When Mom Gets Too Invested In Saturday Morning Cartoons

I swear I’m  not the only one, right?

My kids are TV junkies. I wish they weren’t, but they are. But hey! At least they watch shows like Dora the Explorer and Wonder Pets and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

But I discovered something: I actually like these shows. And I find myself getting too invested in these storylines.

I’m 24 years old and I am not ashamed to admit Special Agent Oso is one of my favorite shows.

 

How can you not love that theme song? When we come downstairs at 7:32, I’m more upset than the kids that we missed Oso! They have to cheer me up. “It’s okay, Mom. Here, let’s go watch it on your computer.”

And Handy Manny. Don’t get me started with that show. Every episode I’m sitting there dissecting the storyline: “Why on earth does Manny have to go to Kelly’s Hardware Store for EVERYTHING? He doesn’t have nails? He’s got singing, dancing hammers but no nails? And why have I yet to see any money exchanged for goods or services? No invoices? No ledgers? Manny is getting ripped OFF! And is there no other handyman in Sheetrock Hills? They call him for everything no matter what Manny is planning to do or whether it’s his day off.”

Um, yeah. You can say I go deep with the cartoons. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see when Special Agent Oso comes on.

What’s your favorite kids show? It’s okay, you can tell me. :)

Comments

  1. That is so funny! I watch Curious George with Zaria. Although this is not a cartoon, we are Hip Hop Harry fans. I sing his songs all the time.

  2. Tara! You’re most definitely the only one hypnotized by those shows…I personally LOVE handy manny! I really like watching the Backyardigans too. I wish i had their imagination!

  3. First, my husband gets on me about dissecting the kids shows. I can’t help it. There are always these plot holes that leave me with unanswered questions. Like Dora’s cousin Diego has his own show. How is he old enough to be an animal rescuer and drive a jeep? Who gave him a license? And why does the baby jaguar wear a helmet and life jacket when they’re in a boat? Who put that on him? LOL
    Since we’re a Nick Jr family I love Nihao Kai-Lan, Jack’s Big Music Show, Wonder pets, The Backyardigans, Olivia and Team Umizoomi. I want them while claiming that I’m just viewing with my son. LOL I watch Ben 10 Ultimate Alien just for me.
    .-= Rae´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – The Third =-.

    • @Rae – Dora leaves me with all kinds of questions too. In one episode, Dora left her homework at home so she called Boots (ON HER CELL PHONE!!!) and asked him to bring it to her. What? Why is she stepping out of class to call a monkey friend (who looked like he was chilling in his own loft – where are Boots’ parents?)? Too many questions, I tell ya.

  4. Bwahahaha!!!! I make fun of my husband for this same type of behavior. It’s even worse because he’s a car guy so we watch Roary the Racing Car and he always analyzes how unrealistic it is that a race car would have that type of engine etc, not caring about the fact that the cars are talking. His reasoning is we’ve already accepted that part as fake, but the rest of it should be more realistic. So I ask you, if Boots can be a talking monkey, why can’t he have his own apartment too? LOL!
    Oh, and I love the Backyardigans. Their songs are hot!

    • @Aja – In another episode, Boots had to find his daddy, who’s an architect. So I’m like, if they have “architect money” they need to hire a nanny or something instead of letting Boots run all over the place. LOL. I can’t stop trying to make sense of it!

  5. haha, i love “the fresh beat band.” i get so excited when there are new episodes!
    .-= Yakini´s last blog ..Breastfeeding Updates THANK YOU to Two Awesome Bloggers =-.

    • @Yakini – Not Fresh Beat Band! My kids just discovered that one and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about that. LOL

  6. Ummmmm, ok. I guess I’ll admit that I watch my kid’s favorite cartoons. I like Peep and the Big Wide World (although I’m not sure it comes on anymore since they recently turned Discovery Channel into the Hub).

    I love Moose A. Moose and Zee. I know it is so corny, but I sing all the songs even when the television isn’t on.

    I feel less bad that

  7. My son is 20 months, so we watch a lot of PBS Sprout…I personally adore Chica the squeaking chicken, though I guess that’s not technically a show. Though my favorites are the Backyardigans and Wonderpets. I like the singing, probably more than my son…haha he has to cover my mouth…his way of saying “hush ma!”

  8. On another note, are anyone else’s kids afraid of the Moose A. Moose song “I Don’t Like Candy Corn”? My kids run out of the room and hide uder me when they see it.

  9. I ask myself ALL THE TIME, how is Diego old enough to drive and be an animal rescuer? Is he a teenager? We see his sister, Alicia, but no parents. Do they even have parents? IDK, but my son loves it.

  10. My son watches entirely too much TV, but our regular rotation includes The Little Einsteins, The Backyardigans, The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Angelina Ballerina, The Goodnight Show and Handy Manny. Honestly, I love them all, but particularly Backyardigans. That show is seriously BRILLIANT. Amazing plotlines, wonderful original music, hilarious dialogue. Every episode features a different genre of music and they did an episode about cowboys using Klezmer (traditional Jewish) music. Like, how hilarious is that???
    .-= Elita @ Blacktating´s last blog ..The Landscape of Breastfeeding Support =-.

  11. ha ha ha! i too, pick apart shows. but i’d have to say that My fave to watch is Little Bill. i wish they’d come up with more episodes c uz i know most of them verbatim. secondly, i love yo gabba gabba. their lessons are easy for kids to understand and the songs are super cute! on that show, im more confused by a grown man in spandex pants and a furry kangol than the crazy characters, lol

    • @Pink Lady – Yo Gabba Gabba still scares me. And why is it called Yo Gabba Gabba? WHAT are those characters? I’m so confused!!!

  12. Ashley T. says:

    Thanks for the laugh as I now know I’m not alone in reading too much into the characters! This just crossed my mind as a great concern the other day: is she (18. mo old) stuck already, maybe I should turn this off?! NickJr is the fav but I must admit, being at home all day, in times of online school work and just needing adult conversation-Hello NickJr!! Especially now that it’s went from summer fever to freezing overnight, we won’t be spending much time outside.

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  14. My husband is the one who seriously dissects our sons cartoons. I have to tell him to calm down. LOL He can’t stand Dino Dan. He swear that kids parents has to get him some professional help. We have to catch ourselves when we see we are have real conversations about whats going on in these shows. We need a life!

  15. Oh I forgot, my husband confessed today that he watched a few episodes of The Fresh Beats and some other shows on Youtube while he was at work. He said he was having so much fun singing he hoped no busted him in his office. Too funny. So sad.