What is interesting about being a parent is how it fills you with memories from when you were a child especially when it comes to 80s cartoon nostalgia. Nostalgia seems to conjure up various memories about your childhood past with regards to activities you may have participated in, places you visited, and the social experiences you had such as your first crush, prom, or your first car.  Watching your kids grow up brings nostalgia back when your memories time warp to the present with a vengeance!

May I present you with an example of how my 80s cartoon nostalgia came back with a vengeance?  No…well here goes anyway. When I sit down with my kids to watch TV (instead of sending them to the TV for a short mental break). I laugh and snicker at the cartoon shows with my kids. As soon as it is over I tell them, “That show was OK, but if you really wanted to see something you should have seen (insert ANY old TV show here).”

I have had deliberate, extensive and meaningful conversation with my boys on how ‘Transformers Prime’ is entertaining, but it can’t lick the boot of the original and yes, the real, ‘Transformers’ 80s cartoon nostalgia. This usually results in a shrug and a ‘whatever Dad’ look…rookies –  I think to myself. I guess He-Man, Thunder Cats and GI Joe were nothing either. When you take the time to think about it, it was not that the cartoons were that great (NOTE: I will NEVER admit this to my children) but it was the time in my life when I saw them. They were fresh and new, different and exciting. Being young and innocent allowed me to pretend I was any and all of those characters. I WAS Optimus Prime, Lion-O, Duke and Flint. They captured my imagination and took me into far off battles, always saving the day.

The best 80s cartoons ever to share with your kids!

So it’s interesting when I realize that my children are having that same moment right now, in front of me, as I’m sure I did with my own parents. I remember sitting with my grandmother watching the original Star Trek TV shows and being in such awe of it! My grandmother would be able to explain the events of the show when I had questions because of course she had already seen them when they originally aired and would happily sit with me as I saw the reruns. Yes, my nostalgia just hit me with that total memory recall!

So who knows where life will take your kids, but right here, right now, they are willing to actually discuss the merits of a cartoon based on what it means to them. This is so because it has captured their imagination, its new and exciting to them. I guess when it comes down to it, our children are creating the memories that will have them telling their children how whatever new cartoon or show is out is not like the one from the ‘good old days.’ So parents, let them have it, it is just their time and their turn…nah, there are no Transformers like my ‘Transformers’.

Til next time,

A Fellow Dad on His Parenthood Journey Too!