Growing Pains

Mike's practical-joker uncle Bob visits from the hereafter.

Reporter Maggie and psychiatrist Jason both face important career decisions.

Custodian Mike watches a wild party explode in his home.

Maggie's assignment interferes with anniversary plans.

Mike writes test answers on his shoe soles.

Ben gives Jason a very expensive birthday present, causing speculation on how he can possibly afford it.

The PTA head rejects the Seavers as dance chaperones.

Maggie casually mentions to Jason that she might be pregnant; Mike acts as a weekend servant to Ben; and Carol wants to divorce her class-project husband.

Jason faces off against Ben's hockey coach, who's teaching the boys to play dirty; Mike learns ballroom dancing.

Mike backs out of the family-bowling match so he can date a snobbish girlfriend.

A depressed department store Santa consulting Jason decides to commit suicide by leaping down the Seavers' chimney.

Mike doodles on his aptitude test and winds up with an IQ score of 27.

Mike hurts more than his pride when he takes a nasty fall off a dirt bike that he promised his parents he wouldn't go near.

Carol develops a crush on a family friend, who thinks of her as his little sister.

Coming across a compatibility test in Jason's office, Maggie decides she and Jason should fill it out, but her answers don't tab with his. Meanwhile, Mike feigns interest in karate when his real goal is a girl attending the course.

Jason and Maggie want to go to a mountain lodge for a weekend, but are reluctant to leave the kids alone.

Mike's infatuation with a Madonna look-alike worries Maggie.

Maggie accuses Jason of monopolizing the children.

Maggie gives an honest assessment of Carol's writing of an article for her school magazine; Mike and Ben discover track betting.

Jason fumes when Maggie spends long hours on a toxic waste story with handsome co-worker Fred.

Jason embarrasses Mike at a Bruce Springsteen concert when they are interviewed together.

Maggie goes back to work as a journalist, prompting psychologist Jason to move his office into their home so he can keep his eye on the kids. Things don't get off to a great start: the first night he gets a call from the police that Mike has been picked up for illegally driving a car.

Jason knows the editor offering Maggie a dream job is a notorious womanizer.

Maggie wants Jason to fire the elderly handyman he hired to fix the furnace, but he refuses because the man is a friend.

Airlines passengers Jason and Mike must deliver a baby.

A genealogy assignment unearths a dark family secret.

Maggie's busy schedule leaves Ben feeling neglected.

Carol wants to use radio-contest winnings on a nose job.

Mike plays Cupid for smitten Ben and his baby sitter.

Mike and his friends go to a college party and have to decide whether to use drugs or not.

Maggie's quarreling parents come to visit the Seavers.

The winter formal causes opposite problems for Carol and Mike.

A girl raises a grade for Mike, then demands payment.

Carol has the chance to skip a high-school grade.

Grounded liar Mike hears Maggie fibbing to her boss.

Ben invites a street girl home for the holidays.

A proposed school dress code puts Maggie and Jason at odds.

A con man sells Mike a "magic" rock.

Carol spreads rumors about herself and a "hunk".

Fired Mike hides the truth from his parents.

Ben has been calling an X-rated phone service.

A cheerleader befriends Carol solely to meet Mike.

A new school year brings boredom, bullies, and romantic mix-ups.

Maggie plans a surprise reunion for Jason's college rock band.

At Mike's high-school graduation, family members recall moments when it seemed like his graduation would never take place.

Jason, Carol, Mike and Boner are arrested in the demonstration over the dismissal of Coach Lubbock.

Mike and Boner learn that Coach Lubbock has been fired, prompting them to organize a protest.

Spring-cleaning breathes new life into the family's household objects, and each has a story to tell.

The Seavers begin to make room for baby, relegating Ben to the guest quarters and making the others lament the changes bound to come. Meanwhile, Maggie grasps for a way to tell her boss she is pregnant.

Great expectations turn sour at the Dewey High dance after Mike hears Lydia's voice; and Ben and Stinky find themselves in a seedy diner eyeing a pinball machine that pays real money.

At the school dance, Mike gets a girl and Carol gets raked over the coals. Meanwhile, Ben's adventure goes awry.

A letter from the girl he met in Hawaii has Mike scheming to fly to Los Angeles to see her without his parents' knowing.

Maggie and Carol share confidences at the beauty salon, but later Carol learns to her chagrin that a secret isn't safe with Maggie.

Maggie fumes over the many irritants that seem to be driving her and Jason apart -- until unexpected news sheds light on the situation.

Reason flies out the window when Bobby and his parents arrive at the Seavers' for dinner and a special announcement -- that Bobby and Carol are engaged.

Maggie and Jason try to keep Mike in his room to complete an English paper, but Mike's mind is of course elsewhere.

A troubled student named Jill volunteers to work on a school project with Mike and Boner. This, however, is a subterfuge: Jill has been contemplating suicide due to some very serious problems at home, and she hopes to get some free counseling from Mike's psychiatrist dad Jason. But as it turns out, Jason is presently weighed down with a few self-pity issues of his own.

An unearned "A" makes Carol doubt her academic record.

After their success in the school play, Mike and Monica set their sights on a Broadway audition for ""Our Town.""

During a tonsillectomy, Ben has an out-of-body experience, dreaming that he escapes with a friendly cabbie, only to find a new Ben has replaced him at home.

Bobby's annoying habits make Carol look elsewhere for the man of her dreams -- just in time for her to notice a new student.

Burglars hit the Seaver home.

A star is born when Mike lands a leading role in the school play opposite the lovely Monica.

Ben asks Carol's advice on getting a new bike from their parents.

Mike is unaware that he's been nominated for student-body president because he's "a sure loser."

The family scrambles to help find an out-of-work Maggie a job after she turns into Super Mom, preparing oversize meals and assigning new chores.

Mike uses double talk to sell stereos.

The family is stranded in Maui. Ben videotapes Mike and Carol's Hawaiian romances.

Jason tries to mend his mother's broken wedding plans.

Jason's mother plans to wed aboard a cruise ship.

After Carol disobeys Maggie and Jason by sneaking out to a bar with her college-aged boyfriend Sandy, she learns a valuable lesson when Sandy gets into an accident and ends up in the hospital.

Jason intervenes when Mike gets bad grades in psychology.

Carol doesn't want to attend her parents' alma mater.

Jason punishes Carol and Ben unequally for the same offense when they are both caught after sneaking out for dates without permission.

When Mike takes a job at a convenience store, his mother is worried about him working the dangerous night shift; but Mike is more concerned about the favoritism his racist boss shows him as one of the few white employees.

Guests bicker at the Seavers' 20th-anniversary party.

Maggie arranges for Ben to meet his favorite rock musician.

Boner flunks out of college and joins the Marines.

Maggie prepares her "Working Mother of the Year" acceptance speech.

Carol sneaks out of the house for a date.

A travel snafu strands Julie with Mike.

The Seavers hire a nanny for Chrissy.

Ben throws a party to get to know a girl.

Mike's photography course includes nude studies.

Carol is chosen for homecoming court.

Jason sends his mother on a cruise to get her mind off her dead husband, but when she returns with a fiancé in tow, Jason finds it hard to accept the man who will "replace" his father.

Landlord-tenant problems abound when Mike (Kirk Cameron) moves into the storage area over the family garage

Mike has a showdown with Jason over his rights as an 18-year-old college student, and declares his freedom from parental rule.

Maggie goes into labor on Ben's 12th birthday and Ben confesses to a patient at the hospital that he's already feeling crowded.

Ben gets spooked at the prospect of asking a girl to a Halloween party; Jason becomes a disruptive force at Lamaze class.

Jason and Mike head off together to inspect the mountain cabin Jason has inherited from his Uncle George.

Ben casts a girl he likes as the lead in his home movie.

With Jason's wallet missing, the Seavers must rely on others to provide them with room and board while their house is being fumigated.

In a moment of introspection as he prepares to graduate, Mike wrestles with self-doubt about his ability as a director.

Ben weighs the pros and cons of cheating after he learns the tricks of the test-passing trade from sly schoolmate Vito.

Chrissy becomes a teenager in Maggie's dream, which is influenced by her fear of being an older parent in a sea of youngsters taking their kids to preschool.

Carol lands in jail after a minor traffic violation.

Mike goes to work as a substitute teacher.

While on a Valentine's Day dinner date with Kate, Mike runs into Julie at the restaurant.

Ben asks permission to get his ear pierced, which leads to a serious argument between his parents.

The Seavers' reception to raise money for a free mental-health clinic spells disaster when they forget the date of the party and must scramble at the last minute for a caterer.

David turns to Mike for help with Kate.

Mike falls for his leading lady.

Mike takes Ben girl chasing.

Promoted at work, Carol decides against college.

Their grandparents give Mike, Carol and Ben $5,000 each.

Ben assumes Mike's paper route for half the money.

Jason can't tell Maggie about the job offer.

Jason gets a promising job offer.

Mike is over the moon when he attends an open casting session and wins a part on a TV cop show -- and crushed when his single line is cut in the editing.

An angry Jason confronts Ben and Mike, who gives conflicting versions of how Ben came to sell Carol's old term papers to students at Dewey High -- and to date a seductive 18-year-old.

Carol brings a bogus boyfriend to a family party.

His drama teacher and classmates intimidate Mike.

Jason tells Carol to get a job.

Julie and Mike suffer prenuptial jitters.

Maggie opposes Mike and Julie's wedding plans.

Mike and Kate accompany the eloping Eddie and a hat-check bimbette to Las Vegas, giving Mike and Carol the wrong idea.

Maggie teaches Ben at home after he is suspended from school.

On a blind date shaping up as a disaster, Carol goes to the carnival, and finds unexpected fun and excitement.

In an homage to The Twilight Zone, Ben awakens to discover he's Jeremy Miller, an actor on the set of ""Meet the Cleavers"".

Though Jason had an insensitive Carol pitch in at the clinic, he objects to her dating an ex-con she meets there.

Mike competes with a well-established actor for a role in a soap opera, learning how tenuous an acting career can be.

Jason takes Maggie on a tropical getaway to lift her spirits after her father's death, trusting Chrissy to Mike and Carol.

Maggie's dad drops in for an unexpected visit, with news of his imminent death.

Jason becomes Ben's business partner in the management of a rap group, but uses the money he's invested to control Ben.

An an intrafamily communications seminar, Mike and Jason discover just how alike they are.

Mike's friend Eddie shows up for a double date with Mike's ex-girlfriend.

Chrissy starts spending much time with her imaginary friend, a six-foot-tall mouse named Ike.

Jason, happy to see his mother's second marriage crumbling, doesn't want to provide her with professional help.

Mike and Amy continue to bicker their way toward Paris.

Maggie is hospitalized in Paris, while Mike finds himself stuck on the road with an angry customer.

Jason buys an anniversary trip to Paris from travel agent Mike, who himself wins a European tour that falls apart; Maggie, in Paris, is struck with appendicitis.

The Seavers spend a rainy Halloween night telling ghost stories.

A flirty Jason gets jealous when Maggie turns the tables.

At the school's Parents Night, the Seavers learn Ben's been telling his friends that the girl he's dating is promiscuous.

Mike and his friend Eddie schemingly join "Parents Without Mates" to meet women.

Mike becomes roommates with sister Carol, now a Columbia University student.

Mike is broke and homeless in New York City.

When Mike lands a role in an off-Broadway play, he leaves college to pursue acting full-time in New York City.

Maggie is offered a plum job in Washington, D.C. The Seavers move to Washington, D.C., but share a final meal and memories in the empty house.

A power failure causes dissensions in the Seaver household.

Maggie wants to fulfill a dream by climbing a mountain.

Luke's father George visits the Seavers hoping that Luke has mellowed a little and would like to spend some time with him but Luke doesn't. He was about to leave when he collapses outside the door. He says that can't move, so they take him in. Jason and Ben offer to deliver his load, and they experience all sorts of chaos on the way. Mike thinks that George is faking his injury so that he could stay and Luke would have to talk to him. But the doctor tells Maggie who tells Mike that unless George stops driving trucks, he could become paralyzed. Mike talks to George and tells him to tell Luke but doesn't want Luke to pity him and doesn't anything else to do but be a trucker. Mike suggests that maybe he could open a truck stop. Luke finds George struggling to get up and they finally talk. The next day after Jason and Ben return, George tells them that he is giving up trucking and will open a truck stop and Luke's going with him. Luke says goodbye to the Seavers.

Mike thinks his friend is a bad influence on Luke.

Tired of being bullies, Ben takes karate lessons.

A love triangle involves Ben, Luke and a classmate.

Maggie and Jason put Mike on the spot for Luke's curfew problems.

Luke's homeless friend steals a Seaver momento.

Penniless Mike schemes to give Kate a skiing trip.

Christmas brings anger and angst to the Seavers.

Ben crams for a college entrance exam, but gets no help from Jason.

While Jason and Maggie are away, the principal informs Mike that Luke's birth father is back in town -- and wants him back.

The ghost of Maggie's father oversees the Seavers' visit to her childhood home.

Consumer advocate Maggie raps a vacuum cleaner that Ben broke without telling her.

Nouveau riche neighbors move in next door; Ben is forced to look after Luke on his first day of high school; Jason's scheme to let Chrissie stay up late backfires when the neighbors throw a lavish party.

Carol accompanies Maggie to a resort, which turns out to be hosting a singles convention; meanwhile, the all-male weekend planned at home is ruined when Chrissy is set home with head lice.

Luke is afraid to visit the doctor, so Jason accompanies him -- but it's Jason who turns out to need surgery.

Mike gears up for his big day as a TV soap opera star just as Luke gears up to move out of the Seavers'.

Jason and Maggie compete to write a newspaper column; Ben hates his glasses.

Mike persuades Jason and Maggie to let Luke stay with them temporarily; then Jason's wine cellar goes missing.

Mike gets involved when he learns his prize pupil Luke is homeless.

Mike teaches at an urban high school.