Sometimes, I find myself wondering if we’d all still have so much love for the '90s if the Internet didn’t exist to remind us of all the kitschy glory that used to be part of our everyday lives. But then, after I’ve been consumed by thoughts of slap bracelets and Skip-Its and brightly packaged food with a bunch of preservatives and artificial coloring, and I think, yes, yes we would. The ingredients may have been complicated and confusing and impossible to pronounce, but life itself was simpler back then. My biggest nineties problems were getting home in time for Beverly Hills: 90210 (obvi, there was no DVR, remember), and deciding between Backstreet Boys and N'Sync. (Just kidding, that one’s easy: BSB 4 lyfe.)
That said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how much my '90s past comes out in my parenting. I think it’s normal to be nostalgic for our youth, but seriously, you guys, this goes a little beyond nostalgia. We had it pretty good back then, and I think it’s worth celebrating. Of course, awesome parents can come from any era, though I think those of us who love the '90s are pretty lucky with what we have to work with — and our kids are lucky too. For example: