Top Ten TV Shows for Pre-Teens

TV show options for children and pre-teens are much more extensive than when I was a kid and had the option to watch only ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS. The pre-teen age is when kids start to really assert their preferences and don't always take their parents' suggestions on what to watch. It's hard to know what shows are okay and which ones are lousy. Here are 10 shows that won't warp your young one's brain; you might even like a few of them yourself.

Phineas and Ferb
Disney Channel
Fridays, 8:30 p.m. EST

The newest show on this list, this cartoon follows the antics of two step-brothers with more than their fair share of imagination, quite a lot of time on their hands, and an older sister who is constantly trying to tattle to their mother. Oh, and they have a pet platypus named Perry who is really a secret agent - even the boys don't know his secret. Aided by their friend Isabella and her fellow Fireside Girls, Phineas and Ferb plan a different project or adventure each day (it's a perpetual summer holiday in this show), like maybe building a rocket, creating nano bots, finding a dodo bird or painting a continent. Accomplishing these tasks requires breaking parental rules, but circumstances (often helped along by the secret antics of Perry the platypus) conspire to put all to rights before their sister Candace can show Mom. This show promotes the value of using your imagination, and rocks along to some catchy tunes, even if it is somewhat predictable and repetitive.

SpongeBob SquarePants
Nickelodeon
various times, pretty much every day

SpongeBob is the Bugs Bunny of the current generation of children. I find my children reciting lines out loud, before they're spoken on the screen, because they've seen some of these episodes so often. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple under the sea, and works for a fast food joint where he makes Krabby Patties - but they're not made from crab, because that would be cannibalism, right? Not the lifestyle you want your kids to aspire to, but the show seems to poke fun at various aspects of our society, and at the same time pays homage to many TV shows we grew up watching. Though nothing makes sense in this mixed-up underwater world, the characters have a good vocabulary and promote the benefits of nonconformism.

Pokemon
Cartoon Network
Saturday 9 a.m. EST

My son tells me that Pokemon is the 5^th longest running cartoon on TV. Currently in its 12^th season, this is one of the tamer and more accessible anime shows. Parents will find it predictable and will be overwhelmed trying to keep track of the different types of Pokemon and their evolved forms (you don't really need to, you'll never remember as many as your kids will). There are toys, trading cards and video games that go along with the series, which can be both a good and bad thing. Good triumphs over evil every time, though you might be concerned that these kids live in an almost parentless society.

Sonic X
The CW
Saturday 8 a.m. EST

Sonic the Hedgehog is the star of numerous video games, where he fights the forces of evil along with his friends Tails, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna and Christopher Thorndike. The show follows Sonic's efforts to thwart the evil plans of Dr. Eggman and to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds which will allow him to go back to his own world and live happily ever after. Parents might find it hard to understand the various worlds and characters involved in this action-packed cartoon, but kids are sure to like Sonic and his friends.

AFV
ABC
Sundays 7 p.m. EST
reruns on ABC Family Wed., Thurs., & Friday 10 p.m., Tuesday 8, 9, 10 and 11 p.m.

Originally known as America's Funniest Home Videos, AFV has been on the air so long they've gone through several hosts and updated their name, but they still follow the same format of showing lots of funny videos, three of which are picked to be in the running for a weekly $10,000 prize. This is a laugh-out-loud kind of show, and one you can enjoy for 10 minutes or the whole hour, depending on your attention span. The videos often feature people being hit in the groin or falling in funny ways, but the laughing babies are always fun to watch. The show could be used as a commercial for trampoline and bicycle safety, and is a great show to watch with the whole family.

Wizards of Waverly Place
Disney Channel
Sundays 8:30 p.m. EST

The Disney Channel's answer to Harry Potter, this is an entire family of wizards living in New York and running a sandwich shop. Well, to be accurate, the mother is not a wizard. In this universe, if a wizard marries a non-wizard, he loses his powers, and Mr. Russo opted to marry his sweetheart and forgo his powers. However, now that his kids are teenagers, he teaches them magic at home, supervised by the distance learning division of the wizarding education department, while the kids still attend public high school to learn the 3 R's. Despite the element of magic, this is a story of a family trying to do the best for their kids

iCarly
Nickelodeon
Saturdays 8 p.m. EST

Despite the blatant lack of parental presence, this story of a teenage girl's web show portrays the antics of Carly, her friend Sam and their technical producer, Freddie. Carly lives with her older brother Spencer because their Dad is away in the Navy. Sam's parents don't seem to be part of the story, and Freddie's mother is a caricature of an over-protective Mom. Somehow, this strange menagerie of characters tells a humorous story that will interest boys and girls alike.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Cartoon Network
Fridays 9 p.m. EST

No, Star Wars isn't over. The last chapter may have been told, but this series, which tells of events that take place in between Episodes Two and Three of the movie series, brings new life to this epic sci-fi adventure. Animated in the same style as the animated Star Wars movie that was in theaters in the summer of 2008, we learn a lot of the back story of the Clone warriors, who all have the same DNA but don't exactly look the same. We get to learn more about the characters we already know and meet some new ones, including a female padawan of Anakin's called Ahsoka. Despite the different look from the movies, this show has depth and humor and will be of interest to most Star Wars fans, young and old.

Planet's Funniest Animals
Animal Planet
Saturdays 9:30 p.m.
And every day at 7 a.m.

AFV for animal lovers. In case you don't get enough funny animal videos on AFV, this show is all funny animals, all the time. If they decide to use your video, they send you $100 and a t-shirt, as long as no animals were harmed in the making of your video. Wild animals, zoo animals and pets are all fair game. This is sure to be a hit with animal lovers of all ages.

That's So Raven
Disney Channel
Wednesdays 4 p.m.

Raven has special powers - she's psychic. She has visions of the future, though things don't always turn out exactly as she anticipates. Though at first glance this might seem like a show aimed at girls, the mix of characters, as well as the topics and plots, work out, similar to iCarly, so that they appeal to both boys and girls. The psychic aspect is really just a plot device, and, just like the magic in the Harry Potter series, does not serve to change the character into someone super-human, but actually emphasizes her humanity and still leaves her with a lot to learn about life, just like any normal girl her age.