Family-Friendly Networks Safe for Your Kids

Even with hundreds of channels on cable TV to choose from, parents often ask, “Where are shows safe for my children?” The PTC has the answer. There are cartoons on Fox, FX, and even Cartoon Network, but whether some of those shows could be called “family-friendly” is questionable. Where do families fit into the mix? Well, fear no more – the PTC is here to help. Below is a list of television networks you can feel comfortable watching with your children. UP TV With a name short for “Uplifting Entertainment,” UP is a network that has repeatedly received Parents Television Council’s Seal of Approval^TM. The network describes itself as “America’s favorite television channel for uplifting music and family entertainment.” UP shows classics like Touched by an Angel, Growing Pains, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, as well as original reality programs like Bringing Up Bates and Bulloch Family Ranch, and many truly outstanding original movies. This channel can be found on channel 188 on DISH Network, 338 on DirecTV, and 224 on Verizon FiOS. Learn more Hallmark Channel For over 60 years, the name “Hallmark” has stood for quality television, first with its “Hallmark Hall of Fame” specials on broadcast TV, and today with a pair of networks. Hallmark Channel focuses on original programming like the 19^th-century frontier romance When Calls the Heart, the newsmagazine Home & Family, and the gentle contemporary drama Cedar Cove, based on the book series by best-selling author Debbie Macomber. Hallmark Channel is on DirecTV channel 312, DISH Network channel 185, and Verizon FiOS 240. Learn more Hallmark Movies & Mysteries As its name indicates, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries centers on family-friendly movies and series with a mystery component. The channel’s flagship drama is Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Produced by Touched by an Angel creator Martha Williamson, this series follows a group of postal workers who trace lost mail, and who become involved in the lives and fates of the people to whom it was intended. The channel also reruns favorite past mystery series like Murder, She Wrote, and airs many original mystery movies. This channel is available on DISH Network channel 187, DirecTV 565, and Verizon FiOS 239. Learn more INSP The Inspiration Network is a relative newcomer to cable, but features many favorite classic series, including The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Daniel Boone, Bonanza, The Big Valley, and Matlock. Starting May 21^st, INSP will air its first original series, Brush of Honor, a program saluting the American military heroes who gave their lives defending freedom. INSP is available on DISH Network channel 259, DirecTV 364, Verizon FiOS 286, and AT&T U-verse 564. Learn more Boomerang Unlike its sister channel Cartoon Network, which shows decidedly mature-themed animation on its Adult Swim programming block, Boomerang is a blend of classic and contemporary animated programming. Found on DIRECTV channel 298, Dish Network Channel 175, AT&T channel 327, and Verizon FiOS channel 258, among the series featured are classics like Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and The Smurfs, as well as newer series like Teen Titans and The Powerpuff Girls. Learn more Discovery Family Previously named “The Hub,” this channel combines cartoons with educational programming ideal for children, from Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin, Food Factory, and You Trained Your Dog To Do WHAT? to Transformers, G.I. Joe, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Discover Family can be found on channel 179 on DISH Network, 294 on DirecTV, 789 on Verizon FiOS, and 1335 on AT&T U-verse. Learn more MeTV Taking on the role that TV Land and Nick at Nite have abandoned, MeTV is the center for favorite classic TV, from The Andy Griffith Show and Gilligan’s Island to The Rifleman and Star Trek. Unlike the other channels named above, MeTV is not a cable, satellite, or internet network; it is a “digital sub-channel,” available over-the-air with nothing more than an antenna on local broadcast TV. Learn more Are there family-friendly channels we didn’t mention? If so, share them in the comments below.