Growing Pains was about a family of five, the Seavers, who lived on Long Island, New York. Jason Seaver was the father, a psychiatrist, who had his practice at home. Maggie, his wife, was a journalist who worked for the Long Island newspaper in the first three seasons of the sitcom.

Together, Maggie and Jason raised four children. They often worried about "who would stay home with the baby" or would "be there for the kids" and the responsibility was often juggled, even fought over, between the two parents but eventually settled. The youngest, Chrissy, wasn't born until the 4th season. The oldest of the four children was Mike. A dare-devil yet charming, Mike helped Growing Pains ratings shoot sky high and quickly became the 80's pin up boy appearing on cover after cover of teen magazines. The 2nd oldest was Carol. Carol was the complete opposite of Mike. She was a straight "A" student, struggling with social obstacles at school, just like most teenage girls. Next was little Ben. Ben was a clever "con-artist" in the beginning and a little more naive during his teen years, sometimes being his brother's sidekick and other times his worst nightmare.

During the final season, the Seavers, reluctantly at first, took in a homeless boy, Luke Brower. Luke was one of Mike's students at the Community Health Clinic and quickly became one of the Seavers.