"...and that's "One To Grow On."
One To Grow On (eventually replaced by The More You Know...) was a series of public service announcements that aired on NBC's Saturday mornings from 1983 to 1989. The ads were both aimed at children and featured vignettes with children who are either about to engage in a dangerous, unwise or otherwise unfortunate situation or is showing the aftermath or action of their decision and where a NBC star would inform the audience on what they should do if they're ever in a similar scenario. Some of the stars to be featured included Betty White, Michael J. Fox, Jason Bateman as well as several castmembers of various NBC series airing at the time, including Riptide and The Facts of Life.
Featured actors
- Byron Allen from Real People
- Jason Bateman from The Hogan Family
- Tempsett Bledsoe and Malcolm-Jamal Warner from The Cosby Show
- Thom Bray and Perry King from Riptide
- Rene Enriquez from Hill Street Blues
- Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, Charlotte Rae, and Lisa Whelchel from The Facts of Life
- Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman, and Michael Gross from Family Ties
- Soleil Moon Frye from Punky Brewster
- Marla Gibbs and Jackée Harry from 227
- David Hasselhoff from Knight Rider
- Richard Moll from Night Court
- Rick Schroder, Joel Higgins, and Alfonso Ribeiro from Silver Spoons
- Mr. T and Dwight Schultz from The A-Team
- Michael Talbott from Miami Vice
- Betty White and Estelle Getty from The Golden Girls
Examples:
- Afraid of Doctors: An ad had a little girl trying to convince her Dad that she was fine at a doctor's appointment because of this trope.
- All of the Other Reindeer: One ad had a little boy try to play basketball with some other boys, only to be dismissed by them. It ends with one of the boys inviting him in the group and he turns out to be great at the game.
- And Knowing Is Half the Battle: The whole premise of the advertisements; teaching lessons and taking preventative measures.
- Big Eater: One ad featured a preteen boy taking much of the helpings of food at a family dinner, leaving his little sister with nothing to eat. Fortunately, it ends with him sharing an equal portion with her.
- Bittersweet Ending:
- One rarely-seen advertisement had a young man grieving for his recently departed friend as his concerned older sister tries to convince him to come out of his room. At the end of the episode, while the boy is still understandably upset, he decides to meet up with his sister to go to a local park and show her a secret cave he and his friend once made.
- Another ad had a boy spend his milk money on toys. It was to show how children should be more careful with their money/allowances. In the end, while his classmates are drinking their milk, he is left playing with his toy.
- Creepy Uncle: An advertisement had a girl tell her brother that their Uncle was touching her inappropriately. It ends with him telling her to tell their parents.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: One ad instead of just featuring a single celebrity had both Justine and Jason Bateman to talk about respecting sibling boundaries.
- Freak Out: One example regarding fire safety had two friends sitting in the one boy's kitchen when they smell smoke and notice that the room was on fire. As the one boy proceeds to run around and hysterically scream for help, his friend thankfully calms him down by telling him to crawl out of the house to prevent breathing in smoke and go to a neighbor's house to ask them to call the fire department, allowing them to get out unharmed.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: One ad featured a girl throw a hissy fit after her Mom said that she had to go to her Aunt's recital due to her already being promised that she could go to a water park with a friend. After calming down, the girl apologized and reminded her of the previous discussion and the Mom forgave her and allowed her to still go.
- Irony:
- One ad that featured Soleil Moon Frye had her explain what to do if you get lost/separated from your parent. Frye played Punky Brewster, a girl who was abandoned by her mother in a supermarket parking lot.
- Lampshaded by Rene Enriquez, star of Hill Street Blues: the audience for the ads should not know who he is, given how his show comes on at a time that they should already be in bed (as well as the implication that the subject manner of the series would be inappropriate for them, anyway).
- Laser-Guided Karma: One ad had teenage boys ripping the antennas off of cars as a stupid prank. The following day, the one boy's father had his own car antenna removed as he cringes with embarrassment in response.
- Lazy Bum: One segment featured a teenage girl who was working as a babysitter invite her friend over to hang out and watch TV while actively ignoring her charge, a crying baby. Whereas she initially refuses to tend to the girl's crying, claiming she'll eventually stop, her friend refuses to follow suit and checks in on her which soon inspires her to do the same.
- Oh, Crap!: One segment had two boys realizing that the kitchen was on fire. Whereas the one boy understandably proceeds to freak out, his friend calms him down, tells him to crawl outside and they are able to run to a neighbor's home and ask her to call the fire department.
- Once an Episode: Every ad opened with "Hi, I'm X, I'll be right back with One To Grow On" and every ad closed with, "...and that's One To Grow On".
- Primal Fear: Another spot with Dwight Schultz in his role as Murdock from The A-Team explains to children that they shouldn't be afraid of the dark.
- Railroad Tracks of Doom: One segment infamously depicted a 10-year-old boy listening to music through headphones as he was walking through a railroad yard ... unaware that a train was fast approaching as he was walking on the tracks. His friends witness this and frantically call out to him about the danger. Fortunately, it ends well, and his friends end up yelling at him because what he did could have likely killed him.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: One ad had a teenage girl refusing to smoke in the girls' bathroom with two classmates, saying how much it stunk and how she didn't want to get smoke in her eyes like they did.
- Sore Loser:
- One spot had Mr. T watching a scene of a boy upset after striking out in baseball and firmly tells the children at home not to behave like that as that messes up everyone's fun.
- Another spot had a kid tell his friend that he hated him simply because he bested him at a game of checkers. He soon apologized for his comments and politely agreed to play again.
- Staircase Tumble: One ad featured a girl whose mother fell down their stairs at home and hurt her ankle due to her not putting her toys away and always leaving a mess.
- Stranger Danger: An ad has a few girls hanging out at one of their houses when an unknown man tries to sell magazines, only for the the homeowner to tell him to come back.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Played with in one ad; a girl complains about having to do a school project with a disliked classmate and believes that the project will surely fail. In the end, they agreed to put aside their differences and get to know one another better.
- Toxic Friend Influence: One ad featured a woman worried that her son's new friend was this. Her fears were unfounded and she even let the two boys remain friends (as evidenced by them still remaining friends in later ads).
- Waving Signs Around: One ad had a young boy waving a sign in front of his home stating how unfair his parents are: his father took away his allowance because a teacher accused him of throwing spitballs in class. He tried to claim innocence, but the father didn't believe him. His friend then suggests that he have a conference with him and try to appeal to him calmly and maturely, which he agrees to do.
