Cartoons Develop Mental Abilities

Cartoons Develop Mental Abilities

Cartoons have been a staple of childhood development since the early 20th century. Two thirds of infants and toddlers watch an average of two hours of television a day. A child's brain processes graphic images and educational information. These brain-stimulating factors have positive effects on children's development. Cartoons help teachers reach curriculum goals and help preschool age children reach higher levels of learning. Using a cartoon character in classroom material stimulates interpersonal behavior, learning and social development in children.

            Learning language: Educational cartoons provide children with the necessary stimulus material to understand language. The brain forms language by exposure to material containing the language in question. Educational cartoons help them to try various languages while interacting with others. Those, who study in vernacular medium schools, can learn good English with the help of these cartoon shows.

          

   Cartoons can encourage reading. On shows like Mickey mouse books are heavily promoted .Children get interested in a character like Mickey, and want to read books about him too.

            Studies have also shown that colors contained in children's cartoons stimulate areas of the visual cortex, which is mouldable. This makes their body make the area of the brain grow larger, which is important as the brain only grows in childhood.

          

  Kids who watch educational shows may do better in school. One study found that kids who watched Mickey mouse did better academically in school than the kids who didn't. Kids who entered first grade with some basic knowledge  made them enthusiastic and confident about school. Getting off to a good start had a positive effect on their entire academic experience.

        

    Cartoons enhance the imagination level of the kids. It also helps them to become more creative. When they watch cartoons that try to do things in different ways .Therefore, sometimes it is pointless to always restrict kids from watching cartoons. The fictional environment trains their brains to understand fictional metaphors, such as the disconnect between video game violence and real violence. This has many applications  in the real world.

           

Cartoons provide a window into the world. For example, if a child has never seen an elephant or a lion, watching a cartoon show about  animals is a very effective way of learning about them. Epics like Mahabharat in animated form is an interesting format to make children familiar with them. Cartoons from different nations educate children about different cultures, traditions and customs.

            Cartoons provide an effective mode of Observational learning, that is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.

           

                                    

Hence to conclude cartoons are a form of infotainment, that is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content ".