I know that I usually do articles on educational TV shows for kids. Being a home school mom I tend to use the educational shows to help supplement what we are learning that day in school. This time I decided to do an article on one of my two daughters' favorite cartoon, Scooby-Doo.

My two girls, ages 5 and 6, absolutely love Scooby-Doo and lucky for them Scooby-Doo can be found on our cable TV package throughout the day. Sometimes Scooby-Doo is on more than one channel at the same time, talk about making choices! Now we don't watch Scooby-Doo every time that it is on, though they are able to catch one episode sometime throughout the day.

Scooby-Doo is their relaxing "guilty pleasure" TV entertainment for the day, kind of like how CSI, Deal Or No Deal, Law And Order, or any other adult TV show might be your own "guilty pleasure." I prefer to have them watch mostly educational shows but I know that they need some time to watch something just for the fun of it. And the bonus is is that I enjoy watching Scooby-Doo, so I don't end up minding if they watch one episode a day.

My girls can hardly believe that I watched Scooby-Doo when I was a girl and now they are watching a show that I watched! How many of us grew up watching the Mystery Inc. gang solve mystery after mystery?

Scooby-Doo was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions until they were absorbed by Warner Bros. Animation. The show first originally aired on CBS in 1969, but has since been picked up by different networks with many different variations of the show. Even now new episodes of Shaggy And Scooby-Doo Get A Clue! airing on Kids' WB on the CW. But if you are in the mood for the older classic episodes they can still be caught throughout the day on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

The shows main characters feature a talking dog named Scooby-Doo and four teenagers, Fred "Freddie" Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers. These five characters make up the group Mystery Inc. (though they were never referred to as such in the original series). Mystery Inc. drives around in a van known as the Mystery Machine. They travel around the world in the Mystery Machine solving mysteries usually involving supernatural forces. By the end of each episode the supernatural forces have a natural explanation, the sinister plot is revealed, and the people behind the plots are unveiled.

Other characters have been introduced in other variations, such as Scooby's cousin Scooby-Dum and his nephew Scrappy-Doo. There have also been guest appearances from such famous stars as Sonny and Cher, The Three Stooges, The Harlem Globetrotters and even Batman and Robin to name a few. Our two favorite guest star appearances are the Harlem Globetrotters and Batman and Robin.

There have been many TV specials and direct-to-video movies showcasing the Mystery Inc. gang. Including some of our family favorites, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, and Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy. There has even been a resurfacing of the popularity of Scooby-Doo with two live-action theatrical release of Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Our Family Favorite is Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Though some episodes and parts of the videos may have scary elements for young children overall Scooby-Doo is a fun family show that I feel is okay for all ages. I do agree that some parts of the live-action movies might not be suitable for young children to watch without their parents there. So why not rent a Scooby movie, watch a rerun, or even a new episode on TV for family TV night.