Parents' Guide to

Monsters Inside Me

By Anne Louise Bannon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Show about nasty parasites isn't for the faint of stomach.

TV Animal Planet Educational 2009
Monsters Inside Me Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

See all
age 11+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Hotdog06
Hotdog06 Adult
August 28, 2018
age 15+

it's gross

very bad but great messages are in there
kaylac1
kaylac1 Adult
December 7, 2017
age 10+

Interesting, but not for the faith of the heart

Monsters Inside Me is a great show in my option, it shows how different parasites, parasitic infections, diseases affect the person's body. Sometimes, they will even focus foreign objects entering the body. However, parents should be aware that the dramatizations are beyond disturbing as it shows worms burrowing though the brain, entering the bloodstream, mating to produce eggs and many other factors. If you have a weak stomach, then I would highly not recommend this show. Also, some people have died from these diseases as well and usually have a low survival rate. Dan Riskin will often tell you the agent and life cycle of the parasite. The narrator tells the viewer how to protect themselves from parasites. The vast majority of the clients often travel over the seas in which they get the infection. Overall, Monsters Inside Me is an educational show but is highly disturbing.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Only safe for those with strong intestinal fortitude, each episode of MONSTERS INSIDE ME looks at case studies about different aspects of parasitic infection and disease. There's lots of gross-out narration and animation, and some pretty scary bugs -- from bedbugs to roundworms and many, many more.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (9):

The show's producers are apparently aware that half the attraction of a show like this is the gross-out factor, and they certainly play it up. But there's also some good information here, and while the narration is somewhat hyped up -- in one case, for instance, a parasite is described as eating a child's brain from the inside out -- it's not repeated endlessly (and, in fact, that's exactly what the parasite did to the child).

Also, the producers are pretty good about providing perspective on the actual incidence of the featured diseases -- one parasite, for example, is fairly common in Southeast Asia but extremely rare in the United States, while another parasite, while more common, very rarely infects humans. Bottom line? The real fun of this show is making folks go "eeew!" and it's very successful at that.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the fact that many of the featured stories happened years ago. Can you figure out which scenes are re-enacted and which aren't?

  • Parents can also ask their kids whether they think the show creates fear about something that's really very unlikely. Or is it ultimately reassuring? Is the show's intent to educate or sensationalize?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate