Dancing with the Stars: parents' guide
Best for ages 9 and up. Rated TV-PG.
A glitzy ballroom competition families can watch together, with a few things to know. Celebrities pair with professional dancers and are scored each week by judges and viewer votes. Many routines are meant to look sexy: women wear revealing costumes, men often dance shirtless, and judges comment on heat and chemistry. Language is mild, though a judge once let an f-word slip on a live broadcast before it was cut from the online version. Personal backstory segments can touch on grief and illness. It suits about 9 and up.
What's in it
Violence
NoneNo violence. Celebrities sometimes take hard falls in rehearsal or on stage, and a few have withdrawn with injuries, but nothing graphic is shown.
Language
MildMostly mild words like ass, butt and sucks, and rehearsal cursing is usually bleeped or cut. Plugged In reported a judge's f-word on one live broadcast that was removed from the online stream.
Sex and nudity
MildRevealing costumes with cleavage, bare midriffs and high slits, shirtless male dancers, sensual Latin routines and judges' comments about sex appeal. No nudity or sexual situations.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
NoneNo drinking, smoking or drug content reported by reviewers.
Scary or intense scenes
MildNothing scary, but emotional segments about contestants' lives can cover a loved one's death, illness or hardship, and eliminations bring tears.
Worth talking about
Judges give blunt feedback every week. Talk about how the celebrities handle criticism and whether they use it to improve.
On our lists
Similar picks around 9+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.