I was looking at the list of TV shows on my PVR the other day and noticed something rather intriguing. Every show that wasn’t from Treehouse (for those of you who don’t know, Treehouse is the children’s channel) was some type of family show. Long gone are the days of watching a football or hockey game in its entirety. Heck, I’d be lucky to catch the last period of a ‘Nucks game after getting the girls to bed. Now all I seem to want to watch are family shows. Here are some of my current favourites.

Modern Family – Hands down one of my favourite sitcoms at the moment. Makes you feel like your own family is a little less nuts. Each character is endearing in their own quirky way, but I have to say Phil takes the cake. I just hope I don’t turn into him, if I haven’t already …

Parenthood – Just started watching this fairly recently, but I think its a good blend of light comedy and dealing with real parenting issues. I find the writing quite good, but getting a glimpse into my future of teenage daughters scares the bejeezus out of me.

Up All Night – This was a pleasant surprise, as I’m normally not a huge Christina Applegate fan, but Will Arnett is pretty darn funny. I particularly like how they joke about the pressures facing a new parent, like getting your kid into the best playtime classes, having the perfect birth plan, etc. Watching this show makes a parent look back at those moments and say to themselves, “Man, we are crazy.”

So yes, my television viewing has changed quite dramatically after having kids, but truth be told, I don’t mind so much. It allows me to sit back, laugh a little, learn a little, and look back at what I thought was a tough day seem … normal.

What about you? Any particular family shows you enjoy?