As we all grow up we are shaped by experiences and the people around us, however, with today’s day and age there is a new factor that molds our personalities: the shows we watch.

You probably want your kids watching shows with positive influences and programs that teach your kids good social skills. Through my personal experience of growing up watching TV, the shows that left the biggest impact on me were “Ninjago,” “Total Drama Island,” and “The Amazing World of Gumball.”

“Ninjago” is a Lego ninja show where a group of ninjas with special powers fight against villains, monsters, and other forms of evil. This show really resonated with me because the diverse group of characters with in-depth personalities really sticks out in a kids show. Most kid shows nowadays the characters are robotic and only have one repetitive character trait. For example, the funny/comedy relief character is always just making jokes and does not show deeper emotion.

A big part of almost every kid show is teamwork, and “Ninjago” is no exception. “Ninjago” gives really good examples of cooperation, things not going as planned in stressful situations, and how characters see their mistakes and better themselves and their relationships in the future.

The next show, “Total Drama Island,” is an animated reality TV show. Total Drama unlike ninjago has really toxic personalities which I think is important for youth to be exposed to so they know how to deal with toxic people when faced with them in real life situations.

Other than Total Drama exposing youth to real life situations the show also is very entertaining. Total Drama was a great introduction to me as a kid to one of my favorite genres of TV shows, drama.

Last of the shows, “The Amazing World of Gumball,” is a comedic show of two brothers going through their grade school lives. This show does not have a clear plot; however, every episode has at least one life lesson that can be taken away from watching, even if it is so simple as to have fun in life. Something that this show is great about is referencing other shows and cultural significance. A few examples of the references this show has made are “Golden Girls,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “One Piece.”

TV, just like anything, too much of it is bad, but great life lessons can come out of the shows we watch. TV is responsible for so much of today’s culture, and it’s so important that parents give their kids guidance and access to the great resources that TV can be.