# Growing up, what TV shows did your parents not let you watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096 "2017-08-30T14:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/21 "2017-08-30T15:30:46Z")
Nothing here, either. Hell, I watched Benny Hill and Three’s Company with my dad when I was a wee lad. One of my friends’ parents forbid them to watch The Brady Bunch. I could never figure out why, but they were on the old school side of Catholic, so maybe there was something to do with that. I guess I could have just asked, but never got around to it. Anybody else hear of anything like this? ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/22 "2017-08-30T15:40:34Z")
At our house, the only show I recall as forbidden was ‘All in the Family’. Apparently, it had been condemned by the Catholic Church, and my father (at that point in time) was a very traditional old-school Catholic. This turned out to be not much of a problem, as we were all huge fans of ‘Emergency!’, which was on at the same time. So it was a total non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/23 "2017-08-30T15:42:44Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > My MIL (v.1.0) told me that with the first child, if you drop the bottle you re-sterilize it and make more formula. By the third, you pick it up, wipe it on the seat of your pants and feed the baby. First baby drops pacifier: Sterilize and return Second baby drops pacifier: Rinse off in sink and return Third baby drops pacifier: Wipe off pants or shirt and return Fourth+ baby drops pacifier: Kick it back to 'em. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/24 "2017-08-30T15:47:26Z")
_Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In_. My mother was aghast at the girls in bikinis and body paint gyrating right there in front of God and everybody!!! Somehow, tho, I managed to see it on occasion - like when Mom and Dad went out and left me in charge. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/25 "2017-08-30T15:47:33Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > First baby drops pacifier: Sterilize and return > Second baby drops pacifier: Rinse off in sink and return > Third baby drops pacifier: Wipe off pants or shirt and return > Fourth+ baby drops pacifier: Kick it back to 'em. When I would ask my parents if they wanted to do something, like a school science fair, or athletic event, they’d say “No, we did those things with your brothers.” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/26 "2017-08-30T15:51:01Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > The vast majority of the Germans on that show were Jewish, IIRC. They apparently had no such issues. Fwiw. My dad and I were both well aware of this, but it didn’t make a difference. He felt it wasn’t appropriate and that was that. He did eventually relent but by then I was in HS and he had little control of our viewing habits. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/27 "2017-08-30T15:57:34Z")
Commercial TV didn’t exist when I was born, and we couldn’t afford a TV for most of my childhood. Radio was the TV of that era. I wasn’t allowed to listen to rock stations (the Devil’s music). I often went to a (richer) friend’s house after school. I could never have told Mom that I watched _American Bandstand_ (the devil’s TV), so I told her I watched Mr. Wizard instead. I don’t know if Mr. Wizard was on at that time, but how was she to know? Looking in the paper would involve reading the Devil’s news. (Just kidding about the last one) _American Bandstand_ would have been prohibited for two reasons: dancing and rock music. Both are the cause of civilization’s decline (and pregnancy), and to have both at once was a double whammy. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/28 "2017-08-30T16:03:18Z")
Mom wouldn’t let me watch Married…With Children. I distinctly remember one Sunday night saying to her, “When I’m grown up, I’m going to watch this show every single day and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” FYI, I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/29 "2017-08-30T16:24:18Z")
Nothing; my parents were very permissive in that regard, and I suppose they didn’t see the point in trying to conceal life from me. I was a pretty bright kid, so I would have figured it all out anyway. In the evenings, though, my dad ran the living room TV, and he mostly just watched nature shows on PBS. My childhood was filled with, “I’m Marty Stouffer, and until next time, enjoy our Wild America!” [Puffins](https://www.google.com/search?q=puffins&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjGzL-frv_VAhUlj1QKHT1HAsQQ_AUICigB&biw=1184&bih=574) became a running joke in my house, because they seemed to be on a lot. “Oh look, more puffins!” Bedtime was the only thing I remember that got in the way. Most significantly, we had to go to bed and missed the birth of Robin’s baby on **V: The Final Battle**. Everyone at school was talking about it the next day. My brother and I were so pissed that we missed it; there was a major build-up to that. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/30 "2017-08-30T16:36:30Z")
I grew up in the 50s-60s. There were no restrictions on what my sisters and I watched, but we only had one TV, so we had no say when our parents wanted to watch something. Likewise, there were no restrictions on what music we could listen to, until my father walked in the room and said, “Turn that crap off.” There were only two shows I banned my kids from watching: _Ren and Stimpy_ and wrestling in the early 1990s. They were simply too young at the time. After they got few years older I relented on R&S, and they completely lost interest in wrestling by themselves. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/31 "2017-08-30T16:48:49Z")
My mom was fairly strict about movies - we followed age restrictions and then some - but if I recall, no TV was off limits. We watched reruns of _All in the Family_ and **Laugh-In** together. When FOX became a network we watched almost everything, including _Married…With Children_. Mom watched \*Dallas \*and _Twin Peaks_ with my brother (I had no interest). I think she didn’t want us to get nightmares from scary or violent movies, and we agreed so those were out. I’m guessing she figured we’d be oblivious to sex jokes or turned off by them on the “racy” FOX shows. We didn’t have cable until I was 12 so there wasn’t much to keep us from as kids, really. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/32 "2017-08-30T16:50:46Z")
My mother didn’t like that we watched Laverne & Shirley because Laverne was so slutty. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/33 "2017-08-30T17:22:48Z")
When I was young, I was allowed to watch anything, anything at all, except after 8 or so, when it was time for me to get my ass to bed. (They lived for that moment, believe me!) It might have been better if they had forbidden viewing of The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Lights Out…because I still have trauma to this day! I still can’t watch Twilight Zone if I’m alone in the house. Oddly, today, I self-censor my own tv viewing. I was sitting here one night with the tv on and listening to Family Guy and Two-and-A-Half Men, and could NOT believe my ears what I was hearing! ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/34 "2017-08-30T17:26:10Z")
Early 60’s: We were allowed to watch pretty much everything, with one exception: The Three Stooges. It’s not like we brothers didn’t beat on each other enough as it was, but my mom was convinced that the “violence” of the Stooges would put too many ideas into our heads as to what to do to each other (with pliers, bowling balls, torches, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/35 "2017-08-30T17:29:18Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > There were only two shows I banned my kids from watching: _Ren and Stimpy_ and wrestling in the early 1990s. They were simply too young at the time. After they got few years older I relented on R&S, and they completely lost interest in wrestling by themselves. Ugh. I don’t care if you own the super-deluxe cable package with a million channels, television ain’t got nothing on YouTube these days for keeping you busy monitoring what sort of garbage your kids are watching. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/36 "2017-08-30T17:29:20Z")
My mom tried to limit our viewing of shows she thought were “too old” for us or showed promiscuity, so shows like “Laverne and Shirley” and “Three’s Company” were off limits when we were younger. But at some point either she changed her mind or stopped worrying about it, because I can remember watching both. My dad on the other hand, didn’t really care. I can remember being quite young and him watching “Benny Hill” with us in the room and my mom objecting when she got home, but he wouldn’t turn the channel. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/37 "2017-08-30T17:32:25Z")
My parents were big believers in “get your ass outside to play”, phrased more politely. We could watch occasional PBS shows like Sesame Street when we were younger. The Disney hour, or Sound of Music. Very G-rated stuff. ---
**Author:** ![yellow\_sausage\_bandit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yellow_sausage_bandit/32/394_2.png) [@yellow\_sausage\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellow_sausage_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/38 "2017-08-30T17:42:00Z")
After a few episodes, my mom realized letting me watch Twin Peaks just before going to bed wasn’t helping me with my fear of the dark/sleeping so I was banned from watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/39 "2017-08-30T17:44:01Z")
In the late 70s, I could watch Dukes of Hazzard, but I couldn’t watch The Incredible Hulk, which aired immediately after DoH. In retrospect, it was kind of odd, because there was plenty of interpersonal violence in DoH, but people rarely got hurt in TIH; I guess my parents were just bothered by the scary green monster. In the early 80s, I couldn’t watch Saturday Night Live; too much sexual innuendo. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096/40 "2017-08-30T17:55:36Z")
> [@cormac262](#): > > The Three Stooges. … my mom was convinced that the “violence” of the Stooges would put too many ideas into our heads as to what to do to each other (with pliers, bowling balls, torches, etc.) In your Mom’s defense, **The Stooges** weren’t all that great at depicting the realistic outcome of taking a huge Monkey Wrench to the dome. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/growing-up-what-tv-shows-did-your-parents-not-let-you-watch/795096.md?page=3)