The 5 Best Kid-Friendly Reality Television Shows That Aren't Actually for Kids

Reality TV is more than trash. While trash is great and typically what we want to watch, there’s some pretty great reality TV that’s good for the entire family.

This is not a roundup of shows featuring just kids. While it’s perfectly fine to watch programming for children only featuring children, these shows also feature at least hosts that are adults. This is kid-friendly reality TV, which means it’s actually for adults and just not trashy enough that the kids should stay away.

This list features five family-friendly reality shows that occasionally feature kids. All of them are still releasing new episodes and all are very easy to find on your favorite streaming services. We also include just as many recommendations for shows no longer in production in case you need to visit the recent past for your kid friendly reality TV show fun.

American Ninja Warrior encourages a healthy lifestyle and will definitely encourage your kid to turn the living room into an obstacle course. If you’re comfortable with some cushions and crashing, it’s a great show for the entire family. The little ones can try their best at pushing their body to the limits. The big ones can watch in amazement that the human body can do things it should not be able. It’s also one of the most positive shows: You don’t root against anyone, a rarity in all TV.

If you enjoy watching people not hitting the ground, you might also enjoy Floor Is Lava on Netflix. There are three very bingeable seasons of relatively fit people doing their best to avoid the floor.

American Ninja Warrior is available to stream on Peacock.

You know what kids love? Guys with spiky bleached blonde hair wearing loud shirts that also use a loud voice. Though easily dismissed as a culinary joke earlier in his career, Guy Fieri is now rightfully acknowledged as a good dude and good host. Guy’s Grocery Games, like most good food-based reality shows, will get you thinking of what you’d make it given certain criteria and a set amount of time.

If you enjoy watching people steer carts into aisles of food, you might also enjoy the OG show of people steering carts into aisles of food: Supermarket Sweep on Pluto TV.

Guy's Grocery Games is available to stream on Max.

It’s people building really cool LEGOs. Who doesn’t like that? The Will Arnett-hosted Fox show started a few weeks before the pandemic, and no program may have been better suited for the 2020s. Once again, it’s just people building really cool LEGOs. With more people than ever before working from home, the time to get inspired to build your own world is now.

If you enjoy people building things without a set of instructions, you may like Making It on NBC.com. Co-hosted by Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler, who happens to be Will Arnette’s ex-wife, it’s a very pleasant, no-one-really-goes-home reality show that may encourage your kids to get into woodworking, interior design, sculpture, or more interesting things than just assembling LEGOs.

LEGO Masters is available to stream on Fox, Hulu, and Tubi.

Gordon Ramsay interacting with children is a completely different Gordan Ramsay than when he's interacting with adults. He’s, like, nice. He’s really good with kids, and once you see him with his own kids, it makes so much more sense. The most gentle version of Gordon is a 180 of the Hell’s Kitchen version of Gordon. Don’t show the kids that version of Gordon. That dude is just mean.

If you enjoy watching children construct meals better than you could, you might also enjoy Chopped Junior on Max. Based on how often the program is aired on Food Network, you may think it’s still in production, but the last episodes were released in December 2019. However, there are new episodes of Chopped and if you’re cool with your kids seeing chefs in above their heads just add booze to dishes to compensate for errors, the kids may dig it.

MasterChef Junior is available to stream on Tubi.

I think we’ve established food shows are the way to go. Everyone eats, even picky eaters. Kids love to see people fail, and no show laughs at and with people better than Nailed It! Hosted by the very dynamic duo of comedian Nicole Byer and pastry chef Jacques Torres, we’re treated to people doing their very best — and that very best just not being good enough. It’s never too mean or scary, and just like MasterChef Junior, it may encourage some time in the kitchen.

If you enjoy watching people fail so bad it’s inspiring, you might also enjoy Nailed It! France, Nailed It! Mexico and Nailed It! Spain on Netflix. If you have a bilingual household, or just want to expose your offspring to a second language while seeing people screw up measurements, it’s the ‘educational’ version of the comedy reality baking show.

Nailed It! is available to stream on Netflix.