As a 90s kid I grew up on “Rugrats”, “Wild Thornberries”, “That’s So Raven!” and “Lizzie Mcguire”. I remember how excited I was to wake up early on a Saturday morning knowing that if I didn’t get out of my bed and run and turn the TV on, I’d miss the week’s episode.

What I appreciate the most about these shows besides the humor was the life lessons that they gave me.

When I turn on the TV to watch the new Disney Channel, I am not impressed. The shows now target younger viewers and topics that are not age appropriate.

I believe embracing the dating life of a 12 old Disney star should not be taught to the young audience.

There have been moments where major health issues have been broached by Disney writers, such as self-esteem, bullying and even eating disorders.

The old Disney Channel I remember left viewers with long term messages. For example on “That’s So Raven!” they tackled big issues such as body image, racism, relationships, friendships, etc.

The show dealt with mainstream issues that affect people of all colors and nationalities. In season two, episode eight, Raven, the main character, designs a dress she ends up submitting to a fashion contest.

Well, she wins, but is told the dress can only reflect a certain body type.

When an image of the dress is placed in magazines, Raven’s face is used with another model’s body.

One of my favorite quotes from this episode is what Raven says to the editor who did all of this, “Because in case you haven’t noticed, people come in all shapes and sizes and they are all beautiful. Put that in your magazine.”

The writers of “That’s So Raven!” sought to create a show that could identify will all different types of viewers. The riters of the show said “Within every story line, we tried to make it fun to our young viewers, but leave them with something to learn from”.

Comparing the focus of such a show to say a more recent one such as Disney’s “Shake It Up” that deliberately poked fun at mainstream issues such as eating disorders.

Former Disney star herself, Demi Lovato called her former employer out on Twitter stating, “Dear Disney Channel, eating disorders are no joke … and  it might just be me but your actors are getting more thinner … I miss the educational shows like “That’s So Raven!”

It seems Disney has a lot of catching up to do. Recently, the entertainment tyrant has come into more conflict with parents, and guardians about the explicit content of their show.

Within the last four years, Disney has pulled a record of 20 episodes off air due to challenges of character.

My hope is Disney will regain it’s former glory of remaining educational, family friendly and keep teaching kids long term lessons. It doesn’t need sexual innuendos or over the top acting to do just that.

Amina Chinnell-Mateen is an opinion writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]