Brain dreams he is a bug, and his friends chase him down, bring him to a cave, where a giant fly swatter will swat him and kill him, they begin to go through with it, however just before he is about to be swatted, he wakes up. Too frightening for some.
Some of the fantasies or dream sequences can be disturbing to some, yet it is done to help children when they have bad fantasies to relate to.
An episode deals with DW's pet bird Spanky dying, and the grief it brings the family. The show is meant to help Children deal with the loss of pets.
DW and Arthur overhear their parents arguing, and fear they will leave each other, and begin to hate each other. Obviously this does not happen, it is meant to help children understand with and cope when their parents fight and argue.
An episode deals with Arthur's school catching on fire, we see how each of the students handle the situations, with some suffering minor trauma. May be intense for real young children, and or anyone who has experienced a fire first hand, even for children who witnessed 9/11 or other tragic events.
Some episodes talk about heavy topics such as bullying, bedwetting, asthma, dyslexia, Asperger's syndrome, PTSD, autism spectrum disorder, or even cancer.
Although this is a PBS Kids show, some moments can be considered disturbing.
Arthur scolded DW saying "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH IT!!" followed by punching DW, causing her to wail in pain. This episode might be scary for younger viewers.
The show can talk about serious issues. Like autism, divorce, Asperger Syndrome, PTSD, and even eating disorders and cancer.
Arthur shows his fist and it was a meme and it can be frightening because the little kids think he will punch them.
The episode April 9th (reference To 9/11 attack) is a darkest episode, and distress and anxiety for the main characters.
For preschoolers/kids and up.
None/Mild/Moderate in a lot of episodes.
Arthur's Big Meltdown has an intense scene where Arthur causes destruction.
Not a whole lot of Frightening & Difficult/Intense scenes, but there are some topics that require counseling to understand.
DW's parents in one scene fight in an old episode, and she fears and thinks her parents will resent each other and never love each other again, but this doesn't happen in reality since she is still a young child and teaches kids to deal with fighting parents in a healthy way.
Mild/Moderate for neurodivergent viewers.
There are some rough/distressing moments in the show.
Some of the adults can act overtly harsh when a kid does something wrong/causes trouble.
In one episode Mrs. McGrady is diagnosed with cancer this upsets Arthur and his friends who all have mixed reactions.
Throughout one episode Arthur bullies Sue Ellen over a yak coat and at one point it gets serious to where she asks to switch classes.