Friday, July 11, 2014

The case for Saturday morning cartoons

I was always an early riser - even when I was little. I would get up early on Saturdays, creep downstairs with a blanket and watch Saturday morning cartoons until Soul Train came on and ended all my fun. At some point, my brother would come downstairs, too. We would spend several hours watching classics like Thundercats, Looney Toons and Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea.

As far as I can tell, Saturday mornings are not really a magical time for cartoons anymore. With the 24-hour cartoon networks, and video on demand, you can watch cartoons whenever you want to, so the ritual of zoning out on mindless fun for a few hours to start your weekend might not be as special as it used to be.

But we are taking back Saturday cartoons in our household. My very wise husband made the case for Saturday morning cartoons to my anti-television stance. He said, "Every child should know the joy of watching a few cartoons on Saturday morning." And he's right.

So, now my son is allowed to watch some cartoons on Saturday morning. But not live ones. We show him classics, like DangerMouse or we'll let him watch Fraggle Rock (the real show with the muppets, not the cartoon that came later). As I type this, I realize this is probably a little odd, since his friends will never be able to discuss either of those shows with him. Hmmm....maybe we should switch things up to Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

There are rules of course. In our household, you have to be dressed with your teeth brushed before watching television. We tried letting our son lounge in his pajamas, but found the argument to get his teeth brushed and real clothes on once the shows were over was too stressful, so now it is a prerequisite for watching. Turns out, nothing gets my son to get dressed and brushed faster than the promise of cartoons afterward.

Are Saturday morning cartoons a thing that has preserved in your household? What are your children watching?

3 comments:

  1. We love Fraggle Rock and the Muppet Babies.

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  2. I remember laying on the living room floor when I was little, listening to my mom read the TV guide to decide the best cartoons to watch! I wish we still held that tradition!

    mommaofthreeblog.blogspot.com

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