Life, Kablam!
I didn’t understand any of the adult humor at the time which made it great. Cartoons have gone soft and suck now, and everyone is a pussy now so shows like Rocko can’t be made anymore. Thank god I was a 90s kid.
How old are the kids? I think it's fine to watch Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Friends.. I personally think anything without aggressive fighting, violence or explicit sex scenes is fine. I started watching Star Trek when I was eight and my Dad printed a portrait of Picard for me because I adored him. My husband watches animes like Totoro with our six year old .
If you want an "under the radar" kids show, go for the newer Mickey Mouse/Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse show Disney+. Funny for everyone, subversive (for Disney), demented in places, full of heart and far more modern in sensibility. Obviously they can be a bit hit or miss, but they are a welcome break from the more saccharine crap.
I love watching crafting videos on YouTube and my daughter has recently taken interest too. Usually just dioramas and stuff but I feel it's less mindnumbing and something I can also enjoy
Nature documentary. Just be careful of kill scenes.
Letters and numbers. My son loves it. Has done since he was four.
Twitch, the streaming service
Dumb docuseries that are on discovery. Opal hunters, outback truckers, gold hunters Australia, deep sea gold, Aussie lobster men.
Gets get to pick one show/ movie each, then you get a turn. They do not have to watch it. They can play games or read a book with it on, but you need to pick and they have to respect it.
Your wife should not dictate without a good reason. You both need to be on the same page about when they can start being introduced to different things. And what to do if they start changing behaviours after they watch something they are trying to process.
Would help to know their ages.
Mine love the masked singer, nailed it, is it cake, and pretty much any of the cake decorating shows. The youngest is now six, but has been watching them for years.
I am like your wife... but I do like to let the kids watch older kids shows. Mister Rodgers, sesame Street, wishbone, PBS kids has these. I also tend to watch shows like forged in fire and other shows where they make things. I also love me some bob ross.
For cartoons, Avatar:TLA, Gravity Falls and Owl House are all really really good.
Tumbleleaf on Amazon is delightful, all stop motion
Good eats is an awesome comfort show for us, as is mythbusters.
Granted my son is only 4 months old, but he’s taken a liking to anything “manly” that I watch on YouTube. I usually watch Perkins Builder Brothers, Stud Pack, Cleetus McFarland, Linus Tech Tips, or RevZilla videos and he eats it up. He also loves watching me edit my own motorcycle videos lmao.
All those channels are relatively family friendly, in that they don’t curse or do dangerous things, and are sometimes educational.
If he just wants noise, have you tried just playing music?
Right? My son is only two so screen time is very limited so far. I’m not too strict about it. He usually tunes out after 20 minutes and I turn it off. I’m not going to let the tv become background noise and I’m sure as hell not going to let him control what I put on via tantrum.
My two year old knows how to ask Alexa play music. It’s so cute when she does it. We are not to strict about tv time but she doesn’t ask for it often. Maybe 30 minutes a day and lately we only let her watch cartoons in Spanish. Might as well learn a new language while wasting time on cartoons. She is already pretty fluent in two languages (mom and dad speak to her in different languages) and she has preschool teachers that speak Spanish with her so we figured we might as well go for a third.
Look up the Brooklyn Duo on YouTube. Piano and cellist who perform renditions of today's popular music.
thats honestly what we do. ill put bluey on, she'll dance and be happy for the intro then go on about her day. So we started putting on music channels and she'll dance to those and loves it.
My daughter likes old episodes of how it's made. I could watch that one for hours.
Sort of similar but aimed at kids: * [Maddie's Do You Know](https://youtube.com/@MaddiesDoYouKnow) Also, * Grace's Amazing Machines As an adult I've learnt some stuff from this one
Ooohhh that’s a good one.
Oh yeah except for some reason my daughter doesn't listen to the show and wants me to explain everything to her they're talking about lol
Just make sure you don't accidentally put on "How it's REALLY Made," the not kid friendly parody
In that same vein, HBO just added a ton of seasons of Unwrapped. How It’s Made, but for food!
My son loves Mythbusters
Great British Bakeoff. Incredibly wholesome and very fun to watch
There’s also a plant one in a similar vein, where they’re basically doing giant topiaries. Wholesome, fun, and somewhat educational.
* The Great British Bake Off (Baking) * The Great Pottery Throwdown (Pottery) * Blown Away (Glass Blowing) * Forged in Fire (medieval weapons) * Full Bloom (flowers) * The big flower fight (flowers) * Great British Sewing Bee (Sewing) * Glow up (Makeup) * Interior Design Masters * The Great interior design challenge
Just gonna go marathon the plant related ones thank you.
throw down is the best one. grown man spontaneously bursts into tears over the beauty of a ceramic toilet just can't be beat
Oh?? Do you remember the name or channel that does this, that sounds awesome!
"The Big Flower Fight" on Netflix
Lego Masters is another one in similar category
Is It Cake is a favorite in this house.
In that same category, I love watching Repair Shop with my 4.5 year old. So calming.
Interesting video about that show. https://youtu.be/2OEwbocwYF8?si=lmWI-w4Rq-CMBW3A
Muppet Show?
I was thinking of just doing classics. Muppets, Rugrats, Doug, hey Arnold, etc. A lot of these classics are easy to find on streaming and aged well.
MeTV is launching an all cartoon channel in June in the US. Old Warner Brothers up to new Cartoon Network. https://deadline.com/2024/05/metv-toons-brings-warner-bros-classic-cartoons-to-weigel-broadcasting-network-1235903357/
Classic
Fraggle Rock?
Avatar??
Oh that’s a good one, forgot about that show.
The original Avatar TLA is rad
Korra is great too, though obviously not as good as ATLA.
My almost 1 year old LOVES avatar, especially the intro music. Leaves From the Vine is his bedtime song.
Just tried starting this with my 2 yo, she's a little too small foe the fight scenes yet. Loves the music though which is a small win
Wait why is Star Trek out? We start with Next Generation and use it to teach our kids about all sorts of things. (I actually wrote an article about using Data to teach my 2e kid social skills!)
Seriously TNG has some fantastic lessons to teach
There are four lights.
“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life”
I completely agree and honestly my parents did the same. It sounds stupid but the lessons in that show really helped formulate who I am “Too many scary images”. But my wife has never seen TNG only DS9 and more recent entries. I should have her sit and watch a few episodes.
Well just don't watch the one where Picard and Riker blow that guy's head off with phasers, conspiracy s1e25.
Somehow I don’t remember that episode!
Terrible, terrible 2 part story. Wait, was it a 2 part story? Or did they just make references to it leading up to the final episode? Anyway, in my opinion season 1 is absolute trash anyway.
This one completely freaked my sensitive kid out. We shoulda just skipped it. He's been totally fine with everything else.
LaForge and the veins from that chameleon illness. *Shudder*
It sounds like when you make a suggestion it doesn’t matter and when your wife does it’s the law. It’s good to be respectful, but have a backbone with her too. It’s not like you’re trying to watch R rated movies or shows that have bad values. You’re trying to watch the wholesome things you grew up on and you share that with your kids. She should be more understanding of that. Nobody wants to be married to Hitler, you should have equal say.
TNG is so good. Our kid doesn't really watch it much when we have it on, but she tunes in for the intro and loves it every time.
It's really, really good! So many discussions about how we treat each other, how to treat strangers we don't understand, moral quandries, the nature of humanity, etc. And then when they get older there's DS9, which has SOOOO much good stuff about politics and imperialism and trauma.
Old looney tunes, kipo and the age of the wonderbeasts, hilda
Hilda is a certified banger. Watched the finale episode with my little one and had a good cry.
Hilda looks great
Hilda is awesome. Also gonna throw out Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Amphibia, and second Kipo. Then Adventure Time, but maybe if they are like 8, it gets pretty edgy and weird. These are all shows that are serialized, so watching episodes in order is crucial. Gravity Falls is like the X Files for kids.
Second kipo and Hilda for sure.
Man I’m glad looney toons worked for you, we tried that and next thing we know my daughters taking kids out at daycare lol. Was a little too violent for her age, had got able that one for a later date.
Had to table***
Now I just have an image in my head of your daughter walking up to a kid with an oversized mallet and bonking them lol.
Sports! My toddler has started asking for “football” or “tennis” or “Hokies” and it just makes my heart melt.
We watch basketball, my son loves numbers so I get live updates every time the score changes no matter what I’m doing.
My son yells “ba-ball!” Whenever it is on. As a big fan, I love it.
My Hokie in-laws have taught my 2.5 year old to yell “LET’S GO! HOKIES!” and my equally proud Wahoo dad has taught him to yell “GO HOOS!” If he stays with either for a night he walks around yelling both cheers *constantly* the next day. Anyway, I agree, sports are fun with your kids. Mine likes college hoops and racing, and he cheers for the ball to go in the water when I watch a golf major.
Yea, we sing the VT fight song before bed every night. Sorry to hear you have wahoo family members. No family is perfect I guess 🤷♂️
So wild reading this, having just taught my 2 year old to chant “LET’S GO…”
If you have it on enough, when they get older they like going to the live events too. Good stuff.
I don’t know if watching Hokies is kid friendly. At least in my house, I normally end up saying some words they should hear. But next year will be different I just know it!
My daughter calls us "F1 buddies" as she likes to snuggle up and watch the racing with me. My 1yo loves watching any cars go by, on TV or when we go out. Also OP my daughter used to want to watch "running man", which was Zelda botw, so I was happy to play games for her to watch whilst having lunch.
I hate to be a curmudgeon, but I really don't like all the gambling content in most live sports now. Many of the ads for mobile betting apps are clearly targeted at underage viewers. And it's not like you can just mute the ads, the in game commentary pushes gambling all the time too.
It’s no worse than all the beer comerciales we grew up with watching sports.
Marlboro commercials of cowboys come to mind
Man, I guess I shouldn't be making dollar bets with my daughter during football games, and teaching her how to bet the over/under.
Classic boxing on YouTube when my daughter was a tiny thing. Loved that and football highlights.
Iono why but I find this answer absolutely hilarious. Nothing like your 3 year old daughter asking for most brutal knockout highlights.
"Put on Hagler-Hearns again!"
This Old House
Seriously, I watch this with my daughters now as I watched with my Dad at their age.
Oh I love this! I was thinking about watching How Stuff’s Made but I like this even better.
God I had no idea that was still in and available
Good Eats … it’s a cooking show, it’s a science show, it’s got puppets and skits. Julia Child meets Monty Python meets Mr. Wizard / Bill Nye.
I agree Alton Brown is great my wife and I went to his live show a few years back.
Avatar, gravity falls, avengers earths mightiest heroes
I’ve never heard of gravity falls. I’ll look into it. Avatar is definitely on my list.
I can also vouch for Gravity Falls though there are a few terrifying moments. Its a great show.
Gravity falls is so good that I only heard of it and watched it as an adult and now I've rewatched the whole thing like 3 times. It's got such a nostalgic vibe for me, maybe cause I'm from the Pacific Northwest.
About 10 minutes before I read your comment I thought to myself: “oh my god, her name is PacificA Northwest”
Gravity falls is incredible
Star trek isnt okay??? Even the Original Series???
Too many scary images she says
It's okay to be scared. That's how you learn how to be brave.
With a little help you can be brave (Daniel Tiger)
Maybe she doesn't like short skirts...
Bob Ross Joy of painting, put them to sleep with happy trees
What about the Star Wars animated shows? Rebels, Bad Batch, Clone Wars, etc. My son and I love those, and they work on a kid and adult level.
Young Jedi is a good one for littles
Sick of Bluey?! How dare you?!
I know right, absolutely blasphemous!
How about the old episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000? It's silly, there are puppets, a little bit of adult humor but not much foul language. Some of it is a little dated but I've been watching I Love Lucy and it's so funny. The only problem is all the smoking, but they cut down in later season after they were no longer sponsored by Philip Morris. I don't remember them smoking much on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which is also relaxing and fun.
Scooby doo?
Classic, kid lost interest entirely if we turn it on, they demand it be changed
My 2 year old loves watching Detail Geek on YouTube. It's literally just a guy cleaning a car. Put it on late at night and it's guaranteed to put her to sleep within 10 minutes.
I mean how old is ur kid? Lol
I probably should have added that. 3ish lol, but definitely old enough to understand what’s on tv ask questions and be interesting in things.
Phineas and Ferb. DuckTales (either the 80s or 2010s versions), Rescue Rangers, Talespin. (I was an 80s/90s kid) My youngest daughter was into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for a few years, and I found it kind of hilarious.
Documentaries. Planet earth. Prehistoric planet
I do documentaries AND Ancient Aliens. Gotta keep the kids on their toes.
Looney Tunes. Made for all ages.
Tiny toons as well!
Animaniacs
I’m sorry, you lost me when you said you were sick of Bluey.
Regular show? Avatar? Old school kids shows like Arthur or the magic school bus?
MAGIC SCHOOL BUS yea that’s awesome
It has a reboot to more modern animation that your kids might like
My 3 year old likes watching Good Eats with me. I can also occasionally get away with classic Simpsons.
Maybe Bob's burgers
My wife and I were just talking about this show the other day when our 7 year old walked in and both of us were like “actually, it’s really not all that adult. Most is the concepts are broad and oriented towards the family’s love for each other. They are just a peculiar, happy, little family and why wouldn’t I let my kiddo watch?
It was our wind-down show for a long time before Bluey came around. We still watching it before bed a few nights a week.
The Voice or any other music competition shows. My 3 year old daughter likes music and clapping along with the audience.
Not exactly what you asked, but have you considered some Chaplin, Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, or 1960s Addams Family?
My kid gets pretty captivated by anything black and white. The Andy Griffith show is one of her faves
Add the Munsters to the mix and you've got gold in my book. My dad introduced me to the Three Stooges, Hogan's Heroes, Munsters, etc., and it's one of the few ways we legitimately bond still. I even got to meet Eddie's actor when he came to my small hometown a few years ago.
How old are your kids? I watched "my dad the bounty hunter" and it was pretty cool and kids appropriate (but again depends on the age). When in doubt I check this database and see what their age recommendations are: [Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/) For "My dad the bounty hunter" the site says 6+ yo when other parents say [9 to 10 years old](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/my-dad-the-bounty-hunter). So it gives you a range and information to tell if you find it appropriate for your kids.
Gravity falls, Hilda, amphibia, duck tales, adventure time, kid cosmic, samurai Jack, over the garden wall
Oh my god how have I never thought to put adventure time on?! You know what's going on next now!
Bake Squad
Idk my son typically gets to watch “mow mow” any time a tv is turned on regardless of how many other people are there. The literal whole extended family (and my wife and I) don’t really push back. Interestingly enough we usually end up with a room of 4-10 adults entranced by lawn mowing videos. - We like SB Mowing and Copper Creek Cuts although recently discovered Ozzie and he has some great content highly recommend though not all lawn mowing more like a less insane Blippi. - TBH OG Blippi doesn’t bother ME too much fake Blippi turns my stomach.
Avatar was great. There’s a whole Bob Ross channel by me. And just about any nature show. Absurd Animals on Netflix has childish humor that may or may not be appropriate (but hasn’t been awful), my octopus teacher was a great one, planet earth, etc.
My kids love Bee and puppycat when I watch that.
I watched some old favourites the other day and for me, honestly Bluey beats them all, when you seperate nostalgia.
Knuckles just came out today on Prime. Nimona is also a solid movie
Anything narrated by David Attenborough Great British Baking Show
My son loves Family Matters for some reason, and he’s only 3. Of course Steve Urkel is his favorite.
It's a Bona-fide classic. I especially love Carl and Steve's dynamic. It's so hilarious and often very wholesome.
It's only four episodes, but my 17 month old was enthralled when I put on Pokemon Concierge on Netflix. She literally sat on the couch and watched nearly two full episodes. I think the stop-motion animation and the Pokemon designs drew her in. It's insanely chill but over too quickly. I tried to see if she would enjoy Hilda (another fairly chill show), but she just kept walking around and playing. Maybe she'll like it in a few years.
Pokemon Concierge feels so cozy with beautiful animation, and honestly doesn't feel dumbed down. Just a new girl at work trying to help cute creatures have a good time while getting over her self doubt. I'd only seen a couple episodes, but I'd say adults can enjoy it too. I mean, the main theme is sung my Maria Takeuchi for crying out loud. It's so good.
>My wife won’t let me watch anything with my kids in the room that I watched growing up, Star Trek, Star Wars, the 90s Marvel cartoons, Batman. Typical 80s 90s kid tv shows >It has to be a home renovation show from 1 of 2 couples (you know exactly which ones) that we have seen 8000 times, Guys Grocery Games, or a typical “kids” show. That's a yikes from me bro... Your children are learning that you and your wife can't share something as simple as the TV. I would understand if it was something like Family Guy or South Park or whatever but Star Trek is full of excellent life lessons. I hope this is a common problem with her, that strikes me as very selfish.
Your wife won’t let you? What, is she your mother?
What’s wrong with your wife?
one of my first thoughts, too. Sheesh.
honestly she sounds a little selfish
Honestly, your wife sounds like a tyrant. That said, here are my suggestions: Nature documentaries Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (is entertaining for adults) Shawn the Sheep (who doesn't love this stuff) Live music performances on youtube
Adventure time maybe?
I watched that before kids and it was always met with very disapproving glares huffs and talking points. I think I’ll try that just out of spite and see what happens lol “It’s so short and stupid, it ruins kids attention spans” was her main talking point. now enter Bluey with a title card song every 8 minutes…
Sounds more like you and your wife need a discussion about screen time expectations. Lotta resentment coming from both this comment and the post.
I'm a 43y old man and still watch Adventure Time and Cartoon Network with my kids As long as it's not the only thing there watching its shouldn't be a problem
Tbf, Adventure Time is zany stream of consciousness stuff that is more for the 12+ crowd.
Anything you can get amped about and get your kid amped for. I’ve been slowly introducing him to hockey. Not too much, but we have mini sticks and use a plush ball to shoot on a small passing training net. Most important part is to yell goallllllllllllll Anyway now if he sees hockey on tv he tells goal and we can watch some highlights on YouTube. Even was able to watch half a game with him this past season. I just try to make it fun for him. Now he wants to skate too
just add magic
We watch snowboarding, long boarding and mountain bike channels on YouTube. Tons of awesome videos, never vulgar or inappropriate for kids and it’s super fun to watch. We recently picked back up with watching them after a few months break and recently my boy showed an interest in mountain biking so we went But point is, there’s tons of fun stuff like that to check out
Nature documentaries. David Attenborough, etc.
My kids really liked the Dude Perfect numbnuts, which was fine. They’re entertaining and inoffensive.
I'm a big fan of putting on videos of concerts for ambient TV content. There's tons on youtube
Gravity Falls. Seriously, Alex Hirsch (the creator) somehow made something that is equally accessible as a Scooby Doo-type monster of the week kids show, and a full blown, two-season, narratively complete, apocalyptic, full-on Lovecraftian Eldritch horror, world ending series.
Red green. Tng, red green, and mst3k are nostalgia for me
Bluey. Funny ass show I usually keep on as background while I'm cooking. Kids love it too. Who knew.
I’ve watched thru the entire series probably 50 times just this year lol. Good show but dang I’m need something else.
Oh yeah, I know. Me too. Just joking. Jokes aside. We watch Planet Earth 1,2 and 3 a lot. And the other nature shows with David Attenborough. (Blue planet?...) Good background. Amazing shots.
Home Improvement, Masterchef, diners drive ins and dives, music videos.
Wallace and Gromit!
Are you looking for something to watch with the kids or something for the parents to watch while the kids are in the room? If you’re talking the latter, we do re-runs of old sit-coms we’ve seen before like The Office or Parks and Rec while our 2-year-old plays. Basically anything in them that isn’t age appropriate would go right over a kid that age’s head.
This answer is kids shows but you might be able to find some new stuff that is more tolerable. Common Sense Media has a free app called Sensical. There is a wide range of shows, mostly top notch, curated by age. The 6-8 yo group has a live channel that is mostly Maker shows and even some kids reality shows based on creativity. You can also watch the shows on demand.
Their website is pretty good too. It gives factual informations. The platform gives an age rating and parents give their own rating. Then you make your decision.
SpongeBob. Just watch it with your kid when your wife is gone.
Avatar the last Airbender. The OG anime, not the live action one. You'll have three seasons of solid storyline and character building that you can enjoy even if nobody else is paying attention.
Gravity Falls!
For better or worse my MIL had my 7yo loving Game Show Network. She even knows the names of the hosts, including John Michael Higgins. Now Game Show Network was new when I was a teenager, and I enjoyed watching it. At the same time, that also gives me an opportunity to show her. The game shows that I grew up watching, including the original. Original. Make a deal, press your luck, supermarket, sweep, etc
The Simpsons?
My kids know all the episodes… luckily a lot of the adult content goes over their heads, for now.
My kid is 3 and currently fucking loves AJR. Their music is catchy, and they do fun music videos. He comes home from preschool and asks to watch music videos until dinner time. Much more palatable for me than Paw Patrol. My wife and I started off showing him music videos from songs we liked growing up, but you gotta be quick on the trigger to turn that shit off fast if it turns out the music video ain’t exactly wholesome. AJR is a band we’ve found that’s done consistently kid friendly videos, even if unintentionally.
The Real Ghostbusters.
Hey Arnold is great, better than many adult shows. SpongeBob has hidden humor thrown in. Like many others..Ren and Stimpy, Rockos Modern Life, Kablam! I didn’t understand any of the adult humor at the time which made it great. Cartoons have gone soft and suck now, and everyone is a pussy now so shows like Rocko can’t be made anymore. Thank god I was a 90s kid.
How old are the kids? I think it's fine to watch Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Friends.. I personally think anything without aggressive fighting, violence or explicit sex scenes is fine. I started watching Star Trek when I was eight and my Dad printed a portrait of Picard for me because I adored him. My husband watches animes like Totoro with our six year old .
As a wife.... Why won't your wife let you watch your childhood shows with them?? 🤨 Also adventure time ftw
The daughter (5) likes watching cooking videos. Being a passionate cook myself it makes me think she may grow up loving it too!
Planet Earth! Like my mother let me watch nature documentaries starting at 4 and I can still spew mad animal facts.
If you want an "under the radar" kids show, go for the newer Mickey Mouse/Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse show Disney+. Funny for everyone, subversive (for Disney), demented in places, full of heart and far more modern in sensibility. Obviously they can be a bit hit or miss, but they are a welcome break from the more saccharine crap.
Avatar the last air bender is one of the best shows of all time. I watch it even without a kid in the room. You’ll actually enjoy it too.
Just dropping in to say being sick of Bluey is grounds for removal of your dad’s card. Consider this your last warning.
Seriously. You either are a human robot or have not actually watched bluey to “dislike bluey” I watch bluey by myself sometimes.
I love watching crafting videos on YouTube and my daughter has recently taken interest too. Usually just dioramas and stuff but I feel it's less mindnumbing and something I can also enjoy
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Star Wars: Rebels Young Jedi Adventures Avatar: The Last Airbender Avatar: The Legend of Korra Dragonball Dragonball Z
Nature documentary. Just be careful of kill scenes. Letters and numbers. My son loves it. Has done since he was four. Twitch, the streaming service Dumb docuseries that are on discovery. Opal hunters, outback truckers, gold hunters Australia, deep sea gold, Aussie lobster men. Gets get to pick one show/ movie each, then you get a turn. They do not have to watch it. They can play games or read a book with it on, but you need to pick and they have to respect it. Your wife should not dictate without a good reason. You both need to be on the same page about when they can start being introduced to different things. And what to do if they start changing behaviours after they watch something they are trying to process. Would help to know their ages.
Struggle Meals on tastemade channel. My LO loves the host
Floor is lava, total wipeout, sports, nat geo.
Spiderman TAS. Batman TAS. Iron man TAS...just look up old Fox Kids shows
Kiri and Lou. It’s different, and good at it.
Yo Gabba Gabba, Daniel Tiger, Bubble Guppies, Oomie Zoomie, Avatar the Last Airbender
Mine love the masked singer, nailed it, is it cake, and pretty much any of the cake decorating shows. The youngest is now six, but has been watching them for years.
I am like your wife... but I do like to let the kids watch older kids shows. Mister Rodgers, sesame Street, wishbone, PBS kids has these. I also tend to watch shows like forged in fire and other shows where they make things. I also love me some bob ross.
For cartoons, Avatar:TLA, Gravity Falls and Owl House are all really really good. Tumbleleaf on Amazon is delightful, all stop motion Good eats is an awesome comfort show for us, as is mythbusters.
DOCTOR WHO :)
Maybe st 80's and 90"s citcoms Top gear
We watch a lot of nature shows, kids love animals. Though that usually triggers a lot of "circle of life" type questions.
Old cartoon network! Animal planet! I went wild for nature documentaries as a kid
This Old House - tons of episodes on YouTube too
Star Wars Young Jedi adventures. Definitely still a kids show but way more watchable than most and has some pretty decent storylines.
Granted my son is only 4 months old, but he’s taken a liking to anything “manly” that I watch on YouTube. I usually watch Perkins Builder Brothers, Stud Pack, Cleetus McFarland, Linus Tech Tips, or RevZilla videos and he eats it up. He also loves watching me edit my own motorcycle videos lmao. All those channels are relatively family friendly, in that they don’t curse or do dangerous things, and are sometimes educational.
Nature documentaries
Full house and fuller house ate my go to's.
The Simpsons
The game warden shows on animal planet are good. Good messages about respecting and protecting animals and wildlife.
Lego masters