[caption id="attachment_3770" align="aligncenter" width="595"] Photo Courtesy: http://pinkheejab.blogspot.com[/caption]   Cartoons are the most popular entertainment for children. There are plenty of TV channels that broadcast different cartoons for children non-stop. Whereas previously children spent their time in outdoor activities playing with their peers and enjoying different games, now they prefer watching their favorite characters on TV and spend hours in front of their T.V. Children have grown much more interested in cartoons in recent years that it has become the main pastime for them. Mostly children begin watching cartoons on television at the early age of six months or even less, and by the age of two or three they become enthusiastic viewers. Children are addicted to cartoons. They are so addicted that they can’t let it go even for a tiny fraction of time. All the time they want to sit in front of the T.V and watch cartoons. They don’t even care if it’s a repeat telecast. They just need cartoons being displayed on their T.V. Sometimes they don’t even watch and pretend to be watching when we want to change the channel for a bit. They get angry and even cry if we don’t change the channel back. They don’t even go out to play with their friends. And all they talk about is cartoons. They mimic the characters and their voice. They are not limited to the cartoons only; they are influenced by the advertisements too. They want the merchandise shown in the advertisements. They want the candies or chocolate bars exactly pictured in the advertisements. They will take anything that has their favorite character’s photos on it. Actually it has been really easy for the parents to handle their children. All it takes-just turn on the T.V set and switch to Cartoon Network or Nick or Jetix. They will certainly find something to be lost in the moment. This will let parents do their work without any trouble. It may seem like both parents and the children are happy but it is not. They spend quite a lot of time on cartoons; they rarely study. They barely finish their homework assignments and jump in to the T.V. They don’t have time for creative work like painting, reading books or even dancing. These cartoons have been barring children from useful stuff. These are killing their creativity and imagination. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Photo Courtesy: http://allaboutbelgaum.com[/caption] Because they spend a lot of time watching these cartoons, they are highly influenced by these shows. Children are quite good at learning things; they are good at imitation too. They easily get attracted by the characters and their actions and as a result of that they try to convert those images into reality in their daily life. They yell at their parents. They create trouble in school. And even fight with each other. They become more stubborn and mischievous. And there is this weird fact that most of the children watch the T.V by sitting very closely. This has a bigger impact on their health. Because of their posture, there might be issues with their physical fitness. It’s not that cartoons only have negative impacts on children. They make children more attentive and clever in some sorts. They quickly adapt to things and become energetic while watching these shows. More than other they learn new things. If the show is really good then they learn some valuable lessons which are not taught in schools. They learn about team work and hardships that needs to be done. They learn languages too. Let’s say if a Nepali kid watches a lot of cartoons then he will surely learn English and start talking a word or two pretty quick. So, as I see cartoons have lots of negative impacts on children. They may not be seen as a bad influence at the moment but can have deeper impact on their future. Children learn what they see. So, parents need to play a larger role in their children’s lives. No more dropping the kids off in front of the television, so things can get done around the house. You are a parent. Broadcasters have no active role in the rearing of your children, so it's your responsibility to make sure the shows they watch are appropriate.