My oldest daughter has transitioned from watching TV shows like Calliou (thank goodness!) and Sofia the First to tween hits like Bunk’d or Fuller House and I thought I would be relieved to see live action over cartoon but I just can’t get into any of the shows with her! When she is watching a TV show, I want to actively watch with her (and try and use the shows for teachable moments) so I recently made a TV bucket list of shows that I adored when I was younger that we could binge watch together on occasion.
It has taken a while to find ones that are enjoyable for both of us, but thanks to the streaming services, we have more than enough content to last us for a couple of years. Despite the long list, we actually don’t watch a ton of TV in our house so when we do watch as a family, I want to make sure everyone (parents included) is enjoying themselves!
One quick note about some of these shows-while I obviously didn’t pick up some of the innuendos or messaging the first time I watched it, there are still plenty of discussion topics that can arise, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend letting your kids watch them without a parent nearby to answer any questions.
- The Brady Bunch
- The Addams Family
- I Love Lucy
- The Wonder Years
- Clarissa Explains It All
- Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- Boy Meets World
- 7th Heaven
- Step by Step
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Five bonus suggestions for your not so quite tweens who are still into cartoons but past the Super Why stage:
- Doug
- Rugrats
- Muppet Show
- Hey Arnold
- Jimmy Neutron
What are some of your favorite nostalgic shows? We are always looking to add to our list for a rainy Saturday watching binge session!
Happy Days
Laverne and Shirley
Facts of Life
Family Ties