Is Bob's Burgers okay for kids? Age rating and suitability explored

Bob’s Burgers debuted on Fox back in 2011 and since then has successfully been running with a total of 15 seasons aired till now. The animated show focuses on Bob Belcher, his wife, and three kids. They run the family restaurant of the Belchers while the children attend school.

While the show started off as a rather raunchy one, over the years its tone has grown out to be more mature. Therefore, it is suitable for children aged 10 and above with parental discretion.

Let us now explore if Bob’s Burgers is indeed suitable for kids or if will it be better for them not to watch it.

Is Bob’s Burgers suitable for kids?

Bob’s Burgers is rated TV-PG, which as per the regulations of the TV Parental Guidelines system, implies that the show

“contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children”

and further suggests,

“many parents may want to watch it with their younger children.”

Bob’s Burgers has been rated 13+ by Common Sense Media. One important point to note here is that though Bob’s Burgers does not frequently use the four-letter word, the language is not completely clean either.

Besides the usage of some common slags like d**m, ba***d, h**l, etc, the show also makes crude references to body parts and fluids, which might seem unsuitable for children.

Is there violence and nudity in Bob’s Burgers?

There are no explicitly nude scenes in Bob’s Burgers. Most of the nudity and sexuality-related scenes are done through innuendos and dirty jokes. Even in a scene that involves a nude beach, no explicit body part is shown. However, the dirty jokes sometimes get explicit and contain adult references.

As for violence, there are some basic fights between the siblings, which are not at all violent or difficult to watch. Whatever gore or blood scenes are there in Bob’s Burgers are all there for comedy purposes and the construction of those scenes establishes the same.

For instance, one episode of Bob's Burgers that deals with Bob getting stitches does show blood but only because the story demands it and the whole thing is shown in a rather humorous way. However, there are references to violent topics like cannibalism, child molestation, and murder. Almost all discussions on these topics happen through jokes.

Does Bob’s Burgers have uplifting messages about families?

Since it is a family show, some viewers might expect it to have themes of warm and uplifting family values. However, that is not the case with Bob’s Burgers. The characters in the show rather often behave in ways that might appear negative to some viewers.

They often mock each other and also spread rumors about other family members. Moreover, the humor that the show is based on is mostly crass and deals with sensitive topics like disabilities, sexual abuse, etc., which might not be suitable for children.

Therefore, despite being an animated comedy, Bob’s Burgers is a show that has a lot of adult themes and crass humor. That is why it can be unsuitable for young children, especially if they do not understand the humor and take things at face value.

The best way for parents is thus to accompany their children if they are interested in watching Bob's Burgers. That way parents will be able to ensure that their children are not misunderstanding the jokes or taking the show in the wrong way.

Bob’s Burgers can be streamed on Disney+.