Kids’ Shows That Actually Had Some Very Adult Story Lines

Plopping your child in front of a big glowing screen for 12 hours a day may be the ultimate parenting hack, but sometimes you have to be careful. Here are several kids’ shows that actually had some very adult story lines.

In an effort to teach children about underwater ecosystems, Squidward is consumed whole by a shark and is never seen again.

It’s actually pretty messed up that your parents let you watch this as a kid.

Parents initially appreciated the nod to revolutionary female author Sylvia Plath, but admitted they could have done without the part where Wishbone sticks his head in an oven and cranks it all the way up.

Although there was no visible gore, viewers of this episode were subjected to eight minutes of the Teletubbies shrieking in pain when their outdated cathode-ray tube television screens were forcefully ripped from their tummies and replaced with LCDs.

While many parents were initially shocked and appalled, some felt Raven learned a valuable lesson after seeing two planes hit the Twin Towers in a vision and choosing to do nothing about it.

This famous children’s show took a dark turn during its season 4 premiere after a 24-hour prison lockdown.

Daniel and Miss Elaina visit the new house that Prince Wednesday is helping Katerina Kittycat build but discovers they are building on land annexed by the Israeli Government.

It’s unclear what lesson he was trying to teach, but this episode startled parents when Mr. Rogers appeared covered in blood surrounded by clones of himself piled up around him.

Without any warning, Dora is crushed by a falling satellite, leaving parents struggling to explain the random nature of space debris to their children.

Mothers were quick to attack Craig Mazin for this animated show, which featured diaper-clad scientists at the Kurchatov Institute learning about teamwork and radiation poisoning.

The vegetables stone Laura Carrot to death after she bolts and accidentally produces bastard seedlings from her first flowers.

Viewers, along with Nancy, were shocked to learn that the rising middle class were demanding a voice in commercial politics, taxation, and even foreign policy.

Miss Frizzle shrunk the class for a biology field trip inside NBA great Magic Johnson where she pointed out damaged CD4 cells and assigned students to count his viral load.

Many parents were shocked when an emotional Barney sang a song about how parents will simply never love adoptive kids the same as their own biological children, no matter how they try.

Upset with her family and dismayed over her secret obsession with Arnold, Helga finds an unlikely friend in John Lennon’s killer.

Hoping to teach them about couples that don’t just look like their mom and dad, the show introduced its young audience to the concept of relationships that just sort of fizzle out after a while in Season 2.

Bear’s house is invaded by crust punks who, using the power of teamwork, scare Bear away to his vacation home for good.