Mom Started Showing Her Kids '90s TV Shows & Almost Immediately Noticed 2 Changes In Their Behavior
Irina WS | Shutterstock After showing their kids '90s TV shows, one pair of moms suspects that what little ones watch during screen time might have just as big an impact on kids as the amount of screen time itself.
Screen time is one of the biggest parenting debates and a source of worry nowadays, as mounting evidence shows the negative impacts it can have on kids. But as these moms found out, what they watch might be as significant as how much time they spend watching when it comes to what's popular in kids' shows nowadays.
A mom switched her toddlers to '90s children's TV shows and noticed these 2 changes:
Lauren and Sara are moms and best friends who create social media content about parenting for Instagram and TikTok, where they're known as @mamasandmesses. Recently, they experimented with changing their kids' viewing habits, and it was so successful that it inspired other moms to do the same.
They introduced their little ones to their favorite shows from their own millennial childhoods in the '90s — shows like "Arthur" and "Rolie Polie Olie" and classics like "The Berenstain Bears" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" — and they immediately noticed some pretty surprising changes.
1. The kids had fewer meltdowns
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"As I started introducing some of my childhood shows to my toddler," one of the moms wrote in an Instagram post, "I noticed he enjoyed them but didn’t need them."
This will likely be music to the ears of many parents. Meltdowns when taking screens away are, of course, incredibly common, and doctors and experts say this is in part because so much of today's content and the platforms on which kids view it are essentially designed to be addictive.
The goal is to be super stimulating, which has its benefits. But scientists have found this also lights up the parts of the brain that are involved in addiction, and since children are not yet equipped to deal with the literal psychological pain of being ripped away from their screens and content, meltdowns ensue.
But @mamasandmesses found that switching them to old-school, pre-social media content had a totally different effect. "We’d watch an episode or two, and when it was time to turn it off, he didn’t fight me or get upset," one of the moms wrote. "He just went back to playing!"
2. The kids started sleeping better
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"Possibly the biggest thing I noticed was a change in his sleep!" the mom wrote of her son. "He was sleeping longer and better!" And they chalked this up to the slower pace of kids' TV shows back in the day. "A lot of 90s childhood shows have lower stimulation than today’s shows & movies," the moms wrote, going on to say that they also "love the messages and creative exploration a lot of 90s shows teach children."
It makes sense that they are sleeping better; those overstimulating shows make winding down difficult. In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, fast-paced, overstimulating content has been linked to sleep disruption and attention difficulties in young children.
Psychologist Caitlin Slavens told Parents, “This shift towards old school TV demonstrates that slowed-down, more deliberate storytelling helps with emotional regulation. It’s also a reminder that screen time isn’t just [about] what kids watch but how it affects them.”
All the moms added that their kids still love shows like "Bluey" and YouTuber Ms. Rachel — it's not all '90s, all the time. But the "positive outcomes" of introducing '90s kids' TV shows have made them a mainstay. Who knows? Maybe the solution to the screen time problem is simply giving your little ones an appreciation for the classics. You get a dose of nostalgia, they sleep better, and everyone wins! (Just steer clear of "Barney & Friends" for your own sanity.)
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
