There are some violent cartoon characters on TV such as Mickey Mouse which bring negative influence to children. Do you agree or disagree? What types of TV programmes are suitable for children?

A child’s mind is like a sponge. It absorbs everything the child sees and hears. If children are constantly exposed to cartoons with violence and fighting it will affect them morally and may lead to teenage violence in the future. Therefore, I agree that violence in cartoons has a detrimental effect on children. A number of arguments surround my opinion.

To begin with, the major effect that has been proven by psychological research is that the children, who watch cartoons full of violence, may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. They do not fear violence nor are they bothered by violence in general. If one character gets killed, the other cartoon characters don’t care, and they may even laugh. TV makes violence and even death seem funny and unreal. Children do not learn to respect life because violent television desensitizes them.

Secondly, children try to copy what they see and as a result become aggressive by nature. They cannot tell the difference between real and unreal. The characters in the cartoons are make-believe. Young children are unable to realize that when a character attacks someone it is not real and should not be imitated. Children have imaginative play, which is very important for their characters’ development. Unfortunately, research proves that watching violent cartoons decrease the imaginative play for the children, and increase the imitative play in which the child imitates the violent and aggressive actions observed in cartoons.

There are many types of TV programmes which may be better for children. Educational cartoons are a good way to instill positive values in a child. However, it is the parent’s duty to make their children watch cartoons, that entertain and educate them, without being violent. Parents must watch the cartoons with their children, and evaluate these cartoons together. Talking with the children about the cartoons they watched is very significant, because parents then will be able to know if these cartoons affect their children positively or not. The government should also take steps to increase the amount of educational programming available to children.

To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that, Children will try to mimic anything they see or hear and cartoon violence is no exception. So, it is the onus of the parents to see to it that they do not see violent cartoon programmes and see educational cartoons instead.