13 Random TV Shows You Weren't Allowed to Watch as a Kid

"My parents didn't want me to watch South Park, but I tricked them at first and said it was obviously a kid show because it was about kids (sneaky). Then they walked in on me watching it once and who even knows what was on the screen (something NOT for kids, I assume), but that was the end of that." — Alessia Santoro, assistant editor, Moms

"My parents were pretty lax when it came to what my brother and I watched growing up, but my mom was very much against us watching South Park for some reason; I think because the language was pretty bad. Obviously we would find ways to watch though, our most brilliant plan IMO was we'd mute the TV when the theme song was playing because if my mom was in the next room and heard she would yell, 'Change the channel!' I find this all to be so ironic since years later my mom became obsessed (and is still currently obsessed) with The Book of Mormon and thinks Trey Parker and Matt Stone are geniuses (and talks about them ad nauseam)." — Kelsey Kennick, assistant editor, Voices

"You know how your parents always walk in on the worst part of a show? My dad decided to watch Blossom with me during the 'very special' period episode. He deemed it too adult . . . which makes sense because I must have been 5 or 6 years old." — Maggie Pehanick, editor, Voices and SEO

"HBO shows in general were off limits. When Sex in the City or Six Feet Under came on . . . . it meant bedtime. The sex, the language, the adult humor . . . too much for an innocent mind!" — Anna Roberts, editor, Food

"One time I was watching Barney and he was like, 'You don't need to be afraid of monsters in your closet!' And 2-year-old me was like, 'TF did you just say was in my closet? What's a monster?' And my parents were like, 'Yep that's enough of that!'" — Dominique Astorino, assistant editor, Fitness

"I wasn't allowed to watch Golden Girls because my mom thought it was tacky. I also wasn't allowed to watch Married With Children because my mom thought it was tacky. Someday I will make a list of things my mom thinks are tacky." — Nancy Einhart, VP and executive editor

"OMG, I wasn't allowed to watch The Simpsons because it was inappropriate." — Hedy Phillips, editor, Living

"The big show for me was Ally McBeal. I discovered the show in middle school when it was the It show of the moment – Calista Flockhart, Portia De Rossi, etc. Well, I thought I was really cool and was watching it one night when my mom came in, heard 30 seconds of dialogue (probably about all the casual sex the characters were having — which 'isn't how it works in the real world'), and was immediately told me to turn it off. I was too young to watch it. Well, a week later at the time the show normally aired, I was following rules and not watching it when I walked by my mom's room and heard the show playing in her bedroom! I was outraged and tried to go in, but she had locked the door. From then on, every week she would hide out in her room and watch the show I had introduced her to but was no longer allowed to watch. The irony of it all . . . " — Maggie Winterfeldt, editor, Home

"I think my mom tried to ban me from watching Beverly Hills, 90210, but somehow I still ended up with a poster of Brandon Walsh on my bedroom wall at a far too young age." — Becky Kirsch, senior director, content strategy

"I wasn't allowed to watch Friends because my parents deemed it 'too adult.' However, Frasier and The Simpsons were fair game and we watched them every week. At the time I didn't question it, but years later my parents admitted they just didn't like Friends. In hindsight, they are nuts; The Simpsons is WAY more adult and Frasier is just a ridiculous show for an 8-year-old to watch." — Mary White, copy chief

"I wasn't allowed to watch Friends because there was 'too much sex' but for some reason we watched Seinfeld every night together? I wasn't allowed to watch Buffy, but I snuck it anyway, and I actually wasn't even allowed to watch Ren & Stimpy until I was way older. My mom said because it was morbid, but really I think it's just because she hated it." — Hilary White, editor, Love

"I was allowed to watch Friends up until I was about 8, but one of my mom's friends flipped out when she discovered I could and convinced my mom to forbid it from our household. That lady actually requested me on Facebook two years ago, but I've let her wither in limbo ever since. In other words, looks like we won't be . . . friends . . . anytime soon (I'll see myself out)." — Quinn Keaney, assistant editor, Celebrity and Entertainment

"My parents specifically banned us from watching Beavis and Butt-Head, which meant we'd watch it in secret every chance we got." — BK

"I also was not allowed to watch Dawson's Creek with my brothers because it had far too mature themes for my young ears and eyes." — HP

"My mom banned Rugrats from my house for years after she saw an episode where Phil and Lil ate their belly button lint. I guess she didn't want me and my brother to get any ideas . . . which tells me that she didn't think very highly of us. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom." — Brinton Parker, assistant editor, Trending

"My mom would always give me a hard time about watching Rugrats because she thought Angelica was a bad influence on me." — Krista Jones, assistant editor, Shopping

"I wasn't allowed to watch Salute Your Shorts because they said 'fart' in the theme song, and that was a dirty, dirty word." — Devin Cirillo, creative strategist