The Impact of Cartoons on Children’s Personality

I let my son watch TV all day so he stays quiet and doesn’t cause trouble at home… Let’s look together at the impact of cartoons on children’s personalities.

Cartoon Shows and Their Effect on Children’s Personality

About 20 years ago, Walt Disney used to show cartoons that told social stories like Heidi, Snow White, Cinderella, The Lion King, and 101 Dalmatians.

• Heidi was about an innocent girl and her grumpy, strict grandfather who rarely smiled. Living with his granddaughter made him learn to smile and laugh.
• Snow White was about the stepmother’s treatment and how the little princess eventually meets her prince charming, who takes her away on his white horse.
• Cinderella told a similar story about a stepmother and a prince who searches the entire kingdom to find her.
• These cartoons showed girls facing difficulties alongside romantic dreams and tenderness.
• The Lion King talked about sibling jealousy, where the brother kills his brother to take the throne, and how the young lion grows up, relies on himself, and reclaims his rightful place.
• 101 Dalmatians included scenes about love and aggression, the importance of family, helping others, giving and empathy, and positive human-dog relationships.

Cartoons like Captain Majid (Captain Tsubasa) focused on love of football and practicing sports.

On the other hand, there are cartoons with negative effects on children, such as:

• Spider-Man and Batman — these portray fantasy and excessive power. We noticed their danger when a child left his house by climbing out the window and got stuck, unable to continue.
• Horror movies, violence, killing, and the use of weapons all have very negative effects on children’s personalities. They make children anxious and prone to nightmares and waking up in panic.
• Cartoons with sexual content—such as characters wearing revealing clothes, kissing scenes, or inappropriate poses (like the image shown)—have a very harmful impact on children’s values and personalities.

This doesn’t mean we should forbid children from watching cartoons, but:

• It’s necessary to monitor the cartoons they watch to ensure they are age-appropriate.
• Replace some cartoons with educational and positive videos available on YouTube, which teach children good behaviors like honesty, trustworthiness, and not lying, as well as educational content like letters, numbers, colors, fruit names, and social skills.
• It’s important to discuss negative scenes children see in cartoons, such as excessive violence, superpowers, killing, or inappropriate content.

Children do not have the critical thinking skills to differentiate between reality and fantasy; they accept everything and internalize it. Talking with children about these events helps them learn useful behaviors, understand the difference between reality and imagination, and recognize good and bad behavior.

Thus, we help develop a positive personality capable of critical thinking and reduce negative or harmful behaviors learned from cartoons.

Always encourage watching educational cartoons that teach letters, words, numbers, colors, social behaviors, or informative videos like how to react if someone tries to kidnap or harass them.