By Alia Bibi and Roshan Zehra
Published August 27, 2012
Cartoons are the most frequent and easily accessible source of entertainment available to children today. With numerous media channels, it has become easier for children to watch their favourite cartoons. The time previously spent on outdoor activities is now used indoors on cartoons, mostly without the supervision of an adult.
There is a wide range of cartoons, from fairy tales like “Beauty and the Beast” to action-based cartoons like “Ben Ten” and “Pokémon”.
Children aged 6-8 years have different preferences; while girls are usually into fairy tales and animated “Barbie” series, boys have their favourite super hero cartoons like “Spiderman” or “Batman” or action flicks like “Bey Blade” or “Dragon Ball-z”.
Children are at a stage where their minds are developing and form impressions easily. They consider the things they watch in cartoons to be real as they can’t differentiate between fantasy and reality.
According to research carried out by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), “Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see.”
The influence of cartoons can be made positive by a little effort on the part of parents, guardians or other adults who would inform their children that fantasy things like cartoons have no true value and identity; that no “Spiderman” who jumps from top of one building to another with the help of his web exists in real life; that no such thing as “Ben 10” wristwatch which will start blinking and alerting Ben of every evil action before hand exists.
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Parents need to keep an eye on their children’s activities and behaviour to ensure cartoons become a healthy tool of entertainment and learning for children.
This is an edited article from thenews.com.pk
