In our childhood, the only thing we used to watch was cartoon series and this tradition is continues even today, though there are many new platforms to watch it on. But I would like to highlight the influence of cartoons on children and the minor changes we can make to save children from inculcating boorish behaviour.
To explain to you the cheek by jowl relationship between cartoons and children, I would like to cite a small example of mine. When I was a child, I used to watch Shinchan. It was the only cartoon that I used to watch during my childhood and by watching it, I inculcated the mischievousness of Shinchan and the word “Mom”. Though I am mature enough now, I still address my mother with “Mom”. It might sound stupid, but I wanted to highlight the effect of cartoons on children. Cartoons can change the cognitive behaviour of children.
In 1997, 653 students in Japan were hospitalised due to epilepsy. After investigating into the matter, it was found that the reason for epilepsy was the 38th episode of Pokemon, a well-know anime. After this, the Japanese decided to ban that particular episode to prevent any further cases of epilepsy.
I would like to highlight a few negative effects of cartoons on the malleable minds of children.
One of the major changes that cartoon cause in children is language, which they use in their daily life. Nowadays, there is excessive use of foul language not only in adult content, but also in cartoons. These words are then inculcated by children. They are young and they learn words much faster. Using this language at an early age can stay for a longer time in children and can make one abusive and vulgar.
Secondly, it makes the child more aggressive. Many parents complain about their children indulging in fights and sometimes, these can result in a serious injury. I would like to mention one thing: whatever we see in the cartoons, like falling of a hammer on the head, jumping from high buildings or breaking bones can be hilarious to watch but when it comes to the real world, these things can even result in death.
Thirdly, cartoons promote unsocial behaviour. Children can pull stunts that are shown in cartoons, and this may be unacceptable to society because there are some cartoons that contain the wrong message for children and this might leave a long-term impact on the mind of the children.
Moreover, the child may become a couch potato and this may affect their health by making them lazy. Cartoons containing the wrong message and can leave the wrong message behind and take the child’s life in the wrong direction.
Some minor changes parents can make to prevent their child from getting spoiled from the cartoons are:
- Parents can filter some cartoons to prevent their children from getting the wrong message and learning wrong words.
- A proper check on their child can prevent them from getting into the wrong direction in their life.
- Explaining the difference between reality and the cartoon world will be important because harmful acts performed in cartoons might be seen as funny but in real life, these stunts may result in serious injury.
- Limiting the time of these shows is encourage. Instead, encourage the child to play sports. It can help them to build leader characteristics and develop team spirit, too.
See, I am not saying that cartoons should be banned or that we should prevent children from watching cartoons. But I would like to request parents to filter the cartoons once or watch cartoons that promote honest and kind messages. There are many cartoons that help to improve the vocabulary of their children. There are many cartoons that sight an excellent example of true friendship. Cartoons such as Noddy, Oswald, Thomas and Friends, etc. are great cartoons to watch because they promote a new approach for children and are devoid of vulgarity.