five things: calm cartoons

Anyone who spends time with young children knows the effect that television can have on them. Action packed cartoons can really get a kid "all wound up", they can also teach children negative ideas. Of course there are many great and wonderful cartoons today that offer education and positive life skills. I really encourage little guy to watch these and I can't tell you how much he has learned from them. But even with the best of cartoons there are still many that excite children. Little guy will often want to re-enact scenes from a show he has just watched. These particular shows should not be on the "before bedtime" list. Imagine being all excited about finding clues, playing adventures in your backyard, or swinging from vines in a rain forest, and then trying to lay down and sleep. It's pretty darn hard for us adults to watch an action show or movie and then go straight to bed, so we shouldn't expect our children to be able to do so.

In an effort to really crackdown on our bedtime routine here at home, I've come up with some guidelines. One of these guidelines will concern shows that little guy is allowed to watch before bedtime. I have labeled them as "calm cartoons". These are cartoons that I believe are calm and mellow. In fact, when little guy watches these, he's very attentive and calm. I plan on trying this and seeing how it'll help him to "wind down" before bed. My picks are as follows:

Angelina Ballerina...yeah, might sound a bit girly, but there are some lessons to be learned in each episode and it's very calming.

The Berenstain Bears...based on one of my favorite children's book series, this cartoon teaches wonderful lessons without all the action.

Franklin....a cute cartoon with animal characters learning how to be a good friends and good to their families.

Max and Ruby...little guy LOVES this one and I have often wondered why. But as he talks to me about this show I realize that he loves how little Max sometimes gets himself into trouble and how big sister Ruby mothers him. We brought back two DVD's full of Max and Ruby episodes from the US. We watch them a lot. :)

Oswald...the characters, the music, the story lines...everything is just calm and cool all the while teaching children how to make good choices and be nice to your friends.

If you have any calm cartoons that you enjoy, please do share! :)