Arthur is quite prone to this.
- "The Great MacGrady" has the kids finding out lunchlady Mrs. MacGrady has been diagnosed with cancer. The episode was dedicated to its writer, Leah Ryan, who passed away from the disease, to the point where Mrs. MacGrady's name was changed to Leah (it was usually Sarah) for the episode (however, in the series, the cancer is gone by the end of it). Unfortunately, Lance Armstrong guest-starred in the episode, and it was pulled from rotation after the doping scandal that also cost him all of his Tour de France titles; a revised version of the episode, this time omitting Armstrong in favor of Uncle Slam, premiered in 2020.
- "Binky Goes Nuts": It's revealed Binky is allergic to peanuts. His mom is very worried. The episode gives advice such as checking the ingredients in your food and knowing what to do if you unknowingly trigger the allergy. Binky's nut allergy has stuck since this episode, becoming a plot point in episodes such as "Take a Hike, Molly" and "Too Much of a Good Thing".
- "Buster's Breathless": Buster finds out he has asthma when he comes across a stack of dusty joke books. His friends begin to treat him differently, while fearing that they may "catch" his asthma. Buster takes his class on an imaginary tour so they can visualize what goes on in his lungs and nose. In the end, he tells his friends not to give him any special treatment, and that he's "still the same old Buster."
- "The Boy With His Head in the Clouds": The show's resident Butt-Monkey George is diagnosed with dyslexia.
- "To Eat or Not to Eat": A very strange case. There's a candy bar that makes sparkles come from your mouth that Buster covets. George and Fern keep eating it. The metaphor gets more obvious as Binky buys every piece from the local stores and becomes a sort of dealer, with George and Fern being regulars and going as far as to constantly buy from him despite him being a more expensive middle man. And then George and Fern are shown tired and depressed when they don't eat it. It seems to be a shallow drug metaphor, or at the very least an episode warning the dangers of addiction... until Buster investigates what the candy's made of, and finds out that it actually contains drugs. The effect is even illustrated, with the candy's "secret ingredient" attaching to the brain and making the consumer feel really good, until the material breaks down and the consumer feels really depressed and wanting more. Overall, the real Aesop seems to be about the lengths Corrupt Corporate Executives will go to get money. It ends with Buster's mom exposing the candy in the news.
- "When Carl Met George" (also known as "George and the Missing Puzzle Piece") features George befriending a rabbit named Carl, who happens to have Asperger's Syndrome. The episode deals with George learning about Asperger's and autism in general. Unlike most VSEs, however, Carl averts the Long-Lost Uncle Aesop trope by appearing in later episodes, such as "Carl's Concerto" and "He Said, He Said".
- "Bleep" features D.W. learning a "swear" word and accidentally causing other kids in her class to say it. Rather than explaining that certain words may be considered offensive or rude, D.W.'s mother just says, "It means 'I want to hurt your feelings'". Not helping is that the swear word is never given any context as to its meaning. (Granted, the beginning of the episode does explain how and why the bleep is used, so the episode is probably more of a demonstration of how the bleep is used than a VSE about swearing. The production team probably focused more on the bleeping.)
- "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles" features the Tibble Twins becoming obsessed with a Power Rangers parody series. The episode centers around the twins pretending that everything (including school) is part of the show's world and that they are the main heroes of said show. It ends with the twins hitting DW with a swing, causing her to need stitches on her lip and the Tibbles learning two important lessons. First being that there's a time and place for playing pretend, and that real life comes first. The second being that not everyone might want to play the same game as you, and that you should never do something that might hurt them.
- "April 9th" is a unique case, as it was made in response to the 9/11 attacks, though it does not mention them directly. Instead, the focus is on teaching the target audience to deal with the emotions they may face in a similar crisis
. The episode's main storyline involved the students dealing with the aftermath of a large fire at the school, a situation which would evoke similar reactions to 9/11 from kids. - "Shelter from the Storm" is similar to "April 9th" in that it's related to real life events — in this case, the episode is a response to Hurricane Sandy. One of the two main plots involves Brain becoming overly anxious after Hurricane Sadie and being sent to a therapist (Idina Menzel), and Muffy having to stay in a shelter instead of a hotel while traveling with her parents. The other two sub-plots have Arthur fundraising for pets abandoned during the hurricane and the other involves Ladonna worried her father would be too busy working to come home for her birthday.
- "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album": Arthur and D.W.'s Grandpa Dave is getting older, and has begun to forget things. They help him remember by making a photo album of important moments in their lives. The name of the condition isn't stated in the episode, but it's implied to be Alzheimer's.
- "Arthur Takes a Stand" is about the importance of peaceful protest and standing up for your beliefs. Mrs. MacGrady is overwhelmed as the sole cafeteria worker and the school board won't provide the funding to get her some assistants. With the help of Special Guest Congressman John Lewis (who's apparently an old friend of Mrs. MacGrady), Arthur and his friends stage a sit-in and refuse to go to class until the principal guarantees they'll find the money for cafeteria assistants.
- Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone has the kids finding out that their teacher is marrying another man named Patrick. You gotta admit of how the show has the courage at that year to tackle homosexuality.
- The show had two episodes dealing with characters coping with death: "So Long, Spanky" and "Listen Up!".
