TL;DR
If you have a kid under 10, you probably already have Paramount+ because it’s the exclusive home of the PAW Patrol industrial complex. For everyone else, it’s a mix of heavy Nickelodeon nostalgia, every Star Trek series ever made, and live sports.
The quick verdict for 2026:
- Price: Expect to pay about $8.99/mo for "Essential" (with ads) or $14.99/mo for the "with Showtime" tier (ad-free).
- The Hack: If you already pay for Walmart+, the Essential plan is included for free.
- Must-Watch for Kids: SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Transformers: EarthSpark.
- Parental Controls: Solid, but you must set up a PIN for your account settings, or your kid will just switch to your profile the second they want to see why you’re obsessed with Yellowstone.
Paramount+ is what happened when Viacom and CBS decided they didn't want to license their best stuff to Netflix anymore. It’s the digital vault for CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures.
In the 2026 landscape, it’s positioned itself as the "family co-watching" app. While Disney+ owns the "magic" and YouTube owns the "I just need 15 minutes of silence," Paramount+ owns the "I grew up on this and now my kid likes it too" vibe.
We’ve all got subscription fatigue. By now, the "introductory" prices of the early 2020s are a distant memory. Paramount+ has followed the industry trend of pushing everyone toward the ad-supported tier or making you pay a premium for the "Showtime" bundle.
- Paramount+ Essential ($8.99/mo): This is the "budget" option. You get the full library, but you’ll be sitting through ads. For kids, this can be annoying because it breaks the flow of a 22-minute show, but it’s the most common way parents access the app.
- Paramount+ with Showtime ($14.99/mo): This is the ad-free tier. It also includes your local live CBS station (great for NFL games) and the entire Showtime library.
The Walmart+ Perk: If you are a Walmart+ subscriber, you get Paramount+ Essential for free. The Catch: You cannot easily "upgrade" this free version to the ad-free Showtime tier through Walmart. You’re stuck with the ads unless you want to maintain two separate accounts. If your kids are sensitive to advertising (or you just hate the repetitive toy commercials), this is a major factor to consider.
Ask our chatbot to compare streaming prices for your specific family size
The main draw here is the Nickelodeon catalog. It’s deep. We’re talking about the "Golden Age" stuff we watched, plus the modern hits that have replaced Cocomelon in your child’s brain.
Look, SpongeBob is the ultimate "safe" bet, but let’s be real: some of the later seasons feel a bit like brain rot. The early seasons (1-3) are still comedic gold that actually holds up for adults. If your kid is obsessed, Paramount+ also has the spin-offs like Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show.
If you have a toddler, Chase is probably on the case in your living room right now. Paramount+ has every single episode, including the "Big Truck Pups" and "Dino Rescue" arcs that exist mostly to sell more plastic toys. It’s formulaic, but it’s clean, predictable, and teaches basic problem-solving.
If you haven't introduced your 8-to-12-year-old to Aang and Zuko, this is the reason to get the app. It is arguably one of the best-written animated series of all time. It deals with heavy themes like war, loss, and redemption without being "too much" for kids.
The 2024/2025 resurgence of the Turtles has been surprisingly good. This series follows the vibe of the Mutant Mayhem movie—it's funny, the art style is cool, and it actually feels like it was made by people who like the characters.
Paramount+ has decent parental controls, but they aren't "set it and forget it." You need to be intentional here.
- Create a Kids Profile: You can designate a profile as "Kids." This filters content based on age: "Younger Kids" (TV-Y) or "Older Kids" (TV-Y7 to TV-G).
- The PIN is Non-Negotiable: Go into your Account Settings and turn on Parental Controls. Set a 4-digit PIN. This prevents your kid from simply clicking on your profile to watch Dexter or Yellowjackets.
- The "Switch Profile" Loophole: On some smart TVs, switching profiles is too easy. If you don't have a PIN on your adult profile, any kid who can operate a remote can bypass the "Kids Mode" in about three clicks.
Learn more about setting up parental controls on all your streaming apps
We talk a lot at Screenwise about "intentional viewing." One of the biggest perks of Paramount+ over something like YouTube or TikTok is that the content is professionally produced.
While SpongeBob can be loud and chaotic, it still follows a narrative structure. It has a beginning, middle, and end. Compare that to the "Skibidi Toilet" style of YouTube content that many kids are consuming, which is designed purely to hijack the brain's dopamine loop with rapid-fire cuts and loud noises.
Using Paramount+ as a "YouTube Alternative" is a solid move for parents who want to lower the "weirdness" factor of their kids' screen time.
Ages 2-5
Stick to the Nick Jr. section. Blue's Clues & You! and Bubble Guppies are excellent for this age. They are paced appropriately for developing brains and emphasize social-emotional learning.
Ages 6-9
This is the sweet spot for The Loud House and Dora (2024). Be aware that The Loud House can occasionally feature some "sibling snark" that your kids might start mimicking at the dinner table.
Ages 10-13
Tweens will gravitate toward the live-action stuff like the iCarly reboot or That Girl Lay Lay. This is also a great age to start Star Trek: Prodigy, which was specifically designed to introduce younger audiences to the Trek universe.
- The "Live TV" Trap: If you have the Showtime tier, your kids can access "Live CBS." During the day, it's fine, but during local news or evening broadcasts, they might see promos for R-rated movies or intense news segments.
- Commercials on the Essential Tier: The ads on the cheaper tier aren't always "kid-targeted." While Paramount says they try to keep ads age-appropriate on kids' profiles, you might still see trailers for PG-13 movies that are a bit too intense for a 5-year-old.
- Data Collection: Like every streaming service, Paramount+ tracks what you watch to "improve recommendations." If you're sensitive about your kid's viewing data, check the privacy settings in your account.
Paramount+ is a "tier two" streaming service for most families—you get it after you have Netflix or Disney+. However, if your household is powered by Nickelodeon or you’re a family of sports fans, the 2026 value proposition is still there, especially if you can snag it through the Walmart+ deal.
Next Steps:
- Check your Walmart+ account to see if you're already paying for this without knowing it.
- Set up your Parental PIN tonight. It takes 2 minutes.
- Sit down and watch Avatar: The Last Airbender with your kids. It’s the rare show that won’t make you want to scroll on your phone the whole time.
Ask our chatbot if a specific Paramount+ show is age-appropriate for your child