When I was a kid I would hear parents putting down "Saturday morning cartoons" and call them "evil".  As such these parents wouldn't allow their kids to watch them.  A few days ago I was thinking about that and I had a revelation.  As an IIN graduate, I was taught "Primary Food" (which I have already written about) and I realized the connection between it and weekend cartoons for children.

   Growing up and being in school is a HUGE task.  Our kids have to keep up with grades, P.E., moody friends and "friend-enemys", tired teachers and bullies. Plus they are in the middle of discovering themselves and what it means to be a self sufficient adult.  Considering all of this, it's a wonder they get out of bed at all!

   As a Health Coach, I would say the primary food in this situation would be social life, creativity, home environment and relationships.  Maybe even more depending on the situation.  Our children go through so much every day and sometimes all we can give them is some time on the weekend to watch television.  It's a chance to breathe a little and acknowledge that you made it through another week.  This is also a chance for parents to get involved with their kid's lives and watch the cartoons with them.  Some of the story plots are quite compelling!  As a hidden bonus, this gets our kids out of bed in the morning so their routine isn't messed up!

   Children deal with sometimes as much stress as their parents do and it is important to validate that.  If we don't, it's like we are telling them that what they are feeling isn't good enough or not worth our time.  We as parents have our own healthy ways of de-stressing (or we should) and our children need that as well.  Although not every "big name" cartoon airs a new episode on Saturday morning, watching these shows with your kids is a great (and easy) way to bond with them and settle in for the night.

Eat Well,
Coach Daniel Riehn