MARK MY WORD; PARENTS LONG FOR A 'TOON-LIKE LIFE WHERE CLEANING IS A SNAP FOR EVERYONE

Saturdays just wouldn't be the same without cartoons.

Our children would find it hard to get up in the morning without their favorite 'toons.

Things have changed in cartoon land over the last several decades.

Today's kids don't relate to Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, they tune in to Rugrats and something called SpongeBob.

In the world of cartoons, even a sponge wearing square pants can get top billing.

I grew up with cartoons featuring dogs and cats. But today's kids view a new breed, a cartoon character that is part dog and part cat and always in trouble.

As parents, we're forced to watch cartoons. At least, that's what we tell other adults.

Actually, being a parent is a great excuse to watch the adventures of baby Tommy Pickles without feeling the least bit guilty.

You could be spending your Saturday grooming your grass or remodeling your basement. But that wouldn't be any fun, not when the Saturday morning cartoons beckon.

Family-counseling types constantly tell parents that they should take an interest in their children's activities.

That's exactly what we are doing when we sit down to watch those Saturday 'toons.

With cable television, there are plenty of cartoons from which to choose.

Of course, you can't spend all day watching cartoons.

At some point, you have to make breakfast, and find your children's lost shoes, socks and assorted clothing.

Becca's and Bailey's clothes never seem to stay in their bedroom drawers.

I've never seen emptier drawers. Their clothes are forever trapped under foot, under the bed, and behind assorted furniture.

Our children love to play school, but they don't see any use for a janitor to tidy up the place.

We find them playing school all over the house, even at the top of the stairs.

Our 7-year-old, Becca, loves to teach her kid sister. Translation: She likes to boss around Bailey.

But Bailey, who is fast approaching age 4, often does her own thing in the imaginary classrooms of our home.

She also seems to be totally enthralled by those Rugrats. She has several tapes of the cartoon gang.

Becca finds it hard sometimes to compete with Rugrats.

But that shouldn't be surprising. It's tough to compete with a gang of cartoon kids who are always spilling things and making a mess.

Pre-schoolers can relate to the mess.

Of course, the nice thing about cartoon homes is that cleaning is a breeze.

Never mind that the kids turned the living room into a swimming pool, it will be restored to normal within a few frames.

I wish it was that easy in real life.

Unfortunately, we can't clean up our messes that easily.

Just getting rid of the clutter is a tough task, particularly if you have to recess Becca's "school" just to get to the laundry.

Just thinking about the task is enough to make us want to jump right into one of those cartoons, CatDog and all.

Then, our children might tune us in, if only to see how we clean up the mess.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.