Growing Pains

This show is one of the best sitcoms in the 80s it had a lot of common sense knowledge that they did when they sat down with her kids on the show and gave them the facts of life and things that go on in the world the father and the son were able to show love to one another and the family was positive and very influential. I give this a 100% positivity level type show

While the subject matter makes this show inappropriate for younger children, it's a fine choice for older children, as even the episodes that deal with such things as drug use- as well as the other episodes in the series- are done tastefully and take what most parents (and other adults) would consider to be the moral high ground. Life lessons are taught and taught well. The parents always have plenty of time for their children. Carol, the middle child, is a bit of a goody two-shoes, but not excessively so. Younger son Ben, and especially older son Mike, are troublemakers, but not excessively so, and by episode's end they always see the error of their ways. Mike also changed- for the better- when he met Kate, whom he eventually married, showing young viewers that people sometimes do change when they meet the right man or woman. The only word of caution that I'd have is regarding Mike. That caution is that, even though he is a below average student, he does well in school when he really tries, and ends up going to college. In and of itself that is a good thing, but it could be a letdown for kids who just don't do well in school no matter how hard they try. On tv everyone who tries hard and really studies does well in school. In real life that's generally true, but for some students it isn't. In other words, in real life there are some kids who just don't do well in school no matter how hard they try. On tv you'd be hard-pressed to find such a kid. That could be a big disappointment for such children, especially if they don't know of any other kids in real life who just don't do well in school no matter how hard they try.

Growing Pains is one of my favourite shows, after randomly stumbling on it flicking the channels last year. Whilst a lot of episodes are fine for children to watch, a lot aren't, and children, especially those under 15, should be supervised. Mike, the older son of the family, is quite naughty until the later years of the show, notably thanks to Kirk Cameron, the actor who played him, finding God. A few other episodes involve drugs, tattoos, promiscuity, and drinking amongst other adult topics, but there is nothing TOO harmful, and the positive message always prevails at the end of the episode, courtesy of the parents of the family, money-careful Jason and super-woman Maggie. Carol, the brain of the family and the older daughter, is a good role model for children, teenagers and even young adults like myself, over the course of the series, she learns that outside appearances aren't everything, to not succumb to peer pressure, and to just be herself. The aforementioned Mike and younger brother Ben are great for laughs, whilst younger daughter Chrissy, in all honesty, doesn't add very much to the show. One more note, to parents of younger viewers of the show, in episodes where Mike, Ben, or in rare cases Carol get up to no good, explain to our children that what they did was wrong, pointing out in particular how Jason and Maggie handled the situation. By all means, let your kids watch this show, but if they're under 13, watch it with them as a family, like millions of families did back in the 1980s. You'll be sharing the laughter and love for years to come!

It's one of those nice family shows.