The title of the show is based on the expression that rich children are born with a proverbial silver spoon in their mouth, implying that they are given only the very best and work for nothing. It is also a term for family wealth. Despite the premise, the goal of the show was to disprove either of these notions.

In the pilot episode, Rick Stratton (Rick Schroder) arrives at the mansion of the father he has never met to introduce himself, move in and get to know him better. Edward Stratton III (played by Joel Higgins) epitomized the phrase "overgrown child," having never taken responsibility for anything in his whole life including his toy business named Eddie Toys, which showed in the pilot as he tried to take his mind off the fact his business associate embezzled some of his money. The elder Stratton thinks that his son is too uptight and needs to get out and have fun while he's still young. Edward's father is played by John Houseman in a recurring role as the thoughtful, well-to-do patriarch and industrialist whose demeanor starkly contrasts with Edward's and seems more similar to Ricky's (at first).

Ricky's mother Evelyn Bluedhorn (with whom Edward had a romantic relationship which led to a marriage that lasted one week, played recurringly by Christine Belford) placed him in a military boarding school after she remarried, thinking Ricky would be in the way. Needless to say, Edward was surprised to find that his short-lived marriage to Evelyn had produced a son. After originally sending Ricky back to boarding school, Edward changes his mind and decides to surprise his son by dressing up as a swamp monster to tell Ricky that he would let him live with him at the mansion.

The series centers on Ricky and his single father Edward. As an overgrown kid who owns a multinational toy company empire, Edward's mansion is stocked with arcade video games (including Tempest) and has a scale model freight train that runs throughout the house. Edward exhibits his childishness and playfulness in many behaviors; for example, he performs a little dance before playing Pac-Man when the video game plays its theme song. Stratton's personal assistant, Kate Summers (played by Erin Gray), was often the voice of reason. Kate's role added tension to the show and provided incentive for Edward to act more mature (at least sometimes). Edward and Kate had a will-they-or-won't-they relationship which led to the two dating and later becoming married in the third season.

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