Nothing can immerse you into your childhood like cartoons you watched growing up.

Cartoons are often considered to be the main entertainment for children. Providing hours of silly characters in impossible situations that make us laugh.

But is that all?  

I now realize that cartoons teach children important core value lessons.

Cartoons have the ability of teaching core values unsuspectingly to its young viewers.

In Tom and Jerry, one of the biggest value takeaways is to never quit. Tom continues to fail in catching Jerry, but he never gives up. Tom comes back again and again with new ideas on how to catch Jerry. He fails once, twice, three times and keeps coming back. Staying persistent in his desire to move forward.

Respect, friendship, and responsibility can be considered some of the most important core values you learn while growing up.

“Growing up I watched a lot of Spongebob. Patrick and Spongebob taught me how important friendship is,” Dallastown senior Aiden Keja said.  “No matter how many arguments SpongeBob and Patrick had they always ended up besties at the end”.

I grew up watching Phineas and Ferb.

I remember racing into my living room after school, settling onto the coach with my juice box and watching the show.

I was mesmerized for hours watching Phineas or Ferb build roller coasters, ski resorts, or time machines. The show taught me how important creativity is.

“I watched The Amazing World of Gumball as a kid. Darwin and Gumball taught me how going on adventures is fun with friends,” senior Max Milner said. 

The Amazing World of Gumball follows Gumball and his best friend Darwin around their home city of Elmore, California. The duo often find themselves exploring the city with other characters involved in the show.

The show illustrates how being adventurous is an important part of childhood.

There are many more cartoons that teach kids important lessons.

What I’ve learned as I look back is that cartoons weren’t just for entertainment. They helped me and a whole generation of young children learn and grow.