How good or bad are cartoon channels for your kids?

This is a question that continues to haunt the parents (mostly mothers) of all children from 3 to 10 years old. Should we allow children to watch cartoons, or should it be banned altogether, is it good or really bad?

The problem that often arises when talking about young children watching cartoon channels is usually leaving their children alone with cartoons to amuse or entertain them, instead of parents spending our valuable time on them.

Let’s analyze this million dollar question!

I am the mother of a 5-year-old girl and have been regularly monitoring her television viewing. And this is what I have analysed.

Let’s first point out the good points:

Cartoons are neither good nor bad. Occasionally, cartoons are used to demonstrate behaviors that we would like our young children to adapt or copy, and even many times these cartoon shows are also used to exemplify qualities that we would like our children to avoid. It is up to the parent to help the child learn which is which.

From time to time there have been some good series like Madeline, Oswald, Noddy, Backyard Science, MAD, Mickey Mouse Club House. And some Indian Hindi cartoons, which he would suggest are Gali Gali Sim Sim, Choota Bheem, Krishna, Ramayan and all mythological stories.

Helps improve vocabulary; it could be english or hindi.

Helps children to analyze situations. Understand how the little things are analyzed and how the little decisions are made by understanding what is right and what is wrong.

It helps them understand different cultures, societies, people, etc.

There are so many shows, which are really educational, for all ages. And some shows show various arts and crafts activities, which can be used to put them into creative work.

Now, let’s point out the negative points:

There are some really bad cartoons out there, which are definitely a no-no for kids like Hagemaaro, ShinShan, etc. The language used is horrible.

With children watching television all the time, their physical activities that can only be achieved by playing in a playground are not taken care of.

Children try to imitate what they see on television. Whether it’s language or violence, they just want to behave like their “Superhero”.

When parents continually leave their children to be entertained by television, it can have negative effects on the child’s mind because children are mostly proactive and like to be doing something.

And one of the main concerns is the time children spend watching those cartoons. Every mother has a hard time getting her children off TV. Ideally, what she would suggest is to have set times to watch TV.

The best way to help your child create a connection from television is to engage with him and explain what he is watching, discuss different scenarios or outcomes, ask questions, and compare what he is seeing with what he experienced.