5 Ways Our Favorite Childhood Cartoons Taught Us To Be Better People

It may not have seemed like it at the time, but cartoons play a huge part in crafting the adult we grow up to be.

Sitting in front of the TV for hours without our eyes leaving the screen may not have seemed very productive in our parents' eyes, but now, you can show them just how many lessons those shows have taught you.

They actually made you become a more thoughtful, well-rounded individual.

Cartoons taught us a lot about life:

1. We should be sensitive about other people's feelings.

In "Rugrats," all the babies have caring parents, who provide them with all the love they could ever wish for.

Everyone except Chuckie, that is.

In a number of episodes, it is brought up how Chuckie doesn’t have a mom like the rest of the babies, and how heartbroken he is over it.

Watching Chuckie and his experiences without a mother made us realize not everyone has what we have, and we should be grateful. We should look out for each other, and recognize another person could be hurting because they don’t have what we have.

2. We should not believe in stereotypes.

In "The Wild Thornberrys," we watched fearless Eliza as she traveled with her family and talked to animals. This show reversed the roles of what would be typical for the characters.

We saw Darwin, the chimpanzee best friend, who spoke more eloquently than most of us do. We also saw Donnie, the wild little brother, who acts more like a monkey. This showed us people (and chimpanzees) aren’t always as they are “supposed” to be.

People can be different, and that only makes life more interesting.

3. We should not be egotistical.

"Johnny Bravo" was a hilarious show, but Johnny himself was a pretty good example of what we don’t want to be.

He was completely full of himself and his “stud bod.” His dating ways typically failed him, and his ways of attracting women were not sincere.

He showed us how ridiculous arrogance can be. This taught us to stay humble, and to never allow ourselves to get to that point.

4. We should strive for diversity.

"Scooby-Doo" showed us a team of totally different people can come together to get a job done, and still manage to become best friends.

With Fred (a strong-willed leader), Velma (a woman of extreme intelligence), Daphne (always getting caught in danger) and Shaggy (who really just wants to eat and hang out with Scooby), you couldn’t get a group more different.

However, those "meddling kids" were always there for each other, and displayed how well different traits can complement one another.

5. We can take on the world.

"The Powerpuff Girls." Yes, sugar, spice and everything nice.

These three superhero sisters may have been created in a cauldron by Professor Utonium, but they were still so relatable.

There was Blossom, the level-headed leader; Bubbles, the sweet and caring one; and Buttercup, the tough one who was not afraid to get dirty. We watched three little girls fight so many evil villains, including Sedusa, Him and, of course, Mojo Jojo.

"The Powerpuff Girls" showed us no matter how small we may be, we can still fight any battle that comes our way … and win.

We can thank our childhood TV stations for showing us how to be good people. The laughs our favorite TV shows have given us, along with the life lessons, are ones we will always remember.