# television shows that decided to add kids **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 27, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276 "2018-03-27T14:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/1 "2018-03-27T14:34:31Z")
What ones really get up your nose? 1, This is gender essentialism, but i don’t care - Ricky on The Partridge Family had hair so long that you’d expect him to be offered dolls and dresses and perfume and flowers. 1. Dodie on My Three Sons - need i say more? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/2 "2018-03-27T14:37:29Z")
[Cousin Oliver](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CousinOliver)-TVTropes > [@](#): > > Cousin Oliver is that inexplicable kid added to the show’s roster, usually in an attempt to liven up an aging cast with a character the younger demographics can (supposedly) relate to. However, such a character is likely to upset the dynamic of the show, especially since his only job is to be cute and innocently wisecracking. It’s far too easy for the writers to miss “sweetly precocious” and tumble right into “overbearing and annoying”, especially to the show’s long-time fans (who don’t see why this kid should be taking attention away from their favorite characters anyway). Depending on how deft the writers are at making him “lovable,” Cousin Oliver can become a fan favorite or The Scrappy (or worse) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/3 "2018-03-27T15:22:26Z")
> [@Princess\_Perfume](#): > > What ones really get up your nose? The ones where they have a baby one season, the next season the kid is four or five already! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/4 "2018-03-27T15:28:33Z")
I absolutely loved “Married with Children”, but they laid an egg when they added the child called “Seven” to the show. He bombed so bad that they wrote him out of the show by having an episode where Al woke up and realized the whole thing had been just a dream. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/5 "2018-03-27T15:30:10Z")
My Three Sons is a great show! It’s on either MeTV or Antenna TV - don’t remember which early in the morning. I record it every day. I loved it when I was a kid and love it even more now. Ernie and Uncle Charlie have some great lines. But back to added kids…Dodie ruined the show. All added kids ruined the shows. Kind of like “jumping the shark”. It’s pretty much over when random kids get added. ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/6 "2018-03-27T15:34:20Z")
Thank God M3S didn’t last long enough for a Dodie’s frst bra episode _shudders_ ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/7 "2018-03-27T15:53:23Z")
nvm ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/8 "2018-03-27T16:36:40Z")
I could easily live without Joe on _Modern Family_. I had praised how the show handled the pregnancy story arch, a thing that usually marks the end of my viewing. Now that he’s old enough to interact I wish Gloria’s sister would kidnap _him_. Olivia on _The Cosby Show_ was a blatant attempt to infuse cute and precocious but it had the opposite effect on me. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/9 "2018-03-27T16:54:27Z")
Stephanie on All in the Family. When you put a kid on a show that isn’t a kid show, it never works. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/10 "2018-03-27T16:57:05Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > The ones where they have a baby one season, the next season the kid is four or five already! In _Duet_, Laura gave birth in the season two finale. In season three, they fast-forwarded three years, so the baby was three (and the lives of all the characters had undergone changes). It didn’t help much, but the show spun off a couple of characters into a new show, _Open House_ Still, props for thinking of the continuity. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/11 "2018-03-27T17:42:48Z")
> [@Princess\_Perfume](#): > > Ricky on The Partridge Family had hair so long that you’d expect him to be offered dolls and dresses and perfume and flowers. His gawdawful “singing” grated on me far more than his adorable appearance or sickeningly sweet precociousness. Yeccch! :mad: What he was expected to bring to the show, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/12 "2018-03-27T17:46:26Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > The ones where they have a baby one season, the next season the kid is four or five already! Family Ties pulled this one. Not that they didn’t have other crimes under their belt (they were the king of clip shows :rolleyes: ), but this one was so blatant. Baby one season, four-year-old the next. Blammo. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/13 "2018-03-27T17:49:38Z")
Worf’s kid on Star Trek TNG was a whiny brat that didn’t want to be warrior. Klingons are warriors! sheesh Thankfully they shipped his butt off to Worf’s parents on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/14 "2018-03-27T17:52:34Z")
I wish they’d gone for a daughter in Family Ties. Cast Judith Barsi or Heidi Zeigler. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/15 "2018-03-27T17:53:00Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I absolutely loved “Married with Children”, but they laid an egg when they added the child called “Seven” to the show. He bombed so bad that they wrote him out of the show by having an episode where Al woke up and realized the whole thing had been just a dream. Peg’s pregnancy was written off as a dream, but Seven just disappeared without a reason. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/16 "2018-03-27T18:27:24Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Seven just disappeared without a reason. In later episodes, he would occasionally appear on a milk carton. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/17 "2018-03-27T19:00:32Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Family Ties pulled this one. Not that they didn’t have other crimes under their belt (they were the king of clip shows :rolleyes: ), but this one was so blatant. Baby one season, four-year-old the next. Blammo. Thank Lucille Ball for that idea - Little Ricky is the one who started this trend. There’s a reasonably good explanation for why shows do this; it’s pretty much impossible to cast kids to be in their “terrible twos.” It also happened on, among other shows, _Growing Pains_ and _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ (where Will did a double-take when he saw his nephew three years older than in the previous season). As for explaining it away with a time jump, _Parks & Recreation_ did this with its last season, and _New Girl_ is doing the same thing this season (so we don’t have to sit through Cece’s pregnancy - we just have to sit through Winston’s new wife’s pregnancy). And back to the original thought, adding kids - Ralph Macchio pretty much got his start as the “added kid” on _Eight is Enough_ to fill the “high school gap” after Tommy graduated and Nicholas was still in elementary school. Note that he wasn’t even mentioned, much less appeared, in the two reunion movies. Also, Crystal Bernard was the “added kid” on _Happy Days_ when Erin Moran went off to do _Joanie Loves Chachi_. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/18 "2018-03-27T19:09:17Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Peg’s pregnancy was written off as a dream, but Seven just disappeared without a reason. The most (only) interesting thing about Seven was that his parents were Bobcat Goldthwait and Linda Blair. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/19 "2018-03-27T20:11:46Z")
I don’t understand the point of Howard & Bernadette’s baby on The Big Bang Theory, you never see the kid anyway! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276/20 "2018-03-27T20:27:31Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I don’t understand the point of Howard & Bernadette’s baby on The Big Bang Theory, you never see the kid anyway! And now there are two of them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/television-shows-that-decided-to-add-kids/811276.md?page=2)