Healthy Watching Habits
By
Sadia Wali
Saturday morning breakfast is always fascinating for
me. Spending quality time with my nephews is the most precious moment I relish.
We have fun together; they talk about their school activities and develop
creative stories based on their favorite cartoon characters. This weekend they
insisted that I should watch Curious George with them. Out of sheer curiosity,
I asked them if it resembles spider man or batman. They were amazed at my
ignorance and said it is the story of a curious monkey who likes adventures.
Curious
George is an animated series based on the popular children's books by H. A. Rey
and Margret. The books have been adapted into several television series and
films.
I learnt that George the curious
monkey was brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow
Hat" as his best friend to live with him in a giant city. Different
episodes of their expeditions are fascinating and captivating for young kids. According to my nephews, the interesting
episodes of George are: George and Steve Stumble Across a Mysterious Egg at the
Lake. George tried to retrieve Mr. Quint boat keys and ‘Curious George Sees the
Light’
Enjoying the delicious breakfast of Anda Paratha
with tea, we began to watch George’s mission with the light’.
Watching cartoons is one of the daily habits for our
children; studies have proven that an average child with a facility of a TV and
a satellite connection at his home watches approximately 18,000 hours of
television from kindergarten to high school graduation. How does this
experience affect our children minds? Does it have positive or negative
effects? Mostly, parents think excessive watching TV or
internet adversely affects mind and mood of growing kids. Consequently, they
restrict their children towards watching TV or computer.
According to experts,
“Whatever
children learn while watching cartoons, they tend to act out thereby
influencing their mode of socializing with other children and with the world in
general”. Baran and Davis (2009, p. 217).
“Children
who watch educational programming are more likely have higher grades, read more
books, place greater value on achievement, and show more creativity”. (Diehl
and Toelle, 2011, p. 3) [5] .
I, being a writer, feel that children should have
exposure of watching cartoons, films and documentaries that boost up their
knowledge and skills. In my childhood there were not many programmes for
children on TV, so I grew up listening to popular cassette kahani such as Alif
Laila, Podna Podni, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladin and the Forty Thieves,
Tarzan. I was so fascinated by these characters that I began to write my own
short stories at the age of 12. Later my writing became matured as I got more
opportunity to watch different educational and recreational programs on
electronic media and internet.
To make cartoons a healthy entertainment and
effective source of learning for children, I personally feel that parents
should
pay more attention to the selected cartoons their children are watching. They
should watch the cartoon or film with them, look over the content and language
used in cartoons or films and discuss the characters of cartoons with children.
This way they will not only keep their kids away from violence but also direct
them to different activities.
Parents should not prohibit children from totally
watching TV or cartoons on computer, rather they should encourage them to watch
TV or computer for around one to two hours daily. Documentaries on National
Geographic Channel, educational programs or animated cartoons enhance learning
process and creativity. Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on
programmes like Sesame Street.
As I mentioned above that my nephews watch popular
cartoons and animated films. They also watch Pakistani 3D computer-animated
family films such as 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam, Allahyar and the
Legend of Markhor and New Dettol Warrior
that have enhanced their knowledge and have helped boost up their creativity
and imaginative skills.
Parents should take care that children do not watch
anything that is not recommended for their age. They should check the PG rating
before allowing them to watch programmes on TV and internet.
Let's protect our
children from the negative impact of the media! Because healthy children mean a
healthy future!