{"id":7160,"date":"2026-04-03T19:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=7160"},"modified":"2026-04-03T19:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:24:25","slug":"mom-swaps-out-her-babys-modern-cartoons-for-90s-classics-and-the-results-are-fascinating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/?p=7160","title":{"rendered":"Mom swaps out her baby\u2019s modern cartoons for 90s classics and the results are fascinating"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The biggest surprise? His sleep improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody needs convincing that the cartoons<\/u><\/a> of yesteryear just hit different. They are miles away from the noisy, ultra colorful, fast-paced (read: overstimulating) shows that a kid might watch today<\/a>. And, it turns out, those classic cartoons might just be superior for getting kids to actually relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a discovery made by one mom (Lauren, aka @mamasandmesses<\/u><\/a>) when she introduced her toddler<\/u><\/a> to old school shows like Bear and the Big Blue House<\/em>, Arthur<\/em>, Dragon Tales<\/em>, and more. Her grand experiment led to some pretty fascinating results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one thing, she noted that while her child enjoyed watching these programs, there was no adverse reaction when she turned them off. \u201cHe didn\u2019t fight me or get upset, he just went back to playing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps even more importantly, she noticed that his sleep improved. That\u2019s right, parents with tough-to-put-to-bed kiddos, listen up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren attributed this to the fact that, generally speaking, 90s shows had much lower stimulation, but also more heavily focused helpful lessons and creative exploration. Sure, there are still shows that do that, like Bluey<\/a><\/em>, but nowadays having a slower pace, softer color palette, and more subdued soundtrack is certainly no longer the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, experts have long warned against the drug-like \u201cdopamine rush\u201d<\/a> of contemporary cartoons, which might offer endless amounts of quick entertainment, but don\u2019t allow for kids to actually process what they\u2019re watching and continuously leave them wanting more. Almost like the creators of these shows are more interested in getting views and earning money than by actually serving a need? Nah, that\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Did you know that shows like Cocomelon are engineered to keep your baby hooked by triggering their brain\u2019s reward system?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the problem is that, now, anything with a screen can suddenly turn into a TV. This heightened accessibility means that a once seemingly innocent, totally mundane pastime can turn into a problem. But luckily, parents can control what their children are seeing their TVs, tablets, phones, and whatever else. Since many 90s classics are available to stream, these less-stimulating yet more-engaging shows are always on hand, and Lauren was kind enough to share a master list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear in the Big Blue House<\/em> \u2013 Disney+<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of the Box<\/em> \u2013 Disney+<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little Bear<\/em> \u2013 Paramount+<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Franklin<\/em> \u2013 Prime or YouTube<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur<\/em> \u2013 PBS Kids or Hulu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolie Polie Olie<\/em> \u2013 Prime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clifford<\/em> \u2013 Prime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magic School Bus<\/em> \u2013 Netflix<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berenstain Bears<\/em> \u2013 Prime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dragon Tales<\/em> \u2013 Prime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wishbone<\/em> \u2013 YouTube<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood<\/em> \u2013 PBS Kids, Hulu, or Prime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a bonus, the following show was only a book<\/a> when we were kids, but it\u2019s 90s roots make it count:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If You Give A Mouse a Cookie<\/em> \u2013 Prime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the fact that these shows might overall be better for our kids, there\u2019s also something special about rewatching these beloved shows from our childhood and seeing the positive effects that they continue to bestow. It\u2019s one of those times where we can say, \u201cThey don\u2019t make them like they used to!\u201d and it truly carries some weight. So, you know, bragging rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-octane kid\u2019s shows probably aren\u2019t going anywhere, but it\u2019s nice to know that we have options when it\u2019s time to really wind down and soothe little nervous systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, there are a few seasons of Arthur<\/em> calling my name\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The biggest surprise? His sleep improved. Nobody needs convincing that the cartoons of yesteryear just hit different. They are miles away from the noisy, ultra colorful, fast-paced<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/663244480_1418408610320126_154986861384168464_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7162,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7160\/revisions\/7162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorsidehub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}