Slowscreen SlowScreen
Toggle sidebar

Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.

Start free

Trouble with Money

Good

Recommended age Unlock

Co-watching from age 2

Balanced

Exact score locked

Watch on PBS Kids
Save
Trouble with Money

Share

Pass this find on to another parent

Link preview

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Brother and Sister Bear want expensive Bear Air jackets, so they set up lemonade stands, rake leaves and dream up scheme after sc...

slowscreen.com

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/the-berenstain-bears/s2/e23-trouble-with-money

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/the-berenstain-bears/s2/e23-trouble-with-money

Slowscreen

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Brother and Sister Bear want expensive Bear Air jackets, so they set up lemonade stands, rake leaves and dream up scheme after sc...

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2
The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2

slowscreen.com

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Brother and Sister Bear want expensive Bear Air jackets, so they set up lemonade stands, rake leaves and dream up scheme after sc...

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2
slowscreen.com

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

slowscreen.com · Posted by you

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2 - Slowscreen

0 Share
The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2
To
Subject The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money | Good, co-watching from age 2

Good · Co-watching from age 2. Brother and Sister Bear want expensive Bear Air jackets, so they set up lemonade stands, rake leaves and dream up scheme after sc...

https://slowscreen.com/en/series/the-berenstain-bears/s2/e23-trouble-with-money

Share on WhatsApp Share on X Share on Facebook Share on Telegram Share on Reddit Share on Email

See the exact scores

The review is yours to read. Create a free account to reveal the exact SlowScreen score and every pillar score.

Create free account
This program is well-balanced. It remains mostly easy to follow and process. It is a good fit for the recommended age. The pacing is moderate. The story remains easy for a child to follow. The sound is soft and supportive. The visuals are calm and well-organized.
One clear thread carries the whole episode: Brother and Sister set out to earn money for jackets and slowly lose sight of their friends. Events build in order, from the first lemonade stand to the growing pile of schemes to the final change of heart, with a recognizable beginning, middle and end. New ideas arrive one at a time and each choice leads to a consequence a child can follow, such as charging Papa for worms and seeing him taken aback. The chain of cause and effect stays honest and easy to track.
The emotional register stays mild, with small dips of sadness when Sister is left out of the sleepover and Brother misses the movie, and these settle before long. Parents respond with warmth and steadiness, and Papa explains gently why the friends feel like customers now. The caveat is in the cubs themselves: they nag for the pricey jackets and charge their own father, and while the story clearly frames this as a mistake to correct, that self-centred stretch runs a good while before the apology lands. Transitions between moods are gradual rather than jarring, which keeps the whole thing safe to sit with.
The cubs drive the action themselves, dreaming up a paper route, a lemonade stand, leaf raking, a rented clubhouse and a berry-patch map, so initiative is everywhere. Their thinking is visible but aimed at the wrong goal for most of the runtime, and the real problem, that they have crowded out their friendships, is named and unpicked mostly by Papa rather than worked out by the children. Their final fix does show several steps: opening bank accounts, giving to the animal shelter, buying cheaper jackets and throwing a party. It is a satisfying resolution, though the key insight is handed to them more than discovered.
Language is clear and well matched to a preschooler, with concrete words and real ideas like earning, saving and a bank account introduced through everyday talk. Speech is crisp and characters use words consistently, from the running 'opportunity knocks' gag to the sales calls the cubs shout. Sentences are complete and the dialogue mostly informs or explains rather than filling space, with only the odd 'yippee' or sales holler as pure expression. The delivery is on the brisk side, but the meaning stays easy to grasp.
The whole episode sits in a recognizable world of chores, small jobs, pocket money and friendships, so a child sees plenty they could carry into their own day. Raking leaves, weeding, selling lemonade, walking a dog and saving up are all real activities with a clear purpose, and the closing lesson about people mattering more than money reflects a genuine family dilemma. The bears live like people in a small town, which keeps everything grounded rather than fantastical. Social dynamics between siblings, parents and playmates ring true throughout.

More information

This score shows how inclusively the series portrays diverse people, families and cultures. Scale: Limited → Varied → Rich → Inclusive.
The world is made up almost entirely of one bear family and their bear neighbours, so there is little visible variety in who appears on screen. Between the two cubs, Brother and Sister share the story evenly, both driving the money-making schemes and showing the same range of feeling, which keeps their roles balanced. The adults settle into a more familiar split, with Mama baking and quilting while Papa fishes and uses tools. Overall the picture is warm but narrow, with sameness in the cast and some traditional patterning among the grown-ups.
This score shows whether the series stays close to everyday reality or leans into fantasy. Scale: Fantasy → Mixed reality → Realistic.
This episode stays close to a child's real world. Brother and Sister Bear rake leaves, run a lemonade stand, sell berries and open bank accounts, all situations a preschooler can recognize, with the only imaginative touch being that the whole cast are bears who live in a tree and act like people. There is no villain anywhere; the trouble comes from the cubs getting carried away with earning money and forgetting their friends, a problem they work out themselves. The one fantasy element stays consistent from start to finish, and the everyday money lesson sits comfortably within reach of a four year old.
This score shows how enjoyable the series is for parents watching along. Scale: Tedious → Tolerable → Pleasant → Enjoyable.
This episode rewards a watching adult more than most preschool fare. The story about two cubs chasing brand-name jackets carries a light satire of marketing and money that a grown-up will recognise, and the running gag of the cubs charging their own Papa to dig worms lands for adults too. Calm pacing, gentle voices and a warm palette make it easy to sit through, and the hand-drawn animation is clean and consistent. Nothing here grates on adult ears, and the tidy little arc holds attention beyond the target age.

Themes

Friendship

Central

The cubs neglect Lizzy, Millie and Cousin Fred, then learn 'friends are more important than making money'.

Money

Central

The entire plot centres on Brother and Sister earning cash for Bear Air jackets through lemonade, chores and selling.

Making mistakes

Central

The cubs go overboard chasing profit and later admit 'we're sorry, really sorry' for ignoring their friends.

Behaviour

Fast pacing

Dialogue and overlapping sales calls come quickly, with the cubs shouting 'Get your lemonade! Ice-cold lemonade right here!'

Mild exclusion

Friends leave the cubs out of a sleepover and a movie because 'all you cared about was making money'.

Brother and Sister Bear want expensive Bear Air jackets, so they set up lemonade stands, rake leaves and dream up scheme after scheme to earn the money themselves. As the profits pile up, they grow too busy to play, charging even Papa for help and pushing away friends like Lizzy, Millie and Cousin Fred. Papa points out that the friends now feel like customers, and the cubs realise what they have lost. They open bank accounts, give to the animal shelter, buy cheaper jackets and throw a party for their friends.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E01

The Berenstain Bears

The Birthday Boy

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Sister Bear is given a weekend school project to tell the class about a special family member. After ruling out the pets and finding her parents too busy, she reluctantly chooses her brother, whose tenth birthday is the next day, and films him with Papa's camera. While recording, she discovers his skill at sports, his patience, and the moment he stands up to a bully called Too Tall to recover her ribbon. At the birthday party she gives him the finished movie titled 'My Hero', and the family agrees that showing how you feel can be the greatest gift of all.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E02

The Berenstain Bears

Too Much Junk Food

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Papa Bear decides to enter the Bear Country Run but quickly discovers he is out of shape, so Brother and Sister join him to train as a team. When they keep running out of breath, Dr. Grizzly explains that too much junk food is the wrong fuel for the body and teaches them about the four food groups. The family swaps cola and sweets for healthier meals and keeps practising until they can complete the run together. It ends at home, with the bears choosing to celebrate with carrot sticks, nuts and raisins.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E04

The Berenstain Bears

Mama's New Job

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In the Bear family's treehouse home, Mama decides to turn her quilt-making talent into a real business and open the Bear Country Quilt Shop. At first Brother and Sister worry that things will change and that Mama will not be there to help them, but Papa reassures them and the cubs choose to take over Mama's household tasks instead. The family divides the chores, the cubs keep practising their own skills, and everyone pulls together. The episode ends at the shop's grand opening, with the family celebrating over supper at Bear Town Burger.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E08

The Berenstain Bears

Too Much TV

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

In their woodland home, Mama Bear decides Brother and Sister are watching too much television and bans it for a week, and Papa has to give up his hockey too. Bored at first, the cubs invent a pretend cardboard TV, then start identifying birds and keeping a checklist, and the family spends a night naming stars and watching a meteor. When Saturday returns and the TV comes back on, the cubs stay just as keen on spotting birds outside. The episode ends with Brother rushing to show Sister a scarlet tanager through the binoculars.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E12

The Berenstain Bears

A Week at Grandma's

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

When Mama and Papa Bear leave for a week-long second honeymoon at Grizzly Mountain Lodge, Brother and Sister Bear stay with Gran and Gramps, sure the week will be dull. Instead the grandparents fill the days with harmonica and yo-yo lessons, building ships in bottles, harvesting honey, fishing, a barbecue, and dancing. The story cuts between the cubs' happy week and the parents' trip, where Papa keeps meeting small mishaps. The family reunites at the end, with the cubs asking to visit Gran and Gramps again and everyone planning a family vacation.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E13

The Berenstain Bears

The Double Dare

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Brother Bear sets out to win back Sister's jump rope from Too Tall and his gang, and after crossing a log on a dare he is invited to tag along. The gang keeps daring, double-daring and de-double-daring him into riskier stunts, ending with stealing watermelons from Farmer Ben's patch, where Brother is caught. Farmer Ben explains, using chickens and sheep, why following the crowd is a mistake. Brother takes the lesson to heart, refuses the next round of dares, and returns Sister's rope.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E18

The Berenstain Bears

Go to School

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Sister Bear is nervous about starting third grade after Too Tall's gang teases her that it is impossibly hard. At home, Brother, Mama and Papa reassure her, and Mama uses a photo album to recall how Sister once dreaded kindergarten yet quickly came to love it. Encouraged, Sister tries third grade and comes home pleased, while Papa faces his own fear and bakes his first apple pie. The episode ends with the family together and the lesson that new things are worth trying.

The Berenstain Bears
S01 E19

The Berenstain Bears

The Talent Show

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

After Teacher Bob announces a school talent show and no one volunteers, Brother Bear agrees to become the talent scout and help classmates find what they are good at. He signs up cubs one by one, from Lizzie balancing on one foot to Bertha telling stories and Fred doing a balancing act, while chasing a mysterious singing voice he keeps hearing in the halls. The voice turns out to belong to Too Tall, who is stunned to learn he can sing. The show comes together and Too Tall's song closes it out, with Teacher Bob thanking Brother for helping everyone find their talent.

The Berenstain Bears
S02 E07

The Berenstain Bears

Trick or Treat

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

On Halloween night, the bear cubs Brother and Sister plan their trick-or-treat route but decide to skip Witter Jones' house because they believe she is a witch who turns cubs into statues. Mama insists she is a kind neighbor from her quilting class, so the cubs eventually knock, cross paths with the Too-Tall gang who came to cause trouble, and briefly think their friends have been enchanted. They discover Witter Jones is warm and playful, hands out candy apples, and turns her spooky tricks on the bullies. The family ends the night at home, with Papa heading back out for a candy apple of his own.

The Berenstain Bears
S02 E11

The Berenstain Bears

Go to Camp

Calming
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

At Grizzly Ted's summer day camp, Sister Bear and her friend Lizzy spend their days swimming, hiking, and doing crafts, until the counselor announces an overnight sleep-out on Skull Rock. Sister secretly dreads sleeping so far from home and hides her worry until Lizzy gently draws it out of her. Together they decide to practice with a night in the backyard, and Sister succeeds. She heads to the real sleep-out feeling ready, sharing a campfire story and searching for shooting stars.

The Berenstain Bears
S02 E14

The Berenstain Bears

Out for the Team

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Brother Bear is hitting well in a sandlot game when Papa suggests he try out for the Bear Country Cardinals, and Sister Bear decides to try out too. Brother grows jealous and afraid of losing his spot to his sister, so he fakes a sore arm to skip the tryouts. Sister catches the lie and encourages him, and the two practice together before the tryouts. In the end the coach is impressed by both and adds a second spot, so Brother and Sister both make the team.

The Berenstain Bears
S02 E23

The Berenstain Bears

Trouble with Money

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Brother and Sister Bear want expensive Bear Air jackets, so they set up lemonade stands, rake leaves and dream up scheme after scheme to earn the money themselves. As the profits pile up, they grow too busy to play, charging even Papa for help and pushing away friends like Lizzy, Millie and Cousin Fred. Papa points out that the friends now feel like customers, and the cubs realise what they have lost. They open bank accounts, give to the animal shelter, buy cheaper jackets and throw a party for their friends.

The Berenstain Bears
S02 E26

The Berenstain Bears

Count Their Blessings

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

Sister and Brother Bear come home from friends' houses wishing they had as many dolls and video games as Lizzie and Cousin Fred. When a thunderstorm knocks out the power, the family gathers by the fire with cocoa while Mama and Papa help the cubs name the things they are thankful for, from a safe house to a loving family. Papa also shows them how to tell how far away the storm is by counting between lightning and thunder. At bedtime Sister happily counts her blessings, and the parents catch themselves wishing for new furniture before deciding to do the same.

The Berenstain Bears
S03 E12

The Berenstain Bears

Mighty Milton

Balanced
recommended age Unlock co-watching from 2

A new cub named Milton Chubb arrives at school and on Farmer Ben's farm, and Too Tall's gang teases him for being clumsy at every sport. Brother befriends him, realises Milton is strong at wrestling and farm work, and arranges a tryout where Milton pins Too Tall using a move he calls 'the pancake.' Too Tall apologises and the team welcomes Milton. The episode closes on the cubs cheering him as 'Mighty Milton.'

Just launched: free lifetime premium for the first 1,000 members to activate their account.

Create your account

Search by title, show, tag, or topic

We use functional cookies and Google Analytics to improve our site. Learn more