“I like physics, but I love cartoons.”- Stephen Hawking
Rushing back home from the school and grabbing a seat in front of the TV, switching ON the favorite cartoon show used to be the regular routine of our childhood. Besides telling us a story, they used to inject us with moral values through their magical wands which we might or might not have noticed.
Cartoons hold the hand of kids and take them to an imaginary world, the world full of entertainment, fun, and learning. As per the research published by UNICEF, Thinking and Imagination are the two pillars on which stands the functionality of child’s mind till he turns 12.
The cartoons do the perfect job to water the seeds of imagination and thinking amongst the children by embracing them with good habits and life lessons with fun. Here are some values kids learn from their favorite characters:
- Feeling of Love, Care and Courage
The love and care for our beloved is the perfect feed for our courage. Such values of love, care, and courage get imbibed in kids when they watch cartoons.
For instance, the show named ‘Courage-The Cowardly Dog’ teaches kids that:
- One should always be courageous and fight for family and friends.
- Fear is not a bad thing and once it is conquered, you are able to conquer more than you realize.
- Never give up.
- Doing good always pay good results.
“There is no such thing as perfect. You are beautiful as you are. Even with your imperfections, you can do anything.” – Bathtub Fish from Courage the cowardly dog
(Gif image link: http://courage.wikia.com/wiki/File:Tidal_wave.gif )
- Healthy eating habits
Kids love cartoons as they make them laugh doing creepy activities and no doubt laughing keeps them healthy by regulating their blood circulation.
Cartoons not only keep kids happy but various cartoon characters teach kids to eat healthy food. Researchers have found that kids exposed to animated cartoon characters that take the shapes of healthy vegetables such as carrots or cucumber are more likely to eat salad on their own.
‘Popeye’ is a character who is a role model for many kids and he helped to induce the feeling of love for green vegetable in kids. The values which kids learn from Popeye are:
- A healthy diet makes a huge difference.
- Power is a weapon for the true heroes against the bullies.
- Strong characters have long lives.
“I am what I am and that’s all that I am.”- Popeye
(Gif Image Source: https://tenor.com/view/popeye-sailor-spinach-muscle-gif-5982865 )
- Imagination has wings
A 3-year old toddler’s brain is twice as active as adult’s brain. The wings to their imagination come out when they get influenced by their favorite character.
Science is not fun for all the kids but cartoons are the best tutors who can teach kids science with fun. Dexter, the little Einstein encourages children to take their curiosity to next level by thinking out of the box.
Dexter is the rich source of learning for kids and the lessons he teaches are:
- Great things come with good education.
- Work and fun should go hand in hand.
- When in trouble, ask for help.
- Exercise is the perfect diet for mind and body.
“It’s not the beard on the outside that counts, its beard on the inside.”- Action Hank from Dexter’s Laboratory
(Gif Image Source: http://coub.com/view/1ecub )
- Spirit of Team Work
Cartoon content holds an upper edge in teaching children over the academic traditional ways of learning as per Sharmin from ‘Michigan University.’
Getting ornate with good values at a tender age will be a stepping stone for kids to be a good human being in coming years. The value of working in the team gets ingested in children when they get inspired by cartoon characters.
Powerpuff Girls inspired kids to work in a team, valuing each and every member of it, thereby achieving miracles. There are many lessons that kids can carry making Powerpuff Girls their role models:
- Money can’t buy happiness.
- Everyone has a value.
- Never trust strangers.
- Working in a team can turn impossible into possible.
“Unfortunately people often get scared or angry when they don’t understand something special and unique.” – Prof. Utonium from Powerpuff Girls
(Gif Image source: https://www.bustle.com/articles/65575-6-lessons-the-powerpuff-girls-teaches-us-about-feminism-that-you-never-noticed )
The moral values injected by an artist in a cartoon character can boost the children’s growth, turning them into better individuals when they grow.
But every coin has two sides; similarly, cartoons are good and bad. It becomes the duty of a parent to set rules for their kid:
- Keep the television out of your child’s room.
- Plan your child’s TV timings.
- Keep an eye on what your kid is watching.
- Filter cartoon shows which are worth watching for kids.
- Sit with child and ask them what they learned from cartoon characters.
A cartoon is the best source for child’s growth but makes them learn that:
“With great power, comes great responsibility”- Spiderman.
Author Bio: Dave Tan is serving Singapore’s Tuition Agency- ChampionTutor for IB Tuition from the last 10 years and he is working on the advanced ways to teach kids.