Cartoons are hear and now! You can watch your favorite cartoons that air on television on the internet. There are cable / satellite TV stations dedicated to 24/7 viewing of animated programs, some appropriate for kids and some not. Whereas an adult can watch a random news channel 24 hours, 7 days a week, kids can watch cartoons anytime they want. And not to mention the DVD’s, and other cartoon broadcasting media that is being pumped non-stop around the United States, let alone the world.
Moderation is the key! Discipline is even more important. Granted, animated programs are supposed to be for fun, even for family. Animated programs are supposed to be funny, exciting, and different. But supposing your child is so into cartoons that they are suddenly mislead somehow between what is real and what is fake? In other words, if a kid really thinks that “Scooby – Doo” and the gang are driving on a freeway somewhere, or if “Pikachu” from “Pokemon” is going to suddenly pass on by, then something is terribly wrong! Such a problem comes from an array of reasons:
(1) The child is probably too young or not mature enough to even watch said animated program to begin with, and has not been taught the difference between what is real and what is fake.
(2) The child, though mature, has engaged in so much television viewing that he or she is living their life via television, rather than going out into the real world and living like a child should normally…enjoy time with children their age, getting exercise, having real life experiences without the spice of television.
(3) The child is not as social with others as he or she could be for numerous reasons, thereby relying on something else closely related…media.
(1) The child is probably too young or not mature enough to even watch said animated program to begin with, and has not been taught the difference between what is real and what is fake.
(2) The child, though mature, has engaged in so much television viewing that he or she is living their life via television, rather than going out into the real world and living like a child should normally…enjoy time with children their age, getting exercise, having real life experiences without the spice of television.
(3) The child is not as social with others as he or she could be for numerous reasons, thereby relying on something else closely related…media.
(4) Children whom simply have not been taught anything at all about what is good and bad, right and wrong, real and fake to survive. In which case, most kids in this level seem to be in withdrawal from actual reality.
Granted, number 3 seems to be rather careless, but it is an existent truth, that there are parents and adults who are not on point and series about parenting, and allowing their children to give into what the mass media is feeding!
Children in both category 1 and 2 can be helped, but then you have to lay down the law in the home first, making it clear that certain programs are not appropriate to watch. Of course, the practice of careful television viewing is always a must especially with all of the vast amounts of programs.
But how can parents handle such a problem? To be completely honest, you must be a semi – expert in what is going on in pop culture, especially in television. Read about what is going on, from youth culture to what young people seem to be watching on television and listening to on the radio. Most importantly, know as much as you can about what is going on in your son and or daughters life, and what the habits are, especially in television viewing.
Though times are changing, that certainly doesn’t mean that you should be afraid or unaware of the changes. If anything, get ready and get prepared for each wave of new and fascinating changes that are coming up, whether the changes are going on in mass media or in animation!
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