> What part of Salad Fingers could the author possibly be referring to that "looks and feels like a children's show"?

Between the Hays Code (1968) and the Simpsons (1989), most Americans had no exposure to adult animation. So even in 2004, for a subsantial number of adults, animation meant children's television.

Also, a lot of 90s kids' television played with the boundaries of what is and isn't disturbing.