It’s safe to say the Geeky Parent Guide (GPG) felt different this year with the kiddos turning 11 (over the summer) and 13 (this fall). The mind still cannot process the fact that life has now fully introduced the teenage years, which means the content being consumed has drastically shifted over 2025. Yes, kids grow year by year, but the stark shift in what they’re watching feels drastic.
The GPG goal is to provide an environment where parents and kids find ways to share each other’s geeky interests. Prior years involved a variety of activities, shows and movies, comic books, and other content which was primarily consumed together as a family. This past year has seen a continued or greater increase towards independent watching.
What Are Kids Watching These Days?
Last year our kids were fully invested in watching Bluey with younger kids in the neighborhood. Now, they’re fascinated by teen Disney or Nickelodeon shows, while constantly wanting to find semi-creepy things to plop down in front of. Let’s just say that as soon as the decision was made to up their age-rating content, particularly on Netflix, it was clear that Stranger Things would be the number one thing they watched.
However, they didn’t watch together for the most part. They preferred watching on their own profiles, which shows a bit of maturity on their ends to control whenever they get to a stopping point without impacting the other person’s viewing. Plus, the whole watching on their own, again, has become much more prevalent these days. On the flip side, one show that captures three out of four family members’ attention belongs to Survivor. It doesn’t always align for us to watch together, but we all sat down this past week and watched the Survivor 49 finale on Thursday night – a day after it aired.
Comedy does seem to be the number one thing our kids are interested in, which means YouTube clips of The Big Bang Theory and Friends have made multiple appearances on our small screen. It’s definitely felt like relaxing a bit on what our kids are watching has given them the freedom to try new shows. They devoured the entirety of Once Upon A Time in a short window of time, while Young Sheldon and Cobra Kai have been a pair of shows I find one of the two watching here and there. And, no, our kids have yet to see the original Karate Kid.
What to Do Beyond TV?
A few of the most enjoyable GPG articles this year encompassed being away from the electronic rectangular realm that serves us magnificent entertainment. One of the easiest ways to achieve fun downtime is trivia with the kiddos. Even if we don’t play Trivial Pursuit in the normal fashion, sometimes, we’ll just sit and ask each other questions from the cards. It’s light, easy to do, and time away from our screens is something we need more of.
Speaking of easy, while on our international adventure to Barbados this summer, some of that relaxation involved pulling out a copy of Sorry that the host provided. This trip was also a great way to create a music playlist for them whenever they were reading or getting ready for bedtime. Music for my kids has become somewhat synonymous with any and all downtime that doesn’t involve watching a show.
Crafting a playlist for them was easy; they tell me what they want and I add it. Adelaide is more of a Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, and Olivia Rodrigo type of listener, while Marshall, who listens to those artists, as well, leans more towards Queens of the Stone Age (his favorite band), Pearl Jam, Seether, and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. Oh, and they both love Billie Eilish. On my own end, music continues to be a place for me to head bop, shimmy, and shake in the car, or blast while doing chores around the house.
Although I haven’t been running the past couple of months, where music propels me forward, I’ve been more focused on stationary exercises to help protect the age-old problem of getting older. Clearly, Deftones is my favorite band right now. There are several other bands, newer and older, that continue to find their ways in the rotation on repeat, such as Spiritbox, Nirvana, Garbage, Lorde, AITA, Queens of the Stone Age, Incubus, Seether, and Paramore. Sometimes, raging music or calm melodies can equally soothe this soul – and it’s awesome to see the kiddos find their own musical path.
On top of traveling, providing experiences for our kids is something we try to keep top of mind. One birthday party involved a fun experience at an arcade with laser tag, which then led to another birthday at a theme park. Yes, a Hershey Park weekend was a phenomenal choice for a birthday gift.
What Was on My Geeky Radar in 2025?
Admittedly, this was a down year in consuming new content. A lot of the year included rewatching favorites, watching movies from previous years that I hadn’t seen, and finding things for everyone else to watch; this includes finding shows or movies that might interest the kids or things for Meghan and I to watch together.
Sunrise on the Reaping – phenomenal book. Rereading The Hunger Games trilogy beforehand also took place, while rewatching the movies was something that happened frequently. The Martian (2015) landed on my screen for the first time, along with IO (2019); both are great for the sci-fi and dystopian genres. As for 2025 entertainment, Love Hurts with Ke Huy Quan was wildly fun. And, as a constant watcher of the hit reality TV show, Survivor, that lands on our TVs every spring and fall, while the Great British Baking Show’s most recent collection on Netflix was delightful.
It’s also been fun to revisit Lost and have fun chatting about it over on Ride the Stream. It had been several years since watching it last, so it’s been an enjoyable experience watching and then chatting about the show; I probably need more of doing that in my life with a variety of shows and movies. FYI: If you’re looking for more great content from other members of the Fanbase Press family, The Fanbase Weekly podcast episode is fantastic, so give it a listen!
Things that didn’t get watched (yet) but are on that always growing watch list include Andor: Season 2 and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: season 2. Those are the two that are top of mind at the moment, but this would be a great opportunity for anyone else to highlight favorites from 2025 – or things you haven’t gotten to yet, but are definitely on your watch list. Share them in the comments below or start a conversation in the comments over on Facebook, Instagram, or Bluesky.
For everyone who follows the GPG adventure, thank you for your continued support. If there’s something you’d like to see covered on the Geeky Parent Guide in 2026, please let me know.
Until next time (and next year), happy parenting and happy geeking.
