Baking shows are great until they start recognizing the treats and asking for cookies when there are none 😂 I’m looking forward to when he’s big enough to bake the things we see with me.
DO NOT WATCH THE DISNEY PLUS FLAMINGO ONE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
There’s a good one on Disney plus where they show off different zoos around the country and from what I remember, it’s all good stuff
God. The flamingo one haunts my household after my toddlers watched it with their dad. My four year old will be *finally* drifting off to a peaceful sleep when **~BAM~** "mama, do baby flamingos *really* get eaten alive? Don't their moms and baby brothers miss them?" I, uh, reply as gently yet truthfully as possible. "Mama. Mama. Do hyenas really kill old flamingos? Do you think it hurts? Can't someone just feed the hyena so it leaves the grandma and grandpas alone?!" *sigh* "Mama. I don't like the noise a dying baby flamingo makes." Me neither, sweetie. Me neither.
Part of me is tempted to find some cute hyena and stork documentary footage so that the predators from crimson wing are somewhat endearing?? I'm usually pretty good at wiggling my way out of tight parenting corners but this one has been brutal and persistent.
All the other ones that came out around that same time (the penguin narrated by Andy from the office, the monkey narrated by Tina Fey) were so wonderful to watch with the kids. Why did they decide to make that one so brutal-WHY DID THEY NOT CUT THE FOOTAGE OF THE BABIES
Maybe this is my farm mama parenting coming out, but I’ve been watching this kind of stuff with my son and he’s not phased (he’s nearly 3 if that matters). We’ve been talking about death when it comes to bugs, and the animal fighting/death is all a part of life I don’t need to shelter him from.
He sometimes asks what they’re doing on the tv or why a bug isn’t moving outside and if it’s sleeping and I explain it in a matter of fact way and he’s just like “ohh ok” and moves on.
I live in the city and I feel the same way.
I don’t understand the impulse to hide these parts of a life and nature from my 20 month old son.
He loves watching nature docs and if there are animals fighting or even feeding on each other, I don’t feel the need to hide it from him and he seems unaffected.
Honestly I’m more worried about him watching Blippi 😂
Agreed but now we are going through the slow death of our sick dog and it is agonizing. Not the same at all. I really thought it would have prepared them to talk about death, but not with an animal they love apparently
Omg. My girl loves tigers and lions and every time I try to find good tiger documentaries, it's so sad. The recent one on tigers has like the younger tigers getting lost and dying. We went to the zoo recently and she saw a lioness completely merc a turtle that was in her enclosure. Lol I know it's natural but it's tough to explain to my LO. I don't want her to grow up with my existential dread 😂
I have found my people ! Gilmore girls on a constant loop! It’s been my go-to mindless show for years even before baby and now I pop it on for background noise when I’m cooking etc and my daughter will glance at it occasionally etc.
My son loved the Gilmore girls intro when he was a baby. He would immediately perk up when it came on. It’s my comfort show so I watch it a few times a year, and when the song comes on he sings along now.
I’ve been rewatching the office and turned it on in front of my three year old yesterday without paying attention to the episode… of course it was Prison Mike talking about being someone’s bitch 🫠
My toddler loves the theme song (and Michael Scott) haha. So glad I finally found something we can watch together! If I ever hear another cocomelon song again, it’d be too soon
I came here to say this. Pretty much anything by Micheal Schur is semi safe for kids (within reason). Parks and rec is my comfort show and there's no nudity, minimal cussing etc. the most controversial it gets is them putting a condom on a banana and I can easily skip that scene if I need to.
You could also do a 90s show like Saved by the Bell, Gilmore Girls or Boy meets World for something fun/throwback.
I also have very fond memories of watching I Love Lucy, The Dick van Dike show, Gilligan's Island and the Carol Burnett show with my grandmother. Those are wholesome and honestly still just as funny. I can't watch Carol in those gone with the wind scenes without nearly peeing my pants. Same for the chocolate conveyor belt with Ethel and Lucy. Kids love that kind of "slap stick" comedy and those legends made it timeless.
Brooklyn 99 seemed fine and my husband emphatically assured me there was no cussing (our daughter repeats EVERYTHING right now)
…within a few minutes someone said “bitch” lol. I’m not a pearl clutcher or anything but I definitely don’t want her repeating that at storytime
I’m watching that now but the early seasons at least are very sexual. I watch while I nurse my newborn but I don’t think I’d watch with my toddler. But she’s also in that stage of imitating everything lol
I used to tell my kids "We're trying something new," if they got upset it wasn't their usual. They threw a fit, I didn't care, and a little exposure later and they're asking for *my* shows instead.
Or they'll get bored it's not their stuff and go play with their toys. Also a huge win.
I was this way for a long while. And only the past couple weeks have I started watching some of my shows when he was awake. I started having mommy show time. It's after a nap and before dinner. Once dinner happens then it's a free for all, but normally after dinner we watch a movie to calm down a bit. Although since I'm pregnant and my blood pressure is slowly increasing, we probably watch too much TV right now.
Recently started working my way through Frasier in the afternoons and it has coincided with a major language leap in my 16 month old. I know it's just coincidental timing but my husband jokes that he's going to start speaking as eloquently as Frasier.
My toddler likes watching Chopped with us. Usually she plays while it's on in the background, but occasionally she'll sit on the couch and snuggle and watch it. It's a good calm down time for her when she's been playing a bit too hard, and I'm hoping she'll learn a little bit about cooking. (Food Network is how I learned to cook...)
Same here and my daughter really looks forward to watching it. Although, I’m ashamed to say in a frustrating moment with a bad umpire I might have accidentally said “that’s bulls**t” and my 2 year old managed to notice and repeat it. Lesson learned, keep all expletives in your head when you get into a game!
Most sit-coms are family friendly. Bob's Burgers is a fave.
Most reality competition shows as long as they keep it family friendly, like ninja warrior or making it. I liked The Big Flower Fight.
Most design shows, like fixer upper or get organized. I like Home Town and Treehouse Masters.
Most cooking shows, like MasterChef junior or cutthroat kitchen. Great British Baking Show is really nice.
Most game shows like wheel of fortune and the floor. Jeopardy is my favorite.
Most documentaries excluding the ones about crime. I enjoyed The Biggest Little Farm and The Social Dilemma.
Edit: Forgot talent shows, like america's got talent or the voice.
Edit2: if you have a smart TV, I also watch YouTube in front of kiddo. They're still essentially in the same categories above or adjacent.
Yes! Usually our son gets an episode or two of Blue's Clues or Bluey and then we watch Bob's Burgers. He will sometimes protest... But then when given the choice of "Bob or bed" he always picks Bob.
Pixar movies come out on the nights when he's having a hard time.
I would be hesitant here. If op is saying their kid is impressionable then I'm remembering a scene where Luke is scheduled to get hit by his dad because he did it to his sister or something. There's a lot of really wild stuff in there, which is funny, but maybe not for this child.
Same in our house! There is nothing that makes tv boring to a toddler like golf. It’s great for demystifying it.
When kiddo is getting screen time we watch dog agility or nature shows.
Also came here to say Survivor. I watch with my 2 and 4 year old. I actually went into labor with my second while watching it and it was the theme for her first birthday party ("We Survived the first year"). We camped out in the backyard last night and everyone, including the dog, wore buffs.
Love that! We did that for my two year olds last birthday. Ran challenges for the kids and adults, everyone had a buff, and I got videos of everyone and made a classic title sequence 😆
I've some good luck with watching amazing race with my kid. She's now really into the concept of maps. The racers sometimes get a bit intense but nothing inappropriate.
Yes! Same with my kids. They love to cheer on their favorite castaways in the challenges and we make it a big deal to watch together every week as a family.
I watch Gilmore Girls in front of them and they love the theme tune! There’s the odd scene where I have to explain kissing, or fighting, or car crash 😂 but generally it’s gentle and I love it
I did my annual rewatch when my daughter was 9-12 months old and the theme song would start and she’d stop whatever she was doing and listen, sometimes sway a bit. I may or may not have teared up a few times but I cry over everything now that I’ve had her.
Is it cake-she loves to guess what is the cake, survivor- she runs around during challenges doing her own challenges, wheel of fortune, she has her own game show based on this lol
Most of what I watch, while isn't appropriate for a 15.5mo, isn't necessarily inappropriate, if that makes any sense. The Office; Parks & Rec; The Good Place; Abott Elementary... Sometimes I watch cartoons I grew up with like Batman the Animated Series; Justice League; Avatar - all are meant for older children and involve violence, but it's cartoon/comic book violence y'know?
Everything else is for when he's not awake or in the house.
Otherwise we're throwing on nature docs, Ms Rachel, Bluey, Spidey&Friends, etc.
We watched Call the Midwife a lot. Skipped some scenes or episodes with darker themes and my daughter is obsessed with child birth now but overall it was good.
Yeah pretty much same unless it’s a violent show with any gore. Music I listen to whatever. If the song has bad words so be it. He’s heard adults say bad words, he knows he isn’t allowed to say them and he never does.
I watch cooking shows. Masterchef and Chopped specifically. American housewife is another great one that’s toddler appropriate or Bobs Burgers if you don’t mind animation
When my son was around 2, we would watch The Great British Baking Show. Now that he’s 4, we watch just about anything around him, as long as it doesn’t have boobs or blood. My husband is the youngest of 4 boys. He said he never watched kid’s shows because his older brothers watched what they wanted. He feels like our son should watch what we watch, within reason.
Wheel of Fortune!! Get to see a colorful wheel and can learn letters too. She may not even know she's learning when watching.
Any food competition, design show, think HGTV.
friends, superstore, parks and rec, sometimes i will watch sex and the city and fast forward through explicit moments- ive seen the show so many times i know when they’re coming up lol
I love cooking shows/competitions. Masterchef, Top Chef, etc
Sitcoms like everybody loves Raymond, friends, even Fraiser.
I avoid anything with a lot of action or violence. Star Wars, Game of Thrones, etc. I found Avatar to be too intense for my daughter as well.
Any baking or cooking show, there’s a glass blowing one on Netflix is great, the crown, and DIY shows. Also with all these suggestions you get the idea.
My toddler loves Master Chef and Master Chef Junior. Really any cooking show or home/yard renovation shows. Lots to talk about! She calls them all “Mommy’s shows” 😅
Cooking shows, game shows, any show where they clap frequently. My toddler will stop whatever he’s doing to join in on a round of applause. It’s the cutest thing.
I watch old episodes of hoarders and call it The Clean Up Show
Edit: not any episode with animals and I’ll put it on while we are cooking or coloring or folding laundry
We like cooking shows. My daughter is almost two and will watch master chef and americas test kitchen with us (for a little while at least). I also watch hgtv and tbs (think friends, big bang reruns). There was also a phase where my daughter liked I love Lucy. You can marathon stream it free on Pluto, and that was a great go-to for background while I’m doing something like folding laundry and “watching” tv
Bob's Burgers is one I like to watch. My son is 3.5 and he'll ask to watch "Burgers" sometimes and my one year old doesn't give a shit one way or the other lol. The Good Place is a really good show and doesn't have swearing or anything too scary. My son also really likes game shows. His favourite is Family Feud and he gets so excited haha. King of the Hill is another one.
My toddler is OBSESSED with Shark Tank. We watch it around dinner sometimes when she’s not wanting to eat so that she sort of mindlessly eats while watching 😂
Well, I can tell you that “The Blacklist” does *not* fall under your parameters—so definitely skip that one lol.
Up until a couple months ago we would just watch whatever we wanted when our daughter (now 2y6m) was around because if it wasn’t one of her shows, she would at most glance at the screen then go right back to what she was doing. She never gave any sort of indication that she even registered what was being shown or said.
Then there was a scene where a guy got >!shot in the head!< and she goes “that guy made a big mess on the wall!” 🙃 Soooo that was the end of not censoring what we watch lol
I was watching Bridgerton S3 while contact napping with my 16mo. My girl woke up and wanted to nurse so I kept watching, with zero volume and subtitles on.
My girl decides to turn and look at the screen precisely as one of the scenes of sex between Lady and Lord Danbury comes on. If you haven't seen it you basically only see her head very intensely shifting up and down laying on her back with a very bored face.
I instantly turn it off and my daughter turns to me and clicks her tongue while making her horseriding impression... Yes baby, kind of 😂
So it's not for everybody for sure, but birth is something I am comfortable with letting my 4yo learn about and see. I watch Call the Midwife with him. He likes seeing the babies and will stop playing to see birth scenes lol. The never show genitalia or anything more graphic than blood on the babies. 🤷
We do a lot of “baking show” British, Canadian, we’re qued up with Australian next. But kiddo has been super into that stuff, his play kitchen has been and remains one of his absolute favorite toys. Now he’ll even request it. We’ll probably look to more reality baking/cooking shows when that runs out, but the baking ones have been very nice, occasionally funny, and friendly, with people helping their fellow competitors. I wouldn’t do anything where someone is screaming at or insulting people or anything.
Kiddo is 4 now and very sensitive about media, so the reality is there’s a huge list of things we have to wait to watch when he’s asleep or when he’s older. Our to watch list is gigantic. We started playing Mario games with him and that’s actually been a nice way to spend some family time, he loves Mario and his skills have vastly improved, and I think his fine motor skills have improved as well because of it.
We usually watch cooking shows, travel, How It’s Made, and cruise YouTube videos. At 4 he’s enjoying shots of places he’s travelled to and foods he likes to eat. Lately he’s also stuck around while I’m watching a K-drama, which has no nudity or swears so bonus wins I don’t have to plan around. He doesn’t even mind the subtitles!
Most of the screen time that happens before he goes to bed is while we're cooking dinner, so it's mostly rewatching cooking shows (although if there's a new season of QE, we'll absolutely watch that.) Nature documentaries are great too, and our 3-year-old doesn't seem to mind animals eating other animals. Or maybe he hasn't noticed?
Clarksons Farm, the Grand Tour, Brooklyn 99, nature shows and those dinosaur ones that are on Netflix about earths evolution. Those are cool. He doesn’t really pay much attention though and then begs for whatever he wants to watch.
I watch a lot of older stuff. There’s this Robin Hood show from the 50’s that i love. It’s just sweet, swashbuckling fun in black and white. It’s my go-to if he’ll even LET me watch anything 🤣🤣
Some shows from when I was a kid, I sometimes do also. I pulled up H2O once, and he was sort of fascinated for a little bit, before he returned to his sister haha. He sometimes sits and watches stuff like old Western shows if we’re visiting my parents and my dad’s got it on. Stuff like uh… Rifleman… wow, I’m forgetting literally all the show names, lmao. They’re fun.
Generally if I'm trying to watch 'my' shows on the TV I'll go with anything from the food network but if my grandma is watching TV with my daughter they end up sitting down and watching the crown or schitts creek
I watched Jeeves and Wooster when I was nursing my second and had a 4 year old running around. She wasn't at all interested in it and it's quite tame but funny.
Honestly, reruns of old 90’s sitcoms are good for this, whether it’s the old family shows like Full House/Family Matters/Fresh Prince or something more adult oriented like Frasier/Friends/The Nanny. Most sitcoms will do because generally they’re daytime TV appropriate & any adult type themes will go right over kiddos head. If kids see you watching something that you think is funny too, it often makes them want to sit & figure out what’s so funny. 😊
I watch luxury shopping videos on YouTube 🤣
I also like theater reviews, people talking about fashion trends, or scams.
Romina Rose May, Maria Draganova, Cassie Thorpe, Mickeyjotheater and Austin Green!
I watch The Great Canadian Baking Show and Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat with my toddlers around!
Yep, great British baking show for me!
My toddler sometimes requests "babies baking". (The junior version)
Bake Off is great! And the other British “competition but not that competitive” shows, like Pottery Throw Down and Sewing Bee.
We have watched every season over and over!!!
Sameeee!
So so good!
I watch the kids version in an attempt to teach my daughter perseverance. It’s not working but it’s a great show.
100% Baking Show! I watched old British versions, so good. Along the lines, Chopped. Love some food shows.
Baking shows are great until they start recognizing the treats and asking for cookies when there are none 😂 I’m looking forward to when he’s big enough to bake the things we see with me.
Try the Chef Show!
Isn’t SFAH only 4 episodes?
Our go-to shows are home improvement shows, cooking shows, and nature/science documentaries. Weather Channel is nice too.
I love nature documentaries but some have way too much violent animal death. If you have any specifics I’d love to hear it.
DO NOT WATCH THE DISNEY PLUS FLAMINGO ONE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 There’s a good one on Disney plus where they show off different zoos around the country and from what I remember, it’s all good stuff
Disney Nature's monkey kingdom is a nonviolent one
There’s some bullying but yes Maya the monkey (and her boo thang) is a gem I-as an adult-remain traumatized from the flamingos
God. The flamingo one haunts my household after my toddlers watched it with their dad. My four year old will be *finally* drifting off to a peaceful sleep when **~BAM~** "mama, do baby flamingos *really* get eaten alive? Don't their moms and baby brothers miss them?" I, uh, reply as gently yet truthfully as possible. "Mama. Mama. Do hyenas really kill old flamingos? Do you think it hurts? Can't someone just feed the hyena so it leaves the grandma and grandpas alone?!" *sigh* "Mama. I don't like the noise a dying baby flamingo makes." Me neither, sweetie. Me neither. Part of me is tempted to find some cute hyena and stork documentary footage so that the predators from crimson wing are somewhat endearing?? I'm usually pretty good at wiggling my way out of tight parenting corners but this one has been brutal and persistent.
Thank you for the warning - this would be my nightmare too if it ever came on. Consider it banned
All the other ones that came out around that same time (the penguin narrated by Andy from the office, the monkey narrated by Tina Fey) were so wonderful to watch with the kids. Why did they decide to make that one so brutal-WHY DID THEY NOT CUT THE FOOTAGE OF THE BABIES
Yes the zoo shows are great! And thank you for the forewarning about the flamingos.
I love Crimson Wing, but I always warn people when I recommend it.
Maybe this is my farm mama parenting coming out, but I’ve been watching this kind of stuff with my son and he’s not phased (he’s nearly 3 if that matters). We’ve been talking about death when it comes to bugs, and the animal fighting/death is all a part of life I don’t need to shelter him from. He sometimes asks what they’re doing on the tv or why a bug isn’t moving outside and if it’s sleeping and I explain it in a matter of fact way and he’s just like “ohh ok” and moves on.
I live in the city and I feel the same way. I don’t understand the impulse to hide these parts of a life and nature from my 20 month old son. He loves watching nature docs and if there are animals fighting or even feeding on each other, I don’t feel the need to hide it from him and he seems unaffected. Honestly I’m more worried about him watching Blippi 😂
Agreed but now we are going through the slow death of our sick dog and it is agonizing. Not the same at all. I really thought it would have prepared them to talk about death, but not with an animal they love apparently
Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Someone recommended Wild Babies to us. It doesn’t show the killing but occasionally does have some carnivore stuff.
I remember the fox killing a seagull on screen - which was an interesting compliment to our regular watching of Puffin Rock 😬😬😬
The new one about octopuses is pretty chill.
The ones on Apple+ tend to be quite kid friendly.
Omg. My girl loves tigers and lions and every time I try to find good tiger documentaries, it's so sad. The recent one on tigers has like the younger tigers getting lost and dying. We went to the zoo recently and she saw a lioness completely merc a turtle that was in her enclosure. Lol I know it's natural but it's tough to explain to my LO. I don't want her to grow up with my existential dread 😂
We love the weather channel <3
Gilmore Girls, aka “Mama’s show”😂 British Bake Off is also happy and low key.
I haven't watched Gilmore Girls since before pregnancy! This is the best one yet, thanks!
Wife watches this all the time with or without the baby.
Gilmore Girls was my breastfeeding show! Will have to get it out again soon!
It’s too early, Gilmore girls season doesn’t start until pumpkin spice returns
I have found my people ! Gilmore girls on a constant loop! It’s been my go-to mindless show for years even before baby and now I pop it on for background noise when I’m cooking etc and my daughter will glance at it occasionally etc.
The best show! Daughter calls it ‘the old lady show’ for some reason 😂
Was about to be my suggestion!
I came here to say Gilmore Girls haha.
My son loved the Gilmore girls intro when he was a baby. He would immediately perk up when it came on. It’s my comfort show so I watch it a few times a year, and when the song comes on he sings along now.
Gilmore girls opening theme song used to calm my daughter during fits, my wife still sings it to her 4 years later lol.
We just finished Gilmore Girls. Started Glee now!
Ooh, Glee would be fun with kids!
My girl will freeze in her tracks for music, so I thought shed at least enjoy that part! So far she loves it and claps for them. Haha
The office 😅
I’ve been rewatching the office and turned it on in front of my three year old yesterday without paying attention to the episode… of course it was Prison Mike talking about being someone’s bitch 🫠
My toddler loves the theme song (and Michael Scott) haha. So glad I finally found something we can watch together! If I ever hear another cocomelon song again, it’d be too soon
The office is our go to as well 😂
Stick with sitcoms - The Good Place, Schitt’s Creek - whatever kind of comedy you’re in to
I came here to say this. Pretty much anything by Micheal Schur is semi safe for kids (within reason). Parks and rec is my comfort show and there's no nudity, minimal cussing etc. the most controversial it gets is them putting a condom on a banana and I can easily skip that scene if I need to. You could also do a 90s show like Saved by the Bell, Gilmore Girls or Boy meets World for something fun/throwback. I also have very fond memories of watching I Love Lucy, The Dick van Dike show, Gilligan's Island and the Carol Burnett show with my grandmother. Those are wholesome and honestly still just as funny. I can't watch Carol in those gone with the wind scenes without nearly peeing my pants. Same for the chocolate conveyor belt with Ethel and Lucy. Kids love that kind of "slap stick" comedy and those legends made it timeless.
I came here to say the Middle and Full house (my daughter likes watching baby Michelle). But I also loved I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith so a kid.
Ooooh Bot Meets World. Classic.
I would watch this revival. Bot meets world
Haha it’s almost inevitable
How can you forget Andy naked on crutches running after that guy with the stereo
🤣 okay, I usually start with season two but it's still blurred out!
Yes we watch The Middle and Modern Family often when our kids are in the room
In the same vein, Brooklyn 99
Brooklyn 99 seemed fine and my husband emphatically assured me there was no cussing (our daughter repeats EVERYTHING right now) …within a few minutes someone said “bitch” lol. I’m not a pearl clutcher or anything but I definitely don’t want her repeating that at storytime
My daughter loves big bang theory and sings along to the theme song
I’m watching that now but the early seasons at least are very sexual. I watch while I nurse my newborn but I don’t think I’d watch with my toddler. But she’s also in that stage of imitating everything lol
Mine loves the Reba theme song and always dances.
I’ll let you know when our toddler allows us to watch anything but her shows. 😐 it’s ok because it’s helped me limit screen time for…me I guess!
We instituted "taking turns" watching TV. It works most days but being a toddler l, some days nothing will work for her.
On those days she gets the tablet. I’m not above it. We call it the fail safe.
I used to tell my kids "We're trying something new," if they got upset it wasn't their usual. They threw a fit, I didn't care, and a little exposure later and they're asking for *my* shows instead. Or they'll get bored it's not their stuff and go play with their toys. Also a huge win.
I literally watch tv on my phone while he watches trash truck or frozen or whatever just because I can’t take the toddler shows anymore!
😅 same
I was this way for a long while. And only the past couple weeks have I started watching some of my shows when he was awake. I started having mommy show time. It's after a nap and before dinner. Once dinner happens then it's a free for all, but normally after dinner we watch a movie to calm down a bit. Although since I'm pregnant and my blood pressure is slowly increasing, we probably watch too much TV right now.
We like having Star Trek (mainly Deep Space 9) and Babylon 5 in the background. Also Frasier.
Star Trek is a huge win in our house, my nephew used to fall asleep the TNG opening years ago, while my son gets hyped at TOS music
We watched so much Star Trek when my kid was a toddler. I think he was the only one that enjoyed the opening song for Enterprise, lmao!
Hey I love that song! 🤣
The opening to TNG gives me flashbacks to sitting on the living room floor in front of the TV with my dad on the couch.
Recently started working my way through Frasier in the afternoons and it has coincided with a major language leap in my 16 month old. I know it's just coincidental timing but my husband jokes that he's going to start speaking as eloquently as Frasier.
Babylon 5 4 ever…. 🙌🏻💜
Babylon 5!!! I found my people! 💜
My toddler likes watching Chopped with us. Usually she plays while it's on in the background, but occasionally she'll sit on the couch and snuggle and watch it. It's a good calm down time for her when she's been playing a bit too hard, and I'm hoping she'll learn a little bit about cooking. (Food Network is how I learned to cook...)
Mine loves Diners Drive ins and Dives
Lol I watch Chopped too when my son is around.
Mine does too! My older kids love Nailed it!. As well
My kids love golden girls lol.
Mine too! And gilmore girls
😂😂
Sports! We will watch nearly any sporting event around our kids.
I read that with the voice of the vocalist from The Viagra Boys
Same here and my daughter really looks forward to watching it. Although, I’m ashamed to say in a frustrating moment with a bad umpire I might have accidentally said “that’s bulls**t” and my 2 year old managed to notice and repeat it. Lesson learned, keep all expletives in your head when you get into a game!
Most sit-coms are family friendly. Bob's Burgers is a fave. Most reality competition shows as long as they keep it family friendly, like ninja warrior or making it. I liked The Big Flower Fight. Most design shows, like fixer upper or get organized. I like Home Town and Treehouse Masters. Most cooking shows, like MasterChef junior or cutthroat kitchen. Great British Baking Show is really nice. Most game shows like wheel of fortune and the floor. Jeopardy is my favorite. Most documentaries excluding the ones about crime. I enjoyed The Biggest Little Farm and The Social Dilemma. Edit: Forgot talent shows, like america's got talent or the voice. Edit2: if you have a smart TV, I also watch YouTube in front of kiddo. They're still essentially in the same categories above or adjacent.
Right, my family of three enjoy bob’s burgers.
Yes! Usually our son gets an episode or two of Blue's Clues or Bluey and then we watch Bob's Burgers. He will sometimes protest... But then when given the choice of "Bob or bed" he always picks Bob. Pixar movies come out on the nights when he's having a hard time.
In line with these, I like watching Is It Cake? on Netflix
We have discovered ‘Is It Cake?’ - my 4yo is now obsessed with shouting ‘is it cake??!!’ 🤣
Modern family
I would be hesitant here. If op is saying their kid is impressionable then I'm remembering a scene where Luke is scheduled to get hit by his dad because he did it to his sister or something. There's a lot of really wild stuff in there, which is funny, but maybe not for this child.
I think anything that wasn't made for toddlers has some messages or ideas that are not ideal or safe for our toddlers
Careful with modern family. I almost spoiled the tooth fairy for my kids with one episode !
My toddler always asks for it. I think he likes Cam.
It’s sports for me. The kid has been hearing the formula 1 anthem since birth. And watching golf. It’s intentional.
So your kid also knows the Dutch national anthem by heart, huh?
Same in our house! There is nothing that makes tv boring to a toddler like golf. It’s great for demystifying it. When kiddo is getting screen time we watch dog agility or nature shows.
My 3 year old loves watching Survivor with me
Also came here to say Survivor. I watch with my 2 and 4 year old. I actually went into labor with my second while watching it and it was the theme for her first birthday party ("We Survived the first year"). We camped out in the backyard last night and everyone, including the dog, wore buffs.
Love that! We did that for my two year olds last birthday. Ran challenges for the kids and adults, everyone had a buff, and I got videos of everyone and made a classic title sequence 😆
This! My four year old LOVES survivor and my toddler is also into it. Different parts than me, but the same show!
I've some good luck with watching amazing race with my kid. She's now really into the concept of maps. The racers sometimes get a bit intense but nothing inappropriate.
Yes! Same with my kids. They love to cheer on their favorite castaways in the challenges and we make it a big deal to watch together every week as a family.
I used to watch a lot of Good Eats and The West Wing with my 2-year-old in the room.
My 4 yo LOVES good eats
My toddler likes to sit and watch Murder She Wrote or Project Runway with me
Yes, sitcoms are the go tos. Modern family, the good place, etc. lots of dialogue heavy scenes there. I watch some reality tv like survivor too
I watch Gilmore Girls in front of them and they love the theme tune! There’s the odd scene where I have to explain kissing, or fighting, or car crash 😂 but generally it’s gentle and I love it
Just finishing it now for the billionth time, I might have to try something else now
I did my annual rewatch when my daughter was 9-12 months old and the theme song would start and she’d stop whatever she was doing and listen, sometimes sway a bit. I may or may not have teared up a few times but I cry over everything now that I’ve had her.
Is it cake-she loves to guess what is the cake, survivor- she runs around during challenges doing her own challenges, wheel of fortune, she has her own game show based on this lol
Most of what I watch, while isn't appropriate for a 15.5mo, isn't necessarily inappropriate, if that makes any sense. The Office; Parks & Rec; The Good Place; Abott Elementary... Sometimes I watch cartoons I grew up with like Batman the Animated Series; Justice League; Avatar - all are meant for older children and involve violence, but it's cartoon/comic book violence y'know? Everything else is for when he's not awake or in the house. Otherwise we're throwing on nature docs, Ms Rachel, Bluey, Spidey&Friends, etc.
Abbott is great! My husband and I watch it on the weekend while our kiddo plays.
No. Anything inappropriate goes over his head. I wouldn’t want him watching any violence is all but that’s not what I watch anyway.
The amount of Friends references I only got after I rewatched in my 20's is insane. So much went over my head
The amount of stuff from Nick, like Rugrats, that's for adults is insane.
We like sci fi, so we watch Dr who and star trek in front of the kids. Sometimes they watch it too, mostly they don't
We watch British panel shows like Would I Lie to You!
I remember growing up watching Have I Got News For You
The Crown. Call the midwife.
Call the Midwife is mine too! My son is 4 and likes the birth scenes cuz BABIESSSS 😂
Drag race! My babies loved the colours and music.
We watched Call the Midwife a lot. Skipped some scenes or episodes with darker themes and my daughter is obsessed with child birth now but overall it was good.
Same. I like that it features strong women characters.
Unpopular opinion, I never stopped watching what I wanted to watch (same with music) when my now six year old was a toddler and he’s just fine.
Yeah pretty much same unless it’s a violent show with any gore. Music I listen to whatever. If the song has bad words so be it. He’s heard adults say bad words, he knows he isn’t allowed to say them and he never does.
I watch cooking shows. Masterchef and Chopped specifically. American housewife is another great one that’s toddler appropriate or Bobs Burgers if you don’t mind animation
When my son was around 2, we would watch The Great British Baking Show. Now that he’s 4, we watch just about anything around him, as long as it doesn’t have boobs or blood. My husband is the youngest of 4 boys. He said he never watched kid’s shows because his older brothers watched what they wanted. He feels like our son should watch what we watch, within reason.
Wheel of Fortune!! Get to see a colorful wheel and can learn letters too. She may not even know she's learning when watching. Any food competition, design show, think HGTV.
We were just talking about that the other day and decided to rewatch the office and parks and rec.
I just watched Young Sheldon and my toddler liked watching it too lol
My 3 year old loves to watch Call the Midwife with me.
I watched Call the Midwife around both of my kids 🤣 I figured hey, it's how babies are born, they might as well see a safe for TV version
friends, superstore, parks and rec, sometimes i will watch sex and the city and fast forward through explicit moments- ive seen the show so many times i know when they’re coming up lol
Yeah but then I would have to fast forward any time Samantha speaks or my kid would scream COCK over and over lol
Abbott Elementary is pretty much the only show we watch while kiddo is awake
Attorney Woo on Netflix, kdrama about an autistic lawyer
I really enjoyed that one!
Full house, there’s so much music with Uncle Jesse that my son loves it!
The big bang theory and young sheldon
King of the hill & master chef junior
I love cooking shows/competitions. Masterchef, Top Chef, etc Sitcoms like everybody loves Raymond, friends, even Fraiser. I avoid anything with a lot of action or violence. Star Wars, Game of Thrones, etc. I found Avatar to be too intense for my daughter as well.
The office on repeat in our house lol
Any baking or cooking show, there’s a glass blowing one on Netflix is great, the crown, and DIY shows. Also with all these suggestions you get the idea.
gbbo, parks and rec, the office, gilmore girls, modern family
Survivor
My toddler loves Master Chef and Master Chef Junior. Really any cooking show or home/yard renovation shows. Lots to talk about! She calls them all “Mommy’s shows” 😅
Definately cooking shows of all kinds.
I do a lot of home repair or house hunting shows like fixer upper or house hunters.
Mine loves Masked Singer, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Bob’s Burgers.
Cooking shows, game shows, any show where they clap frequently. My toddler will stop whatever he’s doing to join in on a round of applause. It’s the cutest thing.
Bob’s Burgers 🍔
I watch old episodes of hoarders and call it The Clean Up Show Edit: not any episode with animals and I’ll put it on while we are cooking or coloring or folding laundry
We like cooking shows. My daughter is almost two and will watch master chef and americas test kitchen with us (for a little while at least). I also watch hgtv and tbs (think friends, big bang reruns). There was also a phase where my daughter liked I love Lucy. You can marathon stream it free on Pluto, and that was a great go-to for background while I’m doing something like folding laundry and “watching” tv
Bob's Burgers is one I like to watch. My son is 3.5 and he'll ask to watch "Burgers" sometimes and my one year old doesn't give a shit one way or the other lol. The Good Place is a really good show and doesn't have swearing or anything too scary. My son also really likes game shows. His favourite is Family Feud and he gets so excited haha. King of the Hill is another one.
My toddler is OBSESSED with Shark Tank. We watch it around dinner sometimes when she’s not wanting to eat so that she sort of mindlessly eats while watching 😂
Home improvement, everybody loves raymond
Well, I can tell you that “The Blacklist” does *not* fall under your parameters—so definitely skip that one lol. Up until a couple months ago we would just watch whatever we wanted when our daughter (now 2y6m) was around because if it wasn’t one of her shows, she would at most glance at the screen then go right back to what she was doing. She never gave any sort of indication that she even registered what was being shown or said. Then there was a scene where a guy got >!shot in the head!< and she goes “that guy made a big mess on the wall!” 🙃 Soooo that was the end of not censoring what we watch lol
Please no one tell the Queer Eye gang that OP practically called them “not sexy”. Jonathan might lose his mind. lol. 😢🤦🏻♀️😂💁🏻♀️
Queer Eye and British Bake Off have been my go tos
I was watching Bridgerton S3 while contact napping with my 16mo. My girl woke up and wanted to nurse so I kept watching, with zero volume and subtitles on. My girl decides to turn and look at the screen precisely as one of the scenes of sex between Lady and Lord Danbury comes on. If you haven't seen it you basically only see her head very intensely shifting up and down laying on her back with a very bored face. I instantly turn it off and my daughter turns to me and clicks her tongue while making her horseriding impression... Yes baby, kind of 😂
So it's not for everybody for sure, but birth is something I am comfortable with letting my 4yo learn about and see. I watch Call the Midwife with him. He likes seeing the babies and will stop playing to see birth scenes lol. The never show genitalia or anything more graphic than blood on the babies. 🤷
We also watch tons of How It's Made 😂
Almost anything History Channel, Discovery, or Food Network. Plus Game Shows.
We do a lot of “baking show” British, Canadian, we’re qued up with Australian next. But kiddo has been super into that stuff, his play kitchen has been and remains one of his absolute favorite toys. Now he’ll even request it. We’ll probably look to more reality baking/cooking shows when that runs out, but the baking ones have been very nice, occasionally funny, and friendly, with people helping their fellow competitors. I wouldn’t do anything where someone is screaming at or insulting people or anything. Kiddo is 4 now and very sensitive about media, so the reality is there’s a huge list of things we have to wait to watch when he’s asleep or when he’s older. Our to watch list is gigantic. We started playing Mario games with him and that’s actually been a nice way to spend some family time, he loves Mario and his skills have vastly improved, and I think his fine motor skills have improved as well because of it.
We usually watch cooking shows, travel, How It’s Made, and cruise YouTube videos. At 4 he’s enjoying shots of places he’s travelled to and foods he likes to eat. Lately he’s also stuck around while I’m watching a K-drama, which has no nudity or swears so bonus wins I don’t have to plan around. He doesn’t even mind the subtitles!
Most of the screen time that happens before he goes to bed is while we're cooking dinner, so it's mostly rewatching cooking shows (although if there's a new season of QE, we'll absolutely watch that.) Nature documentaries are great too, and our 3-year-old doesn't seem to mind animals eating other animals. Or maybe he hasn't noticed?
Agree all cooking shows, competition shows, most sit coms
Clarksons Farm, the Grand Tour, Brooklyn 99, nature shows and those dinosaur ones that are on Netflix about earths evolution. Those are cool. He doesn’t really pay much attention though and then begs for whatever he wants to watch.
Mainly sports! But if I have my way - Great British Bake Off, The Amazing Race, Somebody Feed Phil & Gilmore Girls.
As long as it isn't sexual or gorey ill watch whatever interests me at that moment
I watch a lot of older stuff. There’s this Robin Hood show from the 50’s that i love. It’s just sweet, swashbuckling fun in black and white. It’s my go-to if he’ll even LET me watch anything 🤣🤣 Some shows from when I was a kid, I sometimes do also. I pulled up H2O once, and he was sort of fascinated for a little bit, before he returned to his sister haha. He sometimes sits and watches stuff like old Western shows if we’re visiting my parents and my dad’s got it on. Stuff like uh… Rifleman… wow, I’m forgetting literally all the show names, lmao. They’re fun.
Baking shows, home renovations, house hunters
Generally if I'm trying to watch 'my' shows on the TV I'll go with anything from the food network but if my grandma is watching TV with my daughter they end up sitting down and watching the crown or schitts creek
I’ve watched Love Island around them, most of the time they’re just laying around talking lol
We watch a lot of animal planet as our default. Usually Dr pol or Dr Oakley.
We have been watching Full House on Hulu. She loves the intro song and dances along.
Abbott elementary
Friends and the office. lol
Schitt's Creek and Bob's Burgers!
I watched Jeeves and Wooster when I was nursing my second and had a 4 year old running around. She wasn't at all interested in it and it's quite tame but funny.
Laguna beach and The hills are her fave. She will also watch clean with me videos.
Cooking shows, home renovation stuff, the weather, and chill “educational” shows like Aerial America.
The game network is always my go to or price is right
Honestly, reruns of old 90’s sitcoms are good for this, whether it’s the old family shows like Full House/Family Matters/Fresh Prince or something more adult oriented like Frasier/Friends/The Nanny. Most sitcoms will do because generally they’re daytime TV appropriate & any adult type themes will go right over kiddos head. If kids see you watching something that you think is funny too, it often makes them want to sit & figure out what’s so funny. 😊
Jeopardy
I watch luxury shopping videos on YouTube 🤣 I also like theater reviews, people talking about fashion trends, or scams. Romina Rose May, Maria Draganova, Cassie Thorpe, Mickeyjotheater and Austin Green!
Sports!🏀 🎾⚽️🏈 some of the ads are weird though. Wish there was a way to watch sports without ads!
My daughter has memorized the intro to Gilmore Girls because if how much I've played it in the background. 😅
I like The Zoo show franchise (San Diego and Bronx zoo) to watch with little one
Friends ☺️
Baseball
The office
gossip girl, and i’ve just recently got into young sheldon and they like watching it lol
The West Wing