Remember when there was a day when we could all sit down as a family and watch T.V.? Television was filled with good clean family entertainment. Family sitcoms ruled prime time. Some of my favorites were Family Ties, Home Improvement, and The Cosby Show. These shows tackled families raising kids, working, and maintaining good relationships. In many of the shows now you hardly even hear about the parents.
Just the other night I came to the realization about a typical evening in my house. Homework done, dinner cleaned up, and the kids all comfortable on the couch watching Hannah Montana or The Suite Life. Suddenly I find myself in a different room either watching a crime show, reading a book, or surfing the internet.
Shows now target either kids or adults. Shows such as Hannah Montana entertain our tweens to no end while shows targeting adults contain either adult humor, reality, or crime. There are not many shows on these days that target both kids and adults, equaling family.
I think now more than ever we need these shows. All the experts talk about the importance of family time. Family sitcoms are a great way to promote family time and at the same time talk about a lot of the issues families are dealing with today in an entertaining humorous way.
Do you think a family sitcom would be successful in today's world amongst all of the reality shows? Would our kids enjoy watching these as much as we did? Would we, as adults, enjoy these shows now after being exposed to more "adult" shows?
We need the "Family Sitcom" now more then ever.
Posted by Dalia (Generation X Mom) Labels: family time
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I have always loved sitcoms. They are a time when I can sit and not tax my brain to any extent. Growing up I always enjoyed family sitcoms. But I guess you're right, there are no more 'family' shows. All too often I find myself watching something and saying....'did they just say that at 8:30?' And sometimes if one of my granddaughters is sitting there with me, I can be a little uncomfortable although they never seem to be. There's no good clean humor any more. Or none that I can find.
To answer your question, if there was a family sitcom on, I'd watch it. Don't know how well it would do though.
I absolutely agree! I was just talking the other day about having such fond memories of watching The Cosby Show and Family Ties etc while helping my mom make dinner! I wish there were shows on that we were all interested in watching together!
OOOOH, good point! I watched those shows you mentioned too. I think it would be nice to bring nice family shows back too.
I miss all those shows! With all the crime dramas (my favourite) and reality shows, it just doesn't seem that there are any family-friendly shows out there...and by family-friendly I mean, like you said, that we would all enjoy.
Great post!
You are so right! I think there is very little on prime time TV that kids can (or should) watch these days. Our family loves to watch The Amazing Race together. My kids love all those Disney and Nick shows. I can't stand The Suite Life - it's so badly acted! - but I actually like iCarly and will watch that with my kids. And we just started watching Simpsons together (my kids are 12 and 15 now - we didn't allow the Simpsons until recently!) My kids also like to watch older shows. Mostly, we watch DVDs together - we only recently began allowing certain PG13s for our younger son!
Sue
www.greatbooksforkidsandteens.com
It's gotten way out of hand. I let the kids watch the Big Bang Theory but even that has its iffy segments.
We watch a lot of Little House, The Waltons, Andy Griffith, Touched by an Angel, Cosby, Full House, and other shows like that. The kids love them and I know what's in them.
I wish there was more family sitcoms, but as long as what they are putting on is being watched and no one complains, nothing is going to change.
Absolutely agree! It's amazing how much shows have changed since we were younger. Every station shows reality shows now - even the music channels have become all about reality shows. It's a bit too much and I am hoping that as a mom/family therapist, and family sitcom lover, that the pendulum swings back in the other direction soon!
I found a channel that shows Cosby and Family Ties and I am thrilled about that! ;-)
Great post...
Tamara
www.theunexperiencedmom.com
www.blogconferencenewbie.com
Thanks for stopping by to comment on my blog yesterday, I really appreciated the feedback.
I love this post, and it is so needed in this world today. (sometimes I feel like a lone voice in the wilderness)
I let me 7 year old watch Chuck with me, it's not exactly "family" tv but it's fairly appropriate, no sex, no swearing, the violence is minimal and sort of campy. Once and a while someone makes an innuendo that he doesn't get anyways. Overall we let them watch American Idol and So you think you can dance type shows.
I would love to see some family friendsly content on tv in the evening.
Thanks again,
Lola
www.nicolescorner.wordpress.com
I completely agree. My friends and I talk about this all the time.
I remember when my mom and I would watch Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Mama's Family, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and so many more.
Nowadays, you've got blatantly sexual shows, such as Two and a Half Men, playing at a time when kids and parents could be spending quality time together.
I even miss the theme songs (I wrote a blog post about that. I'll leave the link in the url of my name/url.).
Another thing (Sorry I'm long winded) is that older shows don't even play anymore, or if they do it's in the wee hours. I'm a twenty-something, but I remember when Nickelodeon used to show Lassie and Flipper.
The times, they have a-changed.
We like to sit down and watch TV together, but it is hard to find something that entertains all of us. Most of the stuff is either violent, or too sexual. My step son likes to watch Two and a Half Men... but we end up fast forwarding through a lot of it. We will usually watch Gary Unmarried together because even though there is some adult humor, it is as sexually explicit as the other shows.
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