Why I Watch Adult TV Shows With My Kids

They're fun, educational, and lay groundwork for openness and honesty.

My 10-year-old has recently developed a love for musical theater. She was just in her elementary school musical, and now she wants to audition for every musical and play within a 50-mile radius. I was never much of an actress, but I was highly musical theater-adjacent throughout my adolescence because I was in two a cappella groups. (Yes…. I was one of those.) And yet, I somehow missed the show Glee when it came out in 2009. So a few weeks ago, I decided to introduce it to my daughter.

Oh my god, we can’t get enough. We watch an episode together nearly every weekday evening. (How are there six seasons and each season has 20 episodes? Did TV really used to work this way?!) And although I find parts of the show annoying, and other parts make me cringe and not in a fun way, it’s been a wonderful way for us to connect and discuss the complexities of adolescence. It’s also been an amazing opportunity for physical connection. My daughter loves to snuggle, so we sit on the couch under a blanket together, sometimes pausing the show halfway through to grab dessert.

Watching such an adult-themed show with a tween is, I’m sure, a controversial parenting choice. After all, the show touches upon many complex issues: bullying, sexuality, abstinence, pregnancy, cheating, divorce, diet culture, disability, mental illness, race. And not always in subtle or graceful ways.