Are Saturday morning cartoons over?
I’m idly wondering, because we’ve lately taken to pacifying the baby with Netflix kids shows, especially The Backyardigans.
Which prompted all these questions: Since Netflix seems to be bulging with kids’ stuff, and since the normal selection problems with Netflix streaming don’t really apply to kids (since they have no taste and will watch anything—at least, my 14-month-old will), are cartoons on TV over?
Do parents just put on cartoons whenever, from Netflix or something else, any time? Do kids understand that there was once a time of scarcity, a time when cartoons came on TV and you watched them and then, after that, there wasn’t more stuff to watch?
How has the instant availability of so many shows improved children’s quality of life? The other day I loaded up a cartoon to make dinner at a restaurant tolerable. I see parents do this all the time now, guilt-free.
