Think of Paramount Plus as the digital home for everything that used to be on cable TV. It’s the vault for CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures.

While Disney+ owns the "wholesome" corner and Netflix owns the "everything for everyone" corner, Paramount Plus owns the "I need to distract my kid with something they actually recognize" corner. It’s heavy on franchises. If your kid is into Transformers or Dora the Explorer, this is where those live.

It’s the Nickelodeon factor. For kids, Nickelodeon is a brand that still carries a lot of weight. Even if they spend most of their time watching "Ohio" memes or Skibidi Toilet clones on YouTube, they come back to Paramount Plus for the "prestige" versions of their favorite characters.

There’s also a high "comfort watch" factor here. Shows like iCarly (the original and the reboot) or Victorious are the digital equivalent of mac and cheese—predictable, easy to digest, and great for when their brains are fried after a long day of school.

Let’s talk about content quality, because not all Nick shows are created equal.

If you want your kids to watch something that actually has a plot, character development, and emotional stakes, Avatar: The Last Airbender is arguably the best animated series ever made. It’s the "anti-brain rot." It deals with war, forgiveness, and responsibility in a way that respects a kid’s intelligence. Its sequel, The Legend of Korra, is also excellent for slightly older kids (10+).

SpongeBob SquarePants is a polarizing one. Some parents find it chaotic and loud (valid), but it’s a cultural touchstone. If your kid is saying things are "cringe" or "sus," they probably got a bit of that snarky DNA from SpongeBob. It’s mostly harmless, though some later seasons lean heavily into "gross-out" humor that might make you want to leave the room.

There are a lot of live-action "tween" sitcoms on here that are, frankly, painful to watch. Shows like Henry Danger or Game Shakers often feature kids being incredibly disrespectful to adults for cheap laughs. If you’re trying to model kindness and emotional regulation in your house, these shows are basically working against you. They aren't "dangerous," they're just... loud and kind of obnoxious.

Check out our guide on finding high-quality alternatives to loud kid shows

This is the strongest part of the app. The Nick Jr. library is massive.

Here is the "No-BS" part: Paramount Plus’s default parental controls are a bit lazy.

When you create a "Kids Profile," you can choose between "Younger Kids" (TV-Y) and "Older Kids" (TV-Y7, TV-G). That’s great, but it’s incredibly easy for a kid to just click "Switch Profile" and hop into your adult account where they can watch "South Park" or "Tulsa King."

You must set a Parental Lock PIN.

Without this PIN, the "Kids Mode" is just a suggestion, not a boundary.

Ask our chatbot for a step-by-step on locking down streaming apps

If you are on the "Essential" plan, your kids are going to see ads. While Paramount is generally good about keeping the ads age-appropriate on the Nick Jr. shows, you’re still exposing them to constant "buy this" messaging.

If you have a kid who struggles with "I want that" every time they see a toy commercial, the extra few dollars a month for the "Paramount+ with SHOWTIME" (ad-free) plan is a massive sanity-saver. It also allows you to download shows for those "iPad-only" car rides where the Wi-Fi is non-existent.

Paramount Plus is a great place to start conversations about nostalgia and media evolution.

You can show your kids the shows you watched—like the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Double Dare—and talk about how animation and storytelling have changed. It sounds nerdy, but it helps kids realize that media is created by people, not just something that exists in a vacuum.

If they’re watching reality TV like Survivor, use it to talk about social engineering. "Why did that person lie?" "Was that a good move for their team?" It turns a passive watching experience into a mini-lesson in emotional intelligence.

Paramount Plus isn't the most "prestige" app, but it’s a workhorse for families. It’s got enough high-quality stuff (Avatar, Star Trek, Survivor) to balance out the louder, more "brain-rot" adjacent content.

Next Steps:

Check out our full breakdown of the best streaming services for kids in 2026