Hey Hey Hey



Fat Albert aired on CBS from 1972-1985. 
The image above came from CBS website

We watch a lot of cartoons, and not just because we have a toddler in residence. The truth is Hubby and I enjoyed watching them long before we had a Little Guy to share the experience with.

Last week, we had both had about as much Bob the Builder as we could handle, so Hubby searched NetFlix Instant Watch (best thing ever, by the way) for something different. We were both pleasantly surprised to see that old Fat Albert episodes were available, and we started watching season 1.

We were soon engrossed. Memories of our childhoods (late 70’s and early 80’s) came rushing back. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids were like old friends we hadn’t seen in years. It was fun to see the old style animation and the dated fashions. It was a little surreal to see a very young Bill Cosby introducing each segment – but also very cool. He is, after all, one of those comedians who always stayed classy.

We actually didn’t even realize that Little Guy had been paying attention (as he’d been playing with his train in another part of the family room when we watched the first couple episodes), but Saturday morning he asked his Dad, “I watch more Hey Hey Hey show?”  So, I guess he liked it after all.

We were happy to oblige him, and watched a few more episodes as a family over the weekend.

One thing about the show which I’d forgotten over the years, was that each and every Fat Albert episode has a moral behind the story. “Be kind to people who are different than you”. “Don’t steal”. “Don’t Smoke”. “Your parents may have divorced, but they still love you”. “Respect the police”. “A new baby in the family is not the end of the world.”

You get the idea.

I think the reason I was surprised, is that these days, most children’s programming doesn’t contain any substantive message that I have noticed. Shows for kids are usually silly and entertaining and can even be educational, but they very rarely (if ever) offer moral guidance.

Don’t get me wrong. We’re not letting him learn the difference between right and wrong from the TV. We’re taking care of that ourselves. It’s nice, though when a show he enjoys also reinforces the beliefs we are trying to teach him.

So another generation of our family is getting to know the cool guys in the junk yard, and is maybe picking up some really good lessons along the way.

As Fat Albert would say, “Hey Hey Hey, that’s Okay!”