When I was younger (from elementary school to the end of middle school) I was limited to only watching tv shows on Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and you get the point. If I wanted to watch a tv show on Netflix or any show not on those channels I had to ask my parents if I was allowed to, and then they would look it up, and decide if I could. Deciding to take the path of least resistance, I stuck to watching Disney shows mostly—and honestly I have no regrets I loved all of those shows. That may make me sound like a 5 year old, but I don’t care, there were some pretty good shows—I also am now allowed to watch whatever I want, so my genre has changed in case you were wondering. Just thinking of these shows reminds me of simpler times that I wish I could go back to (sometimes) since next year we’re all going to be at college 🙁 My goal for this post was to relive my childhood, and I hope you do too, because we are going to be adults very soon, but I think it’s important to remember our childhood. So here were my favorite shows from elementary school 🙂
#1 Wizards of Waverly Place
Coming in at number one, is Wizards of Waverly Place which was about the Russo’s, a family of wizards who lived in the human world and had to balance their magic and personal lives. I was completely obsessed with this show at the time; whenever I would turn on the TV I would look for this show first. Alex Russo was my favorite character as she was (and still is) very relatable to all of us kids, and she used a lot of sarcasm which I speak very fluently. It was very easy for me to get invested in the show, and if you haven’t watched it you probably would too (that’s me strongly recommending you all to watch it). All I can remember is my 7 year old heart breaking, when Mason (Alex’s werewolf boyfriend) revealed that he still loved his ex-girlfriend while still dating Alex—I’m pretty sure I cried during that episode. Overall 12/10 show.
#2 Good Luck Charlie
I loved this show because at the end of every episode you learned some lesson from the Duncan family—keep in mind I was in like 2nd grade so I thought that these lessons were life changing (some of them were important to know though). This was also one of those shows that didn’t revolve around one single character, it followed each member of the family, so every episode never felt the same. Amy Duncan also reminded me greatly of my mom (but just a tiny bit crazier), which for some reason I thought was funny. Again this was one of those shows you got invested in the relationships between characters and I will still never understand why Teddy chose Spencer (who cheated on her) instead of Beau. I’d give this show a 9/10, the one point off due to the way it ended.
#3 Shake It Up
I used to dance, so this was another one of my favorites since that’s what the whole show revolved around. The main character’s Rocky and Cece danced on a tv show, and I remember wishing I could be and dance like them. At the time I also wished I could have had their style, which now looking back is a little concerning since none of their outfits ever seemed to actually match. Though some of the episodes seemed random and out of place, so this show deserves an 7/10, maybe an 8/10 because Leo Howard (who I thought was cute when I was that age) was in it for a decent amount of episodes.
#4 Dog With A Blog
This show was about a talking dog named Stan and only the kids knew he could talk. Throughout the seasons man’s best friend actually became man’s best friend (with the kids) because he had the ability to talk, and after watching this show I wished so badly my dogs could do the same; at one point my brother actually tried to get our dogs to talk because he wanted it so badly to be true. Looking back the episodes were all over the place, with some being good and some being bad, so I’d say this show deserves a 6/10 with the only thing really going for it was that it depicted everyone’s dream—or at least mine (because talking dogs >>)
#5 Hannah Montana
By far another one of my favorites because who didn’t like Hannah Montana (boys you are excluded from this). I think every girl wanted to be her because she had two identities—which seemed cool—and was a pop star—which every girl I know has dressed up as one for Halloween at least once in their life. My favorite part about this show was the Hannah Montana closet. It redefined a walk-in closet, and was the size of another room all dedicated to clothes and shoes. I don’t know about you, but I loved clothes at that age, it was all I asked for for gifts, so that closet was my dream and I envied Miley/Hannah so much. I watched all the episodes, and the movie, and I liked them both, so overall it deserves a 9.5/10.
And since there are a million Disney TV shows I made another list for the ones I couldn’t write about since we’re supposed to keep our blogs relatively short.
- Liv and Maddie (7/10)
- The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (7/10)
- K.C. Undercover (9/10)
- Jessie (6/10)
- Austin and Ally (8/10)
Hi Paige,
I just had to read this post, because Disney also played such a significant role in my childhood! At the time, when I was younger, these shows were amazing— however, retrospectively they all seem so… corny. Personally, Good Luck Charlie was my favorite. I was so invested in their fake lives! I also loved Dog With a Blog, but the whole show seems like a fever dream now. I just can’t figure out who decided the plot was reasonable?? Anyway, I really enjoyed your post !
Hi Paige!
I relate to you so much in having strict parents! My mom was always so strict about what we could watch on TV, we were really only allowed to watch foodnetwork and pbs for so long!By the time we were allowed to watch Disney I felt so behind everyone else! I feel sad because I missed the era when Hannah Montana, Shake it Up, and Wizards of Waverly place were on so I missed those shows. But I did love more of the newer ones, Jessie, Good luck Charlie, and Austin and Ally we definitely my favorites! It is so fun to think back to all the shows I used to watch and compare them to what I watch now! I definitely think my 6th grade self would not be able to make it through an episode of criminal minds.
Paige, this was such a fun a fun and intriguing post! I can definitely relate to not being allowed to watch certain shows. For my mom and dad, however, it was more about the characters themselves rather than the content of the episodes. For example, I was never allowed to watch iCarly because my parents disliked the way the communicated with one another, and feared that I would pick up on their “ditsy” voice and attitude. As for your rankings, I definitely agree with Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, and Good Luck Charlie being the top three. I also really liked all of the movies that came from these different shows. They were definitely staples in my childhood. I was also a big fan of Shake It Up, but never watched Dog With A Blog much. I would love to see your take on some of the Nickelodeon shows!
Hey Paige, I think this is a pretty good list. I really think that Disney Channel started fall off right around the start of Liv and Maddie. My personal favorites were Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Suite Life on Deck. However, Wizards of Waverly place was a close second. I really liked these shows as a kid and I think they played a huge part in my development.