Cartoon: a positive medium that parents should fully use
Watching cartoon is not always perceived as as a positive thing for kids. While some of them are age-appropriate and high quality, others can be violent and involve sexual contents. The cartoon and animation market are becoming more mature, and there are loads of series for consumers to choose from. Picking up the good one can yield a significant impact on your children’s education and self-development.
Today, let’s look at what are the benefits a cartoon can bring to your children, as well as how you can take advantage of them and avoid the negative influence of cartoons.
Positive benefits of cartoons on children
Cognitive development
Watching a cartoon can develop a child’s cognitive skills, such as logic and reasoning, information processing, and selective attention. A high-quality cartoon series should have reasonable storytelling where kids can learn from it. For instance, the popular Chinese series called Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf emphasizes friendship and righteousness. Through watching the animation and the development of its plots, children will understand the values of such things. It is likely that kids will carry these early influences to the following growth stages.
An early start on learning
A cartoon can help kids to start learning at earlier stages. It does not have to be difficult things beyond their knowledge and senses. Educational animation teaches them shapes, colour, animals and other daily objects, with both visual and audio impacts. Cartoons that incorporate the cute and vivid design of characters into the environment. They create an inviting atmosphere which can particularly attract the children’s focus on the topic.
Enhance creativity
Imagination and creativity can be boosted up when watching cartoons. Firstly, the designs of the characters are usually non-existent in the real world. It sparks the idea for kids that they can also create various items from their own imagination, and there is nothing to be afraid of. Moreover, different series have stories that can provide ideas from many perspectives. The kids’ writing and storytelling skills can also be improved via this medium.
Relieve stress
Children usually find cartoons amusing and fun to watch. Kids in China enjoy watching Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf because it makes them laugh. This is a great way to relieve stress as well as build confidence. Such a benefit can keep children away from psychological problems, and release endorphin that cause a positive feeling.
Actions to ensure the benefits are maximized
Watch with your kids
Watching a cartoon with your children can help you to monitor the content they watch, observe their reactions to different events, as well as enjoy family time and create a bond. Parents can also identify the way their children think based on the types of cartoon they watch. Connections between parents and kids can become stronger in this way.
Select appropriate content for kids
Before allowing kids to watch cartoons, parents should fully understand what they are going to view. If there is violence or inappropriate language, then parents should stop their kids from watching that show.
Direct kids to watch informative channels
Parents should also encourage kids to explore other channels in addition to cartoons. National Geographic and Discovery Channel are some top channels that are educational and informational, which assist the overall development and understanding of a kid.
Conditional watching
To do so, parents must have agreements with kids first. It does not only mean to limit their time in watching TV, but also training their ability to keep promises. Now, cartoon is available also in YouTube and other online platforms. Kids love these vids so much that can spend their most of the time by watching these content. So, conditional watching is There are two ways to do it. Either a fixed viewing time each day, such as an hour per day anytime they like. Otherwise, they will have to achieve something before watching TV, like reading a book for an hour in exchange for an hour spent watching TV.
Explain the difference between a cartoon and reality
Although a cartoon can spark imagination and creativity beyond real life, kids are not yet ready to identify the gaps due to the underdevelopment of their cognitive senses. When parents are watching a cartoon with their children, it is necessary to guide them and provide information about what is acceptable and what is not in reality. For instance, characters might be able to jump extremely far from one side to another, but that’s not the case in our life. Attempting to perform the thing seen in the cartoon is highly likely to cause harm to children, and parents should pay close attention and clarify the situation to their kids.
Conclusion
Parents need to fully utilize the benefits of watching the cartoon with their kids, and use it as an additional educational tool besides going to school and reading. As long as everyone realizes the power of such a medium, it increases the effectiveness of learning. Furthermore, this realization also encourages the cartoon industry to produce more high-quality and rewarding animated series, such as Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.