When I was a little kid, my daily after-school agenda consisted of only one item — plopping down on my living room floor and watching whatever happened to be playing on Disney Channel. Six-year-old me wasn’t picky, but my favorite show was “Bear in the Big Blue House.”

I adored the lively puppets that taught basic problem-solving and encouraged creativity while emphasizing the value of optimism. Lighthearted tropes and lovable characters defined my childhood TV experience. Now, as I look back, I realize that, throughout my daily bingeing, themes often seen in adult shows discussing death, grief and other dark concepts were nowhere to be found in my favorite childhood shows. Their inclusion would have added intricacy to their predictability.

Years after I had moved on from kid-oriented viewing, I asked my 9-year-old sister if she’d like to watch some TV with me. Together, we watched “Over the Garden Wall,” an animated dark fantasy show that follows two young boys, Greg and Wirt.

As the show began, I was surprised to see the two boys accidentally venture into the underworld as they explored the depths of a mysterious forest, a metaphor for the limbo between life and death. In Pottsfield, a town designed to represent a graveyard composed of unmarked headstones, Greg and Wirt have to dig holes — implied to be their own graves — and interact with the town’s undead residents. At the end of the episode, when a group of Pottsfield residents asks the boys if they’d like to stay in town, it becomes clear that the boys will eventually return once they die.

These themes of death and mortality explored in “Over the Garden Wall” were utterly alien to me at my sister’s age — it was a universe away from the comforting narratives of the shows I knew. The first episode quickly introduced plot conflicts complex enough for adults, and I was amazed to see that my little sister was as engaged and intrigued by Greg and Wirt’s gloomy endeavors as I was.

While entire seasons of other classic kids shows never delved into anything more profound than friendship drama and simple moral dilemmas, “Over the Garden Wall” dared to dive deeper. Within the confines of a fictional narrative, my sister could explore different coping strategies to deal with serious concepts and challenges she will have to face one day.

I spent the summer of 2024 babysitting two young kids. Once toys and piggyback rides had run their course, a few episodes of a TV show were the best way to end the day. The kids always insisted that I put on “Bluey,” a show that superficially followed the lives of four animated dancing dogs, but actually had much more to offer under the surface.

“Bluey,” an Australian children’s show that has gained massive popularity in the United States, is usually lighthearted and friendly, exploring topics like friendship and manners. However, the show occasionally grapples with more mature themes that inspire reflection in viewers of any age. For example, in an episode called “Grandad,” Bluey’s parents struggle with the reversal of roles that can occur between an elderly parent and an adult child stepping into a caregiver position.

These kinds of concepts are rarely explored by adult-oriented entertainment, so addressing these issues and their solutions in kids’ shows is a crucial step in preparing kids for life’s less-than-happy aspects.

Moreover, shows like these are part of a larger movement toward bringing more serious and realistic content to children’s media. Although these topics are often written off as inappropriate for children, being exposed to hardship and conflict in the world and throughout one’s own life is an unavoidable aspect of growing up.

By subtly introducing darker concepts and demonstrating constructive methods to discuss and respond to them through the show’s plot, these topics become easier to digest and accept when kids inevitably encounter them in the real world, especially as we face a world teeming with violence.

Tragedies often occur spontaneously, and young people are usually forced to confront grief and conflict earlier than they should have to. Adding darker themes to children’s shows may help teach them the best way to cope.

TV has a tremendous amount of influence over the choices children make as they grow older, and it would be a mistake for children’s shows not to harness that power to prepare them for the harsh realities of life.

While it’s startling to see the stark contrast between the optimistic, upbeat shows of my childhood and the heavier themes addressed in similar-looking shows today, like “Bluey,” the value of early exposure to a darker but authentic reality may be the key to raising more resilient, emotionally intelligent future generations.

Deirdre Pryal is a sophomore majoring in English. 

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.