What My Kids Are Watching: Shark Week

It's a sacred week in my house -- otherwise known as Shark Week on Discovery.

In the hierarchy of annual milestones, Shark Week -- which is celebrating its 23rd consecutive year on the air -- ranks only lower than Christmas and birthday but definitely higher than any of the non-gift-giving holidays.

It's even more anticipated than ABC Family's annual Harry Potter Marathon Weekend, because at the end of the day I can recreate that marathon with our personal stash of DVDs, but no one can recreate the excitement, the awe, the occasional terror that comes along with Discovery's annual shark extravaganza.

And this year we were treated to 'Ultimate Air Jaws' (my son literally "ooohed" and "ahhhhed" his way through the shots of the shark) and 'Into the Shark Bite' (the latter of which only my oldest was allowed to watch). We've (OK, mostly the kids) also had hours of fun watching the Shark Cam videos, quizzing each other on shark trivia, and honing our general shark expertise, which my oldest -- who's about to enter third grade -- takes very, very seriously.

I wouldn't recommend every Shark Week offering for very young children. My two-year-old son and five-year-old daughter are clearly too young to watch 'Shark Bite Beach' (airing Tue. Aug. 3 at 9PM ET), a gripping special about the coasts of California and Mexico, where a string of horrific shark attacks frightened beach-goers in 2008. But I did let my son watch it after screening it myself. Afterward, we talked about beach safety, where sharks are more prevalent, and why we shouldn't be scared of sharks every time we go to the beach. He said he thought it was sad people had died from shark attacks and 10 minutes later asked "Can we go to the beach now?"

That's what's great about Shark Week. Along with all the amazing programming, Discovery.com makes it incredibly easy to extend the experience far beyond the TV viewing. It helps my family become active (and interactive) viewers, and ultimately that's important to me as a mother. Plus, it's nice for the kids to watch underwater adventures outside of Bikini Bottom at least once a year!


Family TV Guide Spotlight for Discovery:

In addition to Shark Week, here are other shows my family loves on the Discovery networks:

Deadliest Catch For older kids who have a fascination with fishing, this is a must-see show (albeit a recently heartbreaking one, with the loss of Capt. Phil).

Mythbusters I think my husband would happily watch this series every moment of the day. He and my son even come up with their own myths the team should test and de-bunk.

River Monsters This series features some of the world's freakiest and largest freshwater fish. Be warned -- your kids may want to become "extreme anglers" like host Jeremy Wade.


Can't wait to see: Blue August, a month-long tribute to ocean-based programming co-hosted by Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau, grandchildren of world-renowned underwater explorer Jacques. On Discovery's sister-network Planet Green all month.

Wonders of the Solar System, which promises to offer a cool, guided view of planets, space and the universe by physics professor Brian Cox. On the Science Channel, starting Wed. Aug. 4 at 8PM.