Cartoons are an unavoidable part of every child’s life. Since the development of cartoon films over a century ago, several generations of children have grown up watching animated films. However, this does not mean that they are always good for us. There are also some negative effects of such shows on children that parents should be aware of before letting their children watch them. Therefore, it might be useful to check out the “dark side” of this illustrated visual art, as some define cartoons.
Cartoons which show violence can encourage children to become violent in real life. Children may believe that no one gets hurt or feels pain since cartoons escape unharmed after experiencing violence or an accident. For example, characters in Tom and Jerry, The Road Runner, and Oggy and the Cockroaches often hit each other or cause each other to fall from heights, often without any real consequences.
Cartoons often include language that is unfit for children. Children are sensitive, and they may start using foul language that they learn from cartoons in real life. Too many hours of sitting in front of a screen watching cartoons can cause several health issues this is due to inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle. These include over-weightiness, vision problems, and nutritious deficiencies due to bad food habits.
There are numerous cartoons which encourage harmful behavior and give wrong messages to children. Then there are some cartoons that contain sexual inferences, encourage aggression, and promote selfish behavior. These can affect your child’s behavior and make them think it is normal to be aggressive, spoiled, or violent.
Parents should watch cartoons with their kids. They should limit the time for watching TV or Cartoons and explain their kids the difference between reality and cartoons. They should select appropriate or educational cartoons for their kids and use monitoring and filtering software to filter out inappropriate content and lock content which is not good for their kids.
Tuba Sheikh, Islamabad
