I know my kids are happiest when I’m enjoying TV shows alongside them. (Note: I said enjoying, not suffering, because some kids’ shows are just kryptonite to grown-ups.)
 

I’m not just talking about the usual (purple dinosaur) suspects but plenty of others (talking trains that seem stolen from a 4-year-old’s nightmare, big red dogs, anything based on a Japanese toy). Rather than name names, I present five animated shows -- what we geezers call cartoons -- I most enjoy watching with my kids:

Cyberchase

This show has more narrative jeopardy than most for this age range, a truly diabolical bad guy voiced with wonderful gusto by Christopher Lloyd, and sophisticated math and science points that don’t bore you (or your kids) senseless. I find the non-contrived mix of adventure, fantasy, and education pretty entertaining, and the mere idea of Gilbert Gottfried on a kids’ show is always worth a chuckle.

Angelina Ballerina, The Next Steps

Maybe it’s the English accents, but there’s a sophistication to this show’s storyline and characters that makes it more watchable than most. The dancing itself is meticulously rendered to be accurate, and the voices are soulful and compelling, not just loud and grating. Re-envisioned in computer animation since September, Angelina really springs to life here.

Word Girl

Contemporary kids have an underappreciated but sophisticated sense of humor. Word Girl knows and exploits this fact better than most shows for kids, with sharp parodies and sardonic gags that are as clever as they are funny. When the omnipresent unseen announcer converses freely with Word Girl, you know someone’s pushing the conventions of not just kid shows, but all of television. And that’s a relief for parents like me tired of shockingly earnest, cookie-cutter kids programming. Did I mention it also builds vocabulary?

Charlie and Lola

This show really captures the soul—not just the antics—of true childhood. Using imaginative, somewhat psychedelic visuals inspired by the popular book series, Charlie and Lola episodes deftly convey the familial love that runs just below the surface of chaotic sibling relations. It’s a perfect, appealing balance of sweet and silly, without resorting to slapstick scenes or sentimentality. And then there’s that accent thing again.

SpongeBob SquarePants

You’ve gotta admit, it’s funny. Really funny. But what’s truly impressive are the razor-sharp characterizations, especially in peripheral cast like Sandy, Plankton, and Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Some episodes are more genius than others, but if they handed out Emmys for Best Supporting Actor in an animated comedy, Squidward wouldn’t have enough tentacles to hold them all.