Many people are aware of the effect of violence on media on little children, but do you know that any kind of media has emotional repercussions as well? Children are very impressionable, and what they see in their environment tends to form a big part of what they eventually believe about themselves and about others. This is why, as parents, it is crucial that you monitor and guide your children in the kind of media they watch, while providing them a healthy and loving environment to foster their growth.
One of the unexpected ways that media affect children can be in the form of the cartoons they watch everyday. This is crucial, because as parents, we sometimes just let our kids spend hours in front of the TV as we go about our daily chores. But how do you suppose a little grows up who constantly sees pretty princesses with tiny bodies and praised for their looks? Like it or not, they can sometimes develop the mindset that their looks are all they are about. This is the early trigger of self-esteem problems that may result in eating disorders in the long run.
Still, this is not all bad, because what the media industry simply did was prey on the inherent need of every little girl to feel beautiful. However, the problem lies with how they eventually go about to achieving the affirmation for that need. Since it is literally impossible to shield your child from watching princess cartoons, what is recommended instead is to augment the things they see with what the family upholds. This can be done when you spend ample time developing trust with your children. As they learn to respect you, you can show them that true beauty does not lie on the externals but it is what is inside of them that counts. You can show them by your words and actions that they are special for who they are, not for how they look.
As for little boys, when they keep watching cartoons that compliment the strongest hero or the one that uses the most force, they may develop a mindset that being strong is all that matters, and using force can get them what they want. Eventually they may try to resort to using force whenever they do not get what they want, and it may result to other kids being hurt in the process. Or, if your child finds that he does not have the strength embodied in the cartoons, he may hide away behind a shy façade and have problems interacting with other children his age.
As with little girls, the desire to know that they have what it takes is also inherent in little boys. This is why it is crucial for parents to learn to give them this affirmation and not limiting it to when the boy performs exceptionally well. Children need to know their parents accept them just as they are, because it is unconditional love that will transform them into the adults that they have the potential to be.
In terms of love, cartoons also sometimes portray a stilted picture of love, with all the fairy-tale, dragon-slaying angles of cartoon love stories. As such they may grow up believing that love is all sunshine and roses, so when they encounter their first heartbreak, they may have trouble coping with it.
As a parent, your role is, of course, not to burst the bubble too early on, because a child still deserves to believe at some point that the world is good. But perhaps a better way would be to show them what love is like, as you show them your love even when they are being unlovable, sticking with them through thick and thin, and other intangible but visible ways.
These are just basic examples of the emotional repercussions that cartoons may have on children. But do not despair. As their parent, you still have the greatest influence on their emotional development, if you can only find the time to be involved in their lives just as you were designed to be. It was certainly no accident that you became the parent matched up with them, as you are called to give them a glimpse of a greater love that no cartoon can offer.
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