This Is Where Didi's OBSESSION Started... 

I would have to say that I'm on Stu's side on this one. Tommy is only an infant, most of Didi's worries are premature. Plus Tommy had an artistic outlet... The wall.

I love that that Didi’s obsession with child psychology is kept through the show and the sequel. In season 8, episode 10a, Didi decides to go back to school to get her degree in Child development, and in All Grown Up! she is a child psychologist. They kept that through line CONSISTENT for well over a decade. Meanwhile SpongeBob can barely keep lore between seasons.

"Tommy doesn't have a proper artistic outlet." That's actually kind of funny since Tommy became an amateur film director in the All Grown Up series. I wonder if that was intentional.

I feel like people like Stu having grown up in an era where men (and sometimes even women) aren't supposed to show feelings, he probably doesn't even know how to express his feelings let alone talk about them so in times like that it probably does take another person to get through to him

I always thought Didi tried too hard to parent “by the book” rather than using her best judgement. Yet again a lot of the Rugrats parents were bonkers to me.

Episodes like this are some of my favorite Where Tommy goes on a mini adventure causing all sorts of chaos with no one the wiser. Little dialogue from Tommy, dialogue from the adults and most of the story told through animation and music

When we consider that Tommy was born premature it makes a lot of sense that Didi is extremely concerned with keeping his brain development in check. Most premature babies born in 90s america end up being completely fine, but I can see why she's so anxious at the possibility that he is not growing normally.

Tommy is the smartest of all the babies. He comes up with amazing plans , plus hes also the bravest . I love in the episode we're they try to help Dill walk and all remember when they started walking.Tommy remembers seeing chuckie and got up grabbing the couch and started walking.Tommy also had a little bit of hemophobia after he cut himself for the first time , but overcame it

One of my favorite quotes from the show is Betty telling Didi that Dr. Lipschitz isn’t all he’s cracked up to be because he told her that Phil and Lil were actually just gas pains.

Rugrats was definitely the flagship show before SpongeBob. When you talk about 90s Nick the first show everyone thinks of is Rugrats.

That doctor is a terrible therapist who sleeps through their clients therapy

I DO agree with you that Didi overreacted to Tommy drawing on the walls by IMMEDIATELY assuming there was something wrong, rather than interpreting this as her son enjoys being creative and maybe getting him some crayons and a sketch pad to encourage this creativity in a more positive way. We see later in Tommy's life in All Grown Up and even when Tommy is a baby that he is very creative and enjoys immersing himself artistically and finding creative ways out of situations and problems. That is NOT a bad trait to have. I have this, as well. Didi's assertion that her son drawing on walls might hold more weight if we saw him doing this MULTIPLE TIMES, even after being told by his mother that this was not appropriate behavior. She saw ONE instance of him coloring on walls and immediately takes him to a quack of a shrink.

My mom never liked Rugrats because it would stress her out. Now watching it as an adult, I see her point.

I often saw these episodes as an insight to the pros and cons of the how the adults parent their kids. Didi is someone who reads too much into psychology and baby books and seems to worship them.

"Le Pétomane" was the stage name of Joseph Pujol, a French... _"flatulist"._ "Pétomane" is a word he invented that could be roughly translated as "fartomaniac". Mr. Pujol could apparently imitate the sounds of cannon fire and thunder, play the ocarina (with the aid of a rubber tube), and even put out candles from yards away. Meanwhile, _Dr._ Lepetomane, child psychologist, seems like he's really just full of hot air.

So much irony and subtle background info in the episode. The insight into Angelica being a bully aside…The juxtaposition of Dede following the psychiatrist parenting trends to be a better mom while we watch the constant negligence from ALL of the parents on the show 😂. When they show Dede discover Tommy’s misbehavior, she’s literally walking around with her nose in a book instead of actually watching her baby. Stu is constantly obsessing over creating toys to make kids he doesn’t know happy yet misses so much of what his son does because he’s in the basement or watching sports! Back to Drew’s family. I think most of us attribute Angelica’s bully mean girl ways to charlotte because she seems like a mean girl boss that is obsessed with money and work but this episode revealed it is nerdy superficial Drew who’s the culprit. Love this show so much. Great video!

Of course, you also have to make mention of the fact Didi is equally obsessed with Dr. Lipshitz, and that he seems about as effective as this one is.

"he doesn't have the proper artistic element to express himself" You mean like a piece of paper and a couple markers?

Speaking of Didi, You should also make a video about the episode of Rugrats where Didi begins weaning Tommy and wouldn't let him drink from his bottle, Season one episode, Weaning Tommy.

Looking back, I now know why my mom laughed when she heard them say Dr Lipshitz

There was this one episode where Dr. Lipshitz Came to visit, Stu and Grampa went out and the doctor alone with Tommy and Chuckie. I look back at that and be like not just anybody can be left alone with kids, not even a doctor.

Didi's obsession comes from worrying about what others think about her parenting.

When he talked about how bad Drew was I realized that Angelica gets her mean streak from both her dad and Aunt Miriam (her bossiness is from her mother). And according to All Grown Up, Stu reveals that Drew even stole his girlfriend when they were older. I also realize why Stu often resists his brother’s advice even when it’s helpful.

Yeah DeeDee went from 0 to 1000000 real fast. It was honestly insane that that she didn’t connect that most of not all those books would refer to children at LEAST of two and a half- I HOPE. But then the whole psychology thing is actually very new- and in the 90s, although it had been around for a while, was just BARELY crawling out of the stigma that crazy people needed therapists. She meant well but it shows a caricature of how little anyone understood it as learning about it was also sketchy and missing puzzle pieces. So with that in mind- it brings us to the doctor… for me it brings to mind a very unfortunate personal experience with those kinds of doctors because this guys actions mirrored exactly what I went through. Long story short- get as much info on someone you plan to see- or better get more than one doctor (you can literally ask for numbers in your area). Get a good consultation and thanks to the internet, online reviews of customers to get one that can and will be more than happy to help you.

I always just thought Didi was a fretful mother mixed in with being a fuddy duddy but this video gives me a new perspective!

When I used to draw in the walls as a kid, my mom actually encouraged it. We both ended up drawing an Elmo's World mural in our living room. We were both very happy and close as we bonded. Best moments of my early childhood memories I could remember. 💕👩‍👦

Not the first time Stu talked about his issues with his brother. In the Tommy's birthday episode he went into a breakdown during the puppet show.

One of my favorite things about season 1 Rugrats is how much of the episodes are just Tommy wandering around getting into shenanigans and having hardly any dialog.

Your intro made me cry happy tears. I love seeing a creator that never forgets that the fans are the reason the work is extra special.

"the pain you hold on to because you feel like you're a burden or some one else is doing worse than you" damn did that resonate. I held in to much for to long. in 2022, I lost my mother, 3 months later I broke down at work. My 2 (now ex friends) were mistreating me and asked me "why wouldnt I let them in" and when I expressed my pain from years of emotional abuse from my mom, they belittled me. I was on the verge of unaliving myself because I was also about to lose my home. I cut them out of my life because of their toxic behavior.

One thing I also really appreciated about Rugrats, especially considering the era it came from, is the way the show never pitted the women against each other. Charlotte, Betty, and DiDi were very different as people and mothers, but ultimately were good friends who supported each other and accepted each-others differences.When they did disagree, it was based around parenting, not surface-level cattiness and high school levels of mean-girl passive-aggressiveness.

Stu is right, Tommy is one year old its not a crisis if he draws on the walls kids always do that. No matter how many books and tapes and media you can get on child care, there is NO easy answer to raising kids. Its a learning experience and as long as you listen to your kids youll be okay. When you think about it, this was a stab at therepy because you spend alot of money talking to them and its like I could have figured that out without paying for the quacks speedboat >.< Rewatching the episode now it totally opened my mind to the characters and the vibe of the show.

I know Didi could be a lot when it comes to knowing what’s best for her children, but she really has best intentions for all the little Rugrats in the series which makes her the best adult in the series next to her husband, Stu, and father-in-law Lou pickles.

I think what I noticed most about this episode during your retrospective is how much 90s pop culture didn't get or want to get therapy. Growing up I saw a therapist due to early childhood trauma and I remember being kind of ashamed of it. I have always laughed at the fact that I grew up to be a therapist. Still looking back at 90s media I have to say I have no trouble realizing why I was ashamed of going as a kid. Your analysis was very well done and you seem like a real kind dude. Keep doing what you do. One other random point on the topic of childhood developmental stages. You mentioned relating to Rug Rats because you were born in 94. This totally clicked for me. I initially clicked best with Doug and then Hey Arnold but I was born in 86. Neat.

I actually drew on the walls as a kid because of this episode. I remember being really curious to how my mother would react. It didn't go well 😅. I can draw on my own walls now though 😂

Honestly, even as a kid I've wanted to slap Didi (as did my mom but as as kid I never understood why). Speaking now a days as an adult, I can understand my younger self. "Tommy doesn't have a proper artistic outlet" Yeah. Every parent will say 'the wall's an outlet' or 'Anything the baby gets their hands on is the artistic outlet'. Didi is just unhealthily obsessed with Dipshit's book. Don't get me wrong, baby books can work, but the way Didi uses them is like she's reading a religious book and is close to erecting a golden idol. [Granted, the real life reason behind this was because the writers wanted to take a shot at Klaskey who was a new mom and was heavily involved in those kinds of books xD] But, in honestly, parenthood isn't something you can just read a cult manual about, it's always about trials and learning along the way, yes the books can help, but it's all on the parent. Ya know?

"...an underdeveloped Psycho-Kinetic gland" Psycho-kinesis: The act of moving matter with ones mind. See also 'Telekinesis' Didi wants Tommy to be an Xman.

So as an adult, the fact that the psychiatrist is named Lepetomane is one of my favorite in-jokes in any kids cartoon. He's named after a literal "fartist" from the early 1900s named Joseph Pujol who actually farted songs in peoples faces for money under the stage name Lepetomane which translated to 'The Fartomaniac' (where's his biopic?!). Also, I love when you really go in deep with individual episodes. It makes me go back to re-watch them with a new POV.

How dare they lock up your video in copyright jail 😭😭

The Rugrats had a way of representing the Boomer Generation and their varying parenting styles. Didi was a bit neurotic and was dependent on child rearing books published by child psychologists. Stu was laid back and took more of a natural, instinctive approach to parenting, when he wasn't fixated on his inventions. Drew and Charlotte were your typical detached yuppy parents who provided monetary support for Angelica, but almost no emotional support, and they were borderline neglectful. Betty and Howard seemed like decent parents, even if their personalities were caricatures of the progressive household with Betty being the masculine one in the marriage. Chaz had a crippling anxiety disorder and his anxiety influenced Chucky to be anxious and fearful. The Carmichals were really the most normal, well rouned family on the show, and they were the best example of middle class American Suburbia in the 1990s. I'm an older millennial and I loved this show growing up. Watching it as an adult, I can really appreciate the backstories of the adults and watch the show with a lot more context that my child brain missed or misunderstood.

I used to love Rugrats a ton when I was 14 and 15! Other kids would ridicule me saying I was too old for it but I didn’t care, nothing was going to keep me away.

I think I'd have rather seen a prequel series about the adults as young kids instead of All Grown Up

I've been watching you since your 1st Dark Side of Hey Arnold episode. Hey Arnold was one of my favorite Nick shows (also loved Rugrats, Catdog, Rocko, etc). I love getting my nostalgia bone scratched. I always look forward to your videos. You deserve the recognition for all the incredibly hard work you do. Thank you.

I'm definitely on Stu's side. Tommy is doing what most of if not all 1 year olds do. This show was my childhood, it was the first cartoon I was exposed to in the early 90's and seeing the show as an adult now makes me pick up on adult jokes that were cleverly, and subtly put in the episodes. One in particular was in the episode where Tommy sheds his clothes.

One thing that frustrated me was that even before and after Lipshitz comes to their house and his methods don't work on Tommy & Chuckle, Didi stills worships the ground he walks on and follows his work even though it doesn't work on the Rugrats.

So excited for this video!! Lately I’ve been deep diving back into all my childhood throwback shows, and it’s been giving me the biggest boost of serotonin that I needed thank you for your videos!! You are extremely loved by you’re subscribers please don’t give up on this passion you have❤

Stu pickles "popping off "is hilarious😂😂😂😂

It's pretty sad that $250 is pretty reasonable for an appointment with a presumably well-known psychologist, he has books published, when today would've been like $250,000

In hindsight, Didi seems to be a critique of that kind of 90s parents that did everything according to parenting books. I think it was like a trend of that era, and you can find some parodies of that in other shows, like Daria.

I just hope that the writers of the new Rugrats reboot on Paramount+ will have DD go back to school to earn her child psychiatry degree since her most true talent is taking care of the children even the kids are her friends which is basically her and her husband Stu’s daily job.

Deedee definitely feels like one of those forward-thinking moms that would give her kids mental health days. She's definitely not perfect in everything she knows, but she's trying to learn and her over-eagerness as a new mom is great to see. Gotta love loving parents who still manage to have personalities!

I like how Dede pays more attention to Stu's breakthrough then the actual psychologist.

I believe Stu holding on to those pent up frustrations and possible resentment towards Drew is something that I believe Stu should look into resolving. Keeping them bottled up or hidden away is honestly just going to hurt both brothers in the long run. Stu more than Drew from what we have seen and this episode shows.

12:49 A chili dog, two Cokes, and a box or Raisinettes? HELL YEAH!

10:11 The Agency that was running the Focus Group (Snow, Steele & Trickum) originally appeared in an earlier Season 1 Episode: Baby Commercial (S1E4A)

Thanks! I love your Rugrats videos! Really takes me back to my childhood.

Been a fan for a while and love your content and the research you put into your videos. Especially “The Dark Side of” and sharing in the collective nostalgia! ☺️

It’s funny listening to someone younger break down episodes of shows I grew up on. Keep up the fantastic work, and look forward to a new February Patreon

Shawn, I love all of your videos! Your kind, calm voice discussing the haunting content of my childhood is always a delight

Great video my dude as always and I am sorry about what happened to your daughter glad your good and she’s good stay safe

Did's best solution for Tommy drawing on walls is to just give him a coloring book or a sketchpad to draw in lol

One of my friends from church has a nephew who spent some time in the NICU and I'm glad the little boy is doing good now.

When I was a kid I never understood why she always trusted a stranger to tell her what to do with her own kids.

Going back and watching these episodes again really makes you relate more and more to Stu.

I appreciate what you said here about all the characters. It was just proof that they were thinking concepts through ahead of time. In a different note, I was born extremely early myself and was in the NICU for four months. Good news is you and your daughter made it through that challenging time and she is very proud of a dad like yourself. It all works out in the end. Really enjoy your videos. ❤

Tommys asmr is red river valley which im convinced he learned from his mom bc she's hummed and sung it b4 in episodes🤩💖 Love yr vids! Wish i had a million accounts so i could sub to you on all of them!

I really loved how Tommy and chuckle proved that dr lipschitz isn't perfect

First of all thanks for the vids man glad to see you grow

The lady has had an obsession with him since the beginning of the series! Remember when she pulled out a Lipschitz book on the premiere?

11:55 i was born in the mid 90s. I remember "smoking or non smoking?"

You're so wholesome bro. In terms of nostalgic content, I really appreciate how you delve into the details of our childhood shows.

When I was a little kid back in the late 80s and 90's, I had to go to child psychologists ALL the time for my traumas sustained by an ex parent at the time. Won't go into details but I did see this episode back when it was basically new and I didn't even think it was odd that they'd be going in to talk to someone, since from ages 3-6 or so, that had been my life a couple days every week. I did think it was a little odd that Tommy had only assumedly drawn on the walls once before Didi became alarmed, but I think I may have thought that this had been a recurring thing before they took him in, or there'd been a time skip. I don't really remember what I thought about how the story resolved though, as seeing adults break down talking to therapists was so normal. I probably just went on with my day tbh. Looking back now though, I can see how much this episode not only stood out, but how they followed up on it in later episodes and even the all growed up series- With Didi continuing her interest in child psychology and later became a child psychologist. As for me, it somehow took them til I was 18 to figure out I was autistic- ASD-ADHD-Exec Dysfunction, mixed with anxiety and PTSD. Maybe it just became easier to diagnose by the time I was older? Who knows! Sure took an episode like this to get me to think back on how even an episode that showcased therapy (intended for) the kid made me not feel as weird about having to go all the time so young. Maybe it normalized it for other kids going through stuff like me?

I think Didi's obsession with lipshitz is just a play or parody on how many first time parents read a ton of child development and child psychology books and take it's word as law. While I'm pretty sure they are poking fun at that type of parenting and I think Lipshitz name is more than just a little tongue in cheek. He's a fraud, he's taking advantage of first Time parents worries, probably doesn't have much real hands-on experience. And he's spewing shit out of his lips.

This episode cracks me up every time I watch it. Mainly when Tommy is riding the waxing thing and he hits the two people with huge butts 🤣🤣

The problem with Didi is that she seems to lack any real confidence to parent her OWN way and instead chooses to look to others for "help." The ironic thing here is the so-called "experts" she looks up to has no clue how to actually HANDLE children, as proven when Dr. Lipschitz visited the Pickles' home

Kids draw on the walls it’s what they do everybody’s done it

Wow, I am grateful that somebody saw beyond the tropes the parents portray and actually made me think better on the parents in Rugrats. And yes this guy got his Psychology degree from some two-day degree college XD Hope you have an amazing week and you and your family take care.

17:55 Oh my gosh I never made that connection. That explains Dede over worrying behavior

Funny enough, he didn't get into the meta-context of the show's production. Apparently, all the animators at Klasky-Csupo pretty much hated Arlene Klasky. She wanted the show to be something closer to a Nick Jr. show. She hated that Angelica was a bratty bully character. And she kept quoting child psychology to people to try and get things changed. And the animators not only ignored her, but outright used Didi as a form of parody to make fun of her. Nick Animation was such a boys club in the 90's that, apparently, in the men's bathrooms, they had Rule34 of Didi in full dominatrix gear. There's also that one infamous Rugrats 'storyboard jam' that I don't want to get into on a YT comment. Suffice to say, the staff didn't have a very positive opinion on psychology at the time.

I watch your hey arnold videos to go to sleep at night (not because they are boring) but your voice is comforting. At 34 i really look forward to these throwback videos. thank you for helping me and my mental health Shawn. Im in a dark ass place rn, and you’re definitely keeping me going. Thank u

As a child, I always thought that Reptar was the mascot of the Rugrats.

Thanks for all the great content from my childhood. Your research is actually very good. So, thanks!

Subscribed!!! As a 90s baby myself, you’re doing a great job!

12:29 Stu and a pillow change colors

Yeah, I remember Golden Corral having a smoking section.

The title alone PULLED me into this video I’m excited 😅

Can't believe I've watched many of your videos and haven't subscribed yet. Well, I'm gonna subscribe because you sure deserve it.

I always figured Didi was the way she was because she was a first time mom and also in one episode they revealed that Tommy is a premie and was in the NICU so that probably scared everyone and Didi just wants to make sure that Tommy is as healthy as can be

I don't comment much on vids and I never knew it had such a significant impact on a video's performance, I'll at least leave a "thank you" to all my fav videos. Thank you ❤

I'd personally recommend checking out the episode "Sour Pickles" because the line "It's our right as babies to watch cartoons" should serve as an obvious hint on what led to the stigma of animation as a children's medium, because it did take place during that particular time period when it started to enter the scene, mainly due to the rise in television and the Interstate Highway System literally paving its way into the scene, especially since kids unfortunately aren't old enough to drive yet.

The janitor's machine looks like a floor buffer to me.

I recently found your channel and have been hooked ever since! Thanks Shawn.

Didi can be over barring from time to time. I mean Tommy was drawing on the wall because no one was watching him

Jesus Christ that office guy flirting with the secretary was explicit I see why my parents were always upset at the adult humor in cartoons

I always loved Tommy since the beginning. I have to say that even as a youngster I understood the 'Dr. Hyde' reference and found that particularly funny. I'd prefer a Jeckyl working on me if they were a surgeon. If I saw that on a surgeon's door, I'd be running.

12:44 - One of my absolute favorite conversations between background characters.

"Tommy takes the ball out of super blaster mans chest" *CORE MEMORY UNLOCKED*

The man's not a psychiatrist, he's a quack. He thought Dil was a girl and the twins were gas. (According to Betty)

I always enjoy these video's!!! Thank you so much for making them. They definitely hit us in the feels who watched them as a kid!!!

I usually wait a few videos before hitting subscribe but this is the second one I’m watching and the sweetness of this creator just made me have to hit subscribe. Also the videos all look interesting and I like what I’ve seen so far 😊