Father Knows Best

Margaret worries the entire day over what will become of Bud’s future if he doesn’t develop good character. This is tied in with a baseball game Bud is trying to get to play in.

Kathy and Betty fight for the attention of the same man.

Bud injures himself, so Jim delivers the papers on his route to avoid Bud being fired.

Jim tries to help the children regain their confidence.

Margaret's cousin (from the previous episode) is set to wed in the Anderson household, but things go wrong, due to the nervousness of the prospective bride and groom, and the wedding is called off. Poor Bud is reeled in to do a stand-in for the bride at the rehearsal.

Margaret tries to get her cousin and her boyfriend married.

Even though finances have grown a little tight in the Anderson household, Jim buys Margaret a mink coat that ends up being more trouble than it’s worth.

Jim is happy to learn his kids are planning to enter him in a Father of the Year contest. But things, of course, don’t go smoothly.

Jim wants to give up his office job in order to move into the country to lead a quiet, and less stressful, life as a farmer. Margaret doesn't think that he means it seriously, but he crosses more lines to fulfill his dream than he ever has before.

After making a big deal about people keeping their word, Jim is forced to put his words into practice to set a good example for his family.

Bud is deemed a snob by the girls in school because he won’t speak to any of them. When Jim talks it over with him, he discovers that Bud‘s real problem is that he becomes tongue-tied around them.

An unwanted visitor that won't leave spoils Kathy's birthday party.

Jim receives a traffic ticket and Bud is appointed to be judge on that day.

Kathy discovers a wounded Sparrow on the windowsill of the house—which she then considers hers—and the whole family becomes involved in trying to help it get better.

Jim takes the family into the woods to cut down their own tree, and they become stranded there.

Jim and Margaret rarely disagree on anything. But when he finds out Margaret signed them up to take dancing lessons, Jim refuses to do so, and ends up defiantly going to his old club, leaving her to take lessons alone.

Jim becomes worried that things between Betty and a new male friend of hers are getting too serious.

Jim's weekend retreat, just he and his wife, seems like a perfect idea, at first. But he doesn't want to pass this on to the kids when he learns that the kids have plans with them; and then when the kids take the news too easy, Jim and Margaret are befuddled. They leave, but soon they start thinking about their kids and after reaching the lodge they want to phone in - but no one answers the call...

Kathy writes the best poem in the fourth grade on what Thanksgiving means to her, and Jim builds the poem up in his mind to unreasonable expectations for a fourth grader. When he actually finds out what the poem consists of, his hopes for Kathy’s future are deflated and he disparages the poem to Margaret, unwitting that Kathy has overheard.

Bud becomes increasingly paranoid when Kathy (who has a fascination with the new washing machine, and puts everything in there) places a letter addressed to him by the police department in the washing machine, and ruins the letter, so he doesn’t know why he is asked to be there within seven days.

Jim comes to believe that he is over the hill.

Bud moves out, but discovers he can't clean, cook, or take care of himself.

Jim gets tickets to an important football game, and picks one of the kids to go with him—only to be blackmailed by an important client (who wants to go to the game, too) out of one of his tickets. He then tries frantically to find a second one.

Jim buys Bud a motor scooter but Margaret won't let him have it.

Jim tells his family to help others which leads to complications.

Bud tries to learn how to dance from a book for his first school dance.

While the family is readying for Betty’s graduation, Betty becomes conflicted about the event.

Kathy finds a receipt for $25 from the adoption center and believes she was adopted.

Jim makes a bet: the kid who doesn't tattle for one week will receive ten dollars.

Jim fights the elements to collect plants for Kathy's nature folder.

Bud boasts to his friends, Sandy and Kippy, that his dad can get Duke Snider’s All-Stars to come to Springfield.

Margaret is asked to represent her branch of the PTA by giving a speech, but later decides against doing so because of some mischief Betty gets into.

Jim and a family friend, Frank, fight over an insurance claim and dissolve their friendship over it. Betty and his son, Bob, are dating and this affects them, too.

Betty takes a vocational guidance course and signs up to get practical experience to become an engineer, but she gets a lot of flack for it because she’s a girl.

Bud gets in a tussle with a boy, Eddie, at school, then dreads facing him the next day because the kid wants to fight him. Jim makes Bud face him in a boxing ring to settle it, knowing that Bud will have to face Eddie, eventually. Later, Jim has Bud take boxing lessons.

Betty tells a wealthy friend, Eloise Sanders, that she’s going to a charity dinner at a club. But it’s expensive and she hasn’t asked her father, yet.

The family tries to think up excuses to keep from going to Margaret's family reunion.

Bud’s new friend, Fred, won't leave the Anderson house.

Jim’s old college friend, Charlie Bradley, a successful industrial tycoon, is in town. Charlie, along with Jim, were a part of a group known as The Four Musketeers, in college. Of the four, Jim appears to be the least ‘successful.’

When Bud receives an assignment to write a term paper about a Revolutionary War hero, he ends up researching the life of a relative—Major Nathaniel Oliver Anderson.

Kathy is taught about fair trading from her father—and ends up trading her doll for a real baby.

Betty becomes irritable with her family as she goes through an existential crisis.

Bud seems determined not to go to a Senior/Freshman dance that is Sadie Hawkins-themed.

Jim has a bet with Betty and Margaret concerning human nature, integrity and the man painting their house—Mr. Everett.

Betty gets a job to pay for a new, expensive formal for the Cinderella Ball at the country club.

Bud is having trouble in school and the family are hard-pressed to find out why. Eventually, Jim and Margaret come to the conclusion that, since he’s entered high school, he’s lost his confidence over being constantly compared to Betty and her accomplishments.

Jim comes home early from work, after a long, hard day, and expects to gain comfort from his family, but is quickly disillusioned when they all are too absorbed in their own interests and tasks to pay attention to him. This just makes his mood more sour and he declares at dinner that if he must, he will become a tyrant. This leads to unwelcome consequences.

Betty is indignant when Jim arranges a date for her with an old insurance salesman buddy’s son, Carter.

Bud gets in trouble when his latest friend turns out to be a kleptomaniac.

Tate Idsen saves a stagecoach from savage Indians in a flashback sequence.

Margaret has a premonition of danger for Jim’s upcoming business trip, and tries to get Jim to postpone it. But Jim believes it’s a bunch of superstitious nonsense, and insists on going anyway.

Bud gets irritated by a girl (whom he refers to as “Dumb Dora”) who has a crush on him, hurts her feelings when his irritation leads to cruelty, and must make amends.

When Jim gets an invitation to a dance for his class reunion—class of ‘33—the kids start behaving as if their parents are ancient. Then, when the kids at their alma mater treat them the same, Jim and Margaret deal with the thought of getting older.

After commenting on a sitcom (“Father Does It Again”) the family watches together one night, Jim speaks about how TV fathers are often portrayed as dumb in comparison with their families. Later, he plans on going hunting and starts believing that Margaret and the kids are secretly trying to get him to stay.

Bud is accused of cheating because he is suddenly getting high grades in class.

Betty has recently taken up tennis at school and is chosen for a photo shoot for the paper. This causes friction between her and her doubles partner, Eula, who is the team’s best player.

Kathy gets a new magic set, from a trade with a friend, and becomes convinced she can truly wield magic.

Bud learns that the girl he likes is dating his best friend.

Margaret is forced to invite a woman over who makes her uncomfortable because she is Jim's friend's wife.

Bud loses a job to a boy who fakes his resumé, which leads him to believe it is alright to do this himself

A new highway is getting built, and for that the old community hall is going to be pulled down. That's something Jim wouldn't like to see since the hall is a historical monument, and also, memories from his youth are connected with this hall. Everyone from the family sees how much the hall means to Jim, and they use different ways to organize help.

Jim comes home tired one day and is harangued by the kids. So, he and Margaret set up new rules to give him some time to relax—but it ends up backfiring.

Jim tries to encourage Bud to take after him in salesmanship.

Sageman helps the Andersons regain their self-confidence.

Jim and Margaret are called in to help Margaret's dad, who's about to hand over his printing office and retire.

Margaret tries to help a young woman overcome her fear of having a baby.

Bud gets advice from Jim on how to win over Judy, while Judy asks gets advice from Betty.

Henry Pruett, a traveling salesman, knocks on the Anderson’s door. It turns out she, Jim and Henry all attended college together.

Jim and Margaret take care of a baby Betty is supposed to babysit, so she can go out.

Bud obsesses over getting credit for a generous donation he made.

Kathy is apprehensive about the prospect of competing at the county spelling bee.

Betty has to choose between a flower queen contest and a track race, occurring on the same afternoon.

Bud…a hero? A chain reaction of events, starting with a girl who wants to use Bud to make her boyfriend jealous, leads to Bud becoming a hero of the town.

When Bud receives a traffic ticket, he is forced to become a crossing guard.

Bud buys a car for $10.

The Anderson home is disrupted by a visit from actor Cornel Wilde.

Looking for adventure, Bud travels to a neighboring town.

Betty's new boyfriend, a jet pilot, is transferred to Alaska.

Bud squanders Jim's money at a carnival.

While listening to Bud’s short wave radio, the family overhears a distress call from a boat.

Bud tells the family they are to set up for a lawn party that is tomorrow.

Margaret takes a small, much-needed break from her daily duties.

The Anderson family becomes shipwrecked on a deserted island.

A Spanish immigrant, Frank, fixes the Andersons lawn and then charges a high price.

The boss's son goes to work in Jim's office.

Jim’s sister comes for Christmas, and the kids are less than thrilled—particularly, Kathy.

The Andersons try bringing an old man out of his dream world.

Betty is going steady according to the rules of her school’s social set. But a guy with a chip on his shoulder challenges her preconceptions.

Jim is reluctant to let Betty go to New York to be a bridesmaid to her friend Barbara—afraid she’ll get hurt, somehow.

Bud and Kippy get a job working at a newspaper.

Betty becomes insecure after she overhears Bud tell Jim that she’s not the kind of girl boys whistle at.

Jim and Margaret complain about the children's sloppy clothes. The kids judge the antiquated attire they choose for a PTA costume party.

To teach Bud a lesson, Jim gives him ten dollars a week for allowance, but he's not to spend the money on anyone else but himself, even indirectly.

After listening to a lecture in class on the origins of giving gifts, Betty announces that she doesn't want a birthday party or presents.

The Andersons entertain an aspiring writer—aspiring for 30 years.

Jim tries discouraging Betty from moving into an apartment. Bud and the family await the arrival of Charlie, a homing pigeon.

Kippy promises Bud a date with his beautiful cousin, Marissa.

Jim and Margaret are excited about Betty going to the state college they attended. Betty, who wants to, at first, changes her mind.

On a dude ranch, Betty falls in love with a cowboy only to discover the relationship won't last.

Bud tries to prove he's not tied to his mother's apron strings.

Betty tries to make a man remove a hedge that blocks the view on a road.

Bud is chosen as the most popular boy in his class at school.

When Bud meets a successful business man who quit school and Bud plans to do the same.

Jim is bombarded with questions when he is getting ready for a business trip.

Betty tries to use her feminine wiles on a young man to get him to take her out.

When Jim plans to build a case for trophies, and Margaret sets out to win a medal.

A very talented dog shows up and takes residence in the Anderson's house.

Chaos strikes when Betty hides a pair of skates for a friend of hers.

Bud falls in love with an older woman at the grocery store who is married.

Betty tries to help an old man fix up his restaurant so he isn't evicted by Jim's company.

Bud believes that his father is henpecked when he willingly does everything Margaret wants him to.

The Anderson's cousin, Milly, arrives for a visit and to look at the college.

26Feb58 Betty teases Bud saying he is sloppy when some very influential people come over.

Bud is in trouble when he is accused of causing damage to a neighbor's property.

The family gets mad when Margaret keeps helping a furniture maker and his wife.

Bud practices mind reading, and Betty tries to make the debating team.

Betty has two dates for the same night and doesn't plan to break either one.

Jim can either attend a business meeting or see Kathy read his biography.

Bud practices the bongo drums to impress his new girlfriend.

At summer camp Kathy rebels after her counselor, Betty, keeps pushing her to do better.

A girl thinks Bud is going into the Army and throws a going away party.

When Kathy finds a horseshoe and she wishes for a horse, and gets one.

Betty is going through a phase where she thinks selfishness is the sole motivator in people's lives.

Bud is given the pleasure of raising Kathy when he says they are doing it all wrong.

Jim tries to teach Margaret how to drive a car.

Kathy competes in an essay contest judged by Greer Garson.

Bud is not able to play in the football game because he wouldn't go to bed early.

Margaret enrolls in an English class in college and is put in Betty's class.

The Anderson's gardener, Frank, is forced to get a real job and then winds up in court.

Bud becomes the chairman for the planning of his high school picnic.

Margaret receives a new house which she plans to rent out.

Betty tutors a football player who will escort her to a dance as payment.

Bud must decide if he should stand up for a teacher or join the class in a revolt.

1Jun59 Bud feels that there is no use for tradition so he starts to break all traditions.

Margaret wants Jim to take her dancing. She tries to trick him into dance lessons.

The Andersons act out a detective story when the television breaks down.

Bud blames his professor when it appears he will not pass Physics.

This is a recut version of episode 5 with the same name where Bud goes out on his own and tries to make good.

Bud regrets writing a bad article about a professor after the professor finds the article.

A flashback show about building a playhouse for Kathy.

Bud tries to impress a wealthy girl by taking her to an expensive restaurant.

Strange things begin to happen when Jim's dreams start to come true.

The Anderson's are visited by an author on African Culture.

Bud has a hard time when he must decide between two girls to take to the prom.

Margaret must decide to attend a luncheon or go with Jim on an important trip.

Betty is faced with a hard decision that will affect her future.

Jim learns that he is to be appointed as an outstanding person in the community.

Kathy says she wants to be treated as if she was an adult.

Bud tries to save Betty from her boyfriend but Betty resents the help.

When Bus refuses dates, the girl launch an anti-Bud campaign.

Leo visits and takes advantage of the whole family until something surprising happens.

Bud gets into hot water when he tries to buy Margaret a bottle of expensive perfume.

Uncle Charlie believes the children are spoiled when they forget Jim's birthday.

5Jan59 Bud must do a good deed for an English report and ends up resenting the whole world.

Kathy is elected by the family to control Bud's lawn moving company.

Jim becomes the coach of Bud's basketball team.

The family recalls as they are putting up the Christmas tree, how Jim wanted them to cut their own tree, and in the process got stranded in a cabin.

Jim attempts to get the family to broaden their horizons and disaster strikes.

In a raffle, Margaret wins a car and uses it to help the orphans home.

An Indian exchange student arrives for the weekend from Betty's college.

Betty plays the founder of Springfield's wife in a play of what really happened.

Bud finds a dent on the back of the car he is watching for a friend.

Betty talks Jim and Margaret into getting married again for their anniversary.

Jim tries to teach the children a lesson when they are constantly not planning ahead.

Frank tries to console Kathy by telling her that his family are entertainers.

Bud prepares for the arrival of the homecoming queen.

Kathy's new boyfriend is more interested in Jim than of Kathy.

Bud thinks Betty has an ulterior motive when she is kind to him.

Betty and Ralph plan to get married, but find it is not as happy as they thought.

When Kathy refuses to graduate from high school, the family tells her about Betty's reluctance to graduate from High School, too. This is a recut version of episode 63. It is not part of the syndication package and is considered ""lost"".

Betty is caught in the middle of an argument between two of her friends who are planning to marry.

Bud spends more money than he has in order to impress a girl in Chicago.

Betty becomes frustrated when every college contest she enters, she loses to Cliff Bowman, who may even steal her job, too

Betty dates a boy everyone regards as a loser

Bud falls in love with his English Tutor

Kathy destroys a picture of a family competing against hers in a photo contest

While Kathy is trying to repair her birth certificate frame, she recalls the time she thought she was adopted.

The Andersons get a check from an admirer and must find out which member of the family the check was meant for.

Bud invests money in a phony stock scheme and winds up losing fifty dollars

When Bud reaffirms and old man's belief in life, he decides to open his own insurance company and hire Bud as his assistant.

Jim is surprised by his family's lack of interest when he is named Father of the Year.

Betty arranges a match between Frank and a worker in a flower shop.

Kathy, desperate for a date at the community picnic, makes up a story about a boyfriend.

Kathy, desperate for a date at the community picnic, makes up a story about a boyfriend.

Betty competes in the college fencing tournament.

A reporter visits the family in order to do an article on family togetherness.

Betty is campaigning for safe driving, while Bud is accused of reckless driving.

This is a recut version of episode 30. It is not part of the current syndication package and is considered ""lost"".

Betty wins a trip to Hollywood because she looks like a famous movie star.

Margaret tricks the family into believing that she has been elected chairwoman of the children's clinic building program.

Both Jim and Kathy are doublecrossed by their friends.

Bud wants a part-time job at a service station in order to get enough money to buy a boat.

The family tries to change Kathy from a tomboy into a beautiful girl.

Jim and Margaret tease one another about people they dated as their college reunion nears.

Bud tells Kathy about the job he didn't get when another boy faked his credentials.

Jim's plans for a quiet bicycle trip end up with Jim and Margaret arguing

Bud decides to date the coach's daughter in order to make sure he gets on the football team.

Betty becomes involved with a young lawyer pretending to be the owner of a radio store.

Frank is chosen to represent the town at the opening of a park, but when the town council meets Frank, they want another person to represent their city- someone who looks more like an average American.

Bud falls in love with his college French professor.

While on the way to visit Margaret's parents, the car breaks down leaving the family stranded on a deserted road.