Twitter
Advertisement

The cartoon serials your kid watches are hotbeds of murder and mayhem

Not Kidding: A study by British Medical Journal concludes that death of a character in a cartoon show has a profound psychological impact on a child

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Five-year-old Karan (name changed) was a troubled lot recently. He was suffering from bed wetting, nail biting and anxiety. His parents thought it to be a result of something that must have gone wrong with him in the school.

So, they took him to a psychiatrist where he underwent therapy sessions and the reason behind the problems left them shocked. It was not some school or health-related problem as anticipated initially. But it was the death of a character in one of the several cartoon shows he was glued which had left him distraught.

Shocking but true. A recent study published in British Medical Journal too has concluded that the death of a character in cartoon shows does have a profound psychological impact on children.

The Journal studied on-screen incidents like Nemo's mother being eaten by a barracuda in 'Finding Nemo', Tarzan's parents being killed by a leopard in 'Tarzan', and Cecil Gaines' father being shot in front of him in 'The Butler'.

The study is suppose to be first of its kind analysing the impact of death in animated films on children. It has concluded that rather than being innocuous alternatives to the gore and carnage typical of American films, cartoon serials are hotbeds of murder and mayhem.

Children in the age group of 2-5 spend an estimated 32 hours a week of visual media, including movies, the study said. It further said there are chances that children are watching the same film multiple times and are thus likely to be repeatedly exposed to on-screen deaths. It said exposure to on-screen death and murder could have deleterious and long lasting effects on children, especially young children.

Child psychologists and psychiatrists have readily agree with the BMJ findings saying they too have come across several similar cases in Mumbai wherein children were affected when characters died in their favourite cartoon shows.

City-based child psychologist Dr Seema Hingoranny, says, "With both parents working and easy access to TV, children today are spending more time watching cartoons. Parents try to keep their children busy with cartoon shows. It is a common observation that children are made to eat, drink and sleep with the help of cartoons. For the sake of entertainment it is fine, but co-dependency is harmful".

Agreed Dr Parul Tank, head of psychiatry department in Rajawadi Hospital. "Chota Bheem, Pokemon are some of the popular cartoon characters. When a cartoon character dies in those serials, a part of them dies. It does have a negative impact on the child as he tends to identify with cartoon characters."

Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist at Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital advocated a cap on the time a kid spends watching cartoons. "Children who have less communication with their parents are impacted the most. A child can watch cartoons, but for not more than half an hour. Also the parents should make it a point to communicate more with the child and discuss what he or she going through. Child should be made to understand the difference between real and reel," said Dr Shetty.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement