Watching or doing things you liked as a kid can help to indulge your inner child. By connecting with your inner child, you can feel more creative, imaginative, and joyful. Close your eyes and envision what you were like growing up. Now, give that small version of yourself some love and join us as we reflect on some of our favourite childhood tv shows!

Scarlett: Scooby-Doo, The Power Puff Girls, and Mona the Vampire were three shows I felt particularly drawn to as a kid. All featuring girl characters who helped solve mysteries or crimes, I think these shows really helped instil a sense of female empowerment in me. I also think it was inspiring for me to see the main characters in these shows promoting teamwork and community support. I was a rather independent kid and I think I had internalized the societal message that it’s weak to ask for help or lean on others, so I feel like these shows really encouraged me to challenge that notion.

Josh: Scrubs. It was a show in the early 2000s about a group of young doctors working at a hospital for the first time. It had a great deal of comedy - which I love. But it also had really strong stories of human growth and they weren't afraid to talk about touchy issues.

Simran: Growing up my favourite show was Spongebob Squarepants. There was a point when I got older that I stopped watching the show, I rediscovered it randomly on Netflix on a day that wasn’t really going well for me and watching it brought me so much joy. Spongebob taught me that even when life gets tough you can find a funny laugh to get through it and that being an adult doesn’t mean we have to be serious all the time. I actually had a spongebob cake for my 25th birthday that said what’s funnier than 24… 25. This was taken from a scene where Spongebob and Patrick were in driving school and couldn’t sit still or stop laughing. I also carry a spongebob keychain with me as a reminder to take a moment to smile and to find joy in everyday life.

Michelle: The show that I loved to watch was Mr. Dressup. It was such a creative show! There was one artist that would use plasticine while telling the story and I loved that so much I started copying her! I still play with plasticine and modelling clay and sometimes I even keep my creations. Children’s shows have the best crafts!

Kyle: I’m going to cheat the answer because I can’t say that any one show mattered more than others but, in looking back, I was surprised to find that I was basically raised on TVOntario. Starting with early education like Polka Dot Door and Sesame Street, then Dr. Who, Black Adder and Prisoners of Gravity through my teens, and even now I’ll tune in to watch some show about Victorian bakers or the history of Rococo art… for some reason.
Besides the supreme importance of introducing me to British television, I think in general we underestimate the value of having screen time where we (and especially children) aren’t being bombarded with ads.

Elora: Art Attack was a show that I used to watch as a kid. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s a show where the host would teach you an art and crafts activity and then at the end of the episode he would create a life-size art piece out of random materials. Watching this show brought me a lot of joy and helped to spark my creativity. I learnt how to think outside the box and see things from a different view!

Heather: I enjoyed shows growing up where there were many strong female roles being portrayed such as The Facts of Life, Alice, Laverne and Shirley and even the Brady Bunch. After those - I really got into Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Loved the empowerment that these demonstrated and likely have influenced me throughout my life.