Let’s by saying something pretty groundbreaking, so take a second to prepare yourself. Ok, are you ready? Cartoons aren’t bad. Yes, that’s right. Cartoons aren’t the great evil that you’ve been told that they are. In fact, for the most part, they’re fairly neutral – some are even good for your children!
Like most things in life, cartoons are only bad when they’re consumed in excess. So moderation is key – especially when it comes to your children. One way to achieve a healthy amount of cartoon watching is to make it a part of your child’s daily routine. In this guide, we’ll explore how you can do exactly that.
1. Choose the right time of day
The easiest place to start with a routine is by choosing a time of day. So think about what times of day would be suitable to allow your children to watch kids cartoons. Firstly, it doesn’t need to be every day – but if it is every day, then reduce how much time they spend watching cartoons for balance.
As a suggestion, watching cartoons after mealtime or during downtime throughout the day is a good way to do it.
2. Use them as a reward
It has been thoroughly proven that rewarding good behaviour is more effective than punishing bad behaviour. So, as a parent, you should aim to reinforce the good things that your kids do as much as possible. A good way to do this is by using cartoons as a reward. A simple example is letting your children enjoy an episode or two once they’ve completed their daily homework or chores. This will motivate them to do these things as they’ll want the reward that they receive afterwards.
3. Make it a family activity
When cartoons are enjoyed as a family, it becomes a bonding experience that the whole family gets something out of. Kids, get to enjoy their favourite shows and have fun. Parents, get valuable time seeing their little ones smile. That is something that you really can’t put a price on.
4. Don’t use it as a fallback
One trap that many parents fall into – mostly by accident – is to use cartoons as a fail-safe. When their kids throw a tantrum, they hand them a screen. When their children are restless at the table, they put on cartoons. Anytime that their children become inconvienient, they put them in front of a screen. This is both harmful to parents and children. We know that being a parent is hard and that your children will test your limits more than anything else in your life, but this is the job. As hard as it can be at times, try your best to use cartoons constructively rather than fail-safe. We promise this will help you in the long run.
