Cartoons little kids: 35 Cartoons Kids Will Love and Parents Won’t Hate

Posted on 11 сентября, 2023 by alexxlab

Why kids love ‘fascist’ cartoons like ‘Paw Patrol’ and ‘Thomas’

Story highlights

«Thomas the Tank Engine» and «Paw Patrol» have been eviscerated by the press and on social media

Young brains seek out order, stability and even punishment in their entertainment

CNN
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Parents like to see themselves as purveyors of possibility. We want our children to inhabit a world in which identities are both mutable and equal, and imagination and empathy reign supreme!

But young children, as dictated by their tastes in popular culture, have something else in mind. They’re drawn to worlds in which identities are fixed, order trumps imagination and transgressions are met with routine punishment.

This clash between what parents desire for their children and what children desire for themselves is most easily observable in cartoon preferences. So often, the more parents dislike a show, the more their children love it.

Two of the most divisive shows are “Thomas the Tank Engine” and “Paw Patrol,” both of which have been eviscerated by grown-ups on discussion boards, in social media and in widely shared essays in prestigious publications.

“Thomas,” the long-running television franchise about a group of working trains chugging away on the Island of Sodor, has been called a “premodern corporate-totalitarian dystopia” in the New Yorker, imperialist and sinister in Slate, and classist, sexist and anti-environmentalist in the Guardian. And yet people – presumably parents – spend $1 billion on “Thomas” merchandise every year.

“Paw Patrol” is equally polarizing. The show, about a group of rescue dogs led by a boy named Ryder, is a regular source of complaint among parents and of adoration among their kids.

Buzzfeed called the show “terrible” and pointed to instances of gender and social inequality that go unchecked on the show. In the Guardian, Ryder is described as a megalomaniac with an implied “unstoppable God complex.” Nevertheless, “Paw Patrol” is ubiquitous. Branded merchandise featuring Ryder and the gang outsells most other television shows, according to recent data from the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association. A recent Amazon search for “Paw Patrol” yielded 24,814 results.

It’s tempting as a parent – especially those of us who are aghast at contemporary politics – to be disturbed by the notion of our children tuning in for a regular dose of primary-colored authoritarianism. What ever happened to “Free to Be … You and Me?”

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Kids under 9 spend more than 2 hours a day on screens, report shows

But, rage as we might, these shows are a source of comfort for our young children, whose id-driven brains seek out the order, stability and even punishment in their entertainment.

Despite their reputation of innocence, children are bubbling cauldrons of conflicting feelings and impulses. This is especially the case during toddler and preschool years, when they become aware of their capacity to do bad things and struggle with understanding those urges.

The neat moral order of shows like “Thomas” and “Paw Patrol” gives them a context for these feelings, explained Tovah Klein, director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development and author of “How Toddlers Thrive.” Good and bad are clearly articulated states in those shows, she said, and should one misbehave, the repercussions are clear and predictable.

“This is an age group that is constantly dealing with all these negative feelings in themselves. ‘Am I good?’ ‘Am I bad?’ They are trying to figure out what that means,” Klein said.

These shows also help children navigate their paradoxical relationship with power. On one hand, they desperately want some power. Watching the pups in “Paw Patrol” go on a mission or the trains in “Thomas” being useful allows them to feel as though they too have an important role to play.

On the other hand, children take comfort in the idea that someone is in charge. To them, Ryder isn’t a megalomaniac, and Sir Topham Hatt of “Thomas” isn’t a neocolonial autocrat. They’re just the guys delegating responsibilities to their eager inferiors. And the fact that these leaders, both white males, look like most figures in position of authority in the real world is not lost on children.

NICE, FRANCE — JULY 15: A boy writes on the ground next to flowers placed on the Promenade des Anglais on July 15, 2016 in Nice, France. A French-Tunisian attacker killed 84 people as he drove a lorry through crowds, gathered to watch a firework display during Bastille Day Celebrations. The attacker then opened fire on people in the crowd before being shot dead by police. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Carl Court/Getty Images

Screen violence — real and fictional — harmful for kids, experts say

“Children know there are a lot of scary things in the world, that there are a lot of bad things that can happen, and these shows make them feel like they could be part of fixing it,” Klein said. “But they know at some level that they can’t take care of things solely on their own, and being part of a team makes them feel safe.”

Among these cartoons’ many critics exists a subgroup of parents who are OK with some degree of autocracy and Manichean dualistic politics but just wish they would be presented with more nuance.

That’s not so easy, however, explained Yalda T. Uhls, a research scientist who studies children and media at the University of California, Los Angeles, and for the nonprofit Common Sense Media. “Rigidness and simplicity of narrative (in children’s television shows) is really important, because in the real world so much is going on. And young children aren’t really capable of abstract thought.”

Uhls said preschool-age children pay close attention to social cues and status, all in an attempt to figure out where they stand. The clearly articulated hierarchies in these cartoons confirm what they are struggling to understand in their own lives: mainly, that someone else, probably a parent or teacher, is in charge.

Parents concerned with the unsavory elements in shows like “Thomas” and “Paw Patrol” should talk to their children about them, but “don’t overthink it,” Uhls said.

“It takes a long time for a child to learn something from media and then apply it to their own life,” she said. For example, children won’t immediately take up bullying just because they saw it go unpunished on television.

Curious George in the PBS tv series.

Universal Animation Studios/PBS

8 TV shows to help your preschooler learn

Katherine DM Clover, a mother of a 2-year-old in Detroit who occasionally watches “Thomas,” struggles with whether she should use the same criteria to judge her child’s TV preferences as she does her own.

“I think there is a fine line that parents walk when it comes to media. Obviously, there are some things that are going to be totally off-limits and some things that are more in the ‘I don’t love it, but whatever’ territory. … ‘Thomas’ feels like a very difficult call. Is this harmful, or is it just not to my taste?”

She said that for now, she still lets him occasionally watch the show, because Thomas is “so close to the line. And as a socially conscious parent, there are so many things that are way over it.”

Sa’iyda Shabazz, who is based in Los Angeles, said she has no qualms letting her 4-year-old watch “Thomas,” which is “his favorite thing in the entire world.”

“I think it’s evolved a lot over the years, which is why I don’t really agree with the ‘fascist’ label,” she said. “I think the characters show empathy more, and friendship is a bigger theme. And not for nothing, they’re trains. Order and doing as you’re told is important to running a successful train line.”

Then there are the parents who are OK with the authoritarian elements in children’s media but wish the authorities didn’t always have to be white and male.

“I watched ‘Paw Patrol’ once with my daughter, and on that episode, Skye volunteered for a mission, but then Ryder picked two male pups,” said Rebekah Pajak, a mother of a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old in Chicago. Skye is the only female in the core team of six rescue pups on the show. “I remember thinking, ‘There’s a glass ceiling in this cartoon!’ “

Like many parents struggling with their children’s media choices, Pajak doesn’t want to get in the way of something her daughter enjoys – and she really enjoys “Paw Patrol.” But the concern about her daughter absorbing patriarchal messages lingers.

“I don’t want to think one cartoon is going to shape her, but if she sees 10 cartoons, then I do have a concern. It’s systemic. What is this all telling her collectively?”

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Here’s an idea, gratis, for the creative team behind of “Paw Patrol” and “Thomas,” should they want to broaden their appeal to parents without alienating their fan base: Ryder and Sir Topham Hatt retire and are replaced by their equally domineering sisters. This, in turn, boosts the social status of all the non-male characters. Children would still get the satisfaction of immersing themselves in an orderly universe where rules are rules, and everyone is in his or her place. Just without the white guy on top.

Elissa Strauss writes about the politics and culture of parenthood.

Fast-Moving Cartoons Can Cloud Kids’ Concentration

Mom and Dad warned that television would rot your brain, and a new study suggests it’s true — at least from certain frenetic-style cartoons.

Kids who watched just nine minutes of the fast-paced children’s cartoon «SpongeBob SquarePants» did worse afterward at tasks requiring focus and self-control than did kids who watched a slow-paced cartoon and kids who entertained themselves by coloring.

The study was small, and scientists weren’t sure how long the brain-drain effect persists. But the research highlights the importance not just of how much TV a child watches, but of what kind, said Dimitri Christakis of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute at the University of Washington. Christakis was not involved in the study, but penned an accompanying editorial appearing today (Sept. 12) in the journal Pediatrics.

«It’s not … all television that creates deficits in attention,» Christakis told LiveScience. «It’s the pacing of the program, what we call the ‘formal features,’ that actually matter.»

Kids and cartoons

Earlier observation studies returned mixed results on the effect of television on child development, but there have been enough red flags to concern researchers. For example, in a study published in 2009 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Christakis found that television time decreases the verbal back-and-forth between parents and young kids, potentially stifling children’s language and social development. [ 11 Facts Parents Should Know About Their Baby’s Brain ]

The new study, led by University of Virginia psychologist Angeline Lillard, sought to find out whether the type of TV that children watch makes a difference. The researchers recruited 60 4-year-olds (via their parents) and assigned them to one of three conditions. In the first, the children simply colored for nine minutes. In the second, they watched nine minutes of «a very popular fantastical cartoon about an animated sponge that lives under the sea.» The third group of children watched nine minutes of «a realistic Public Broadcasting Service cartoon about a typical U.S. preschool-age boy.»

Lillard was not available for an interview to confirm the shows used, but the descriptions match the cartoon «SpongeBob SquarePants» and the PBS show «Caillou. »

The shows were chosen for their very different pacing. «SpongeBob» underwent a complete scene change every 11 seconds, with lots of frenetic movement in between, the researchers reported. The PBS show was slower, with a scene change every 34 seconds or so.

Children’s shows have become faster-paced over the years even as children watch more television, Christakis said. In the 1970s, children started watching TV at age 4. Today the average age for beginning to watch television is 4 months. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that two-thirds of infants and toddlers spend an average of two hours a day watching TV or another screen. The concern is that overstimulation from hyperactive shows will tax the brain, leading to trouble focusing later.

Testing self-control

After the kids finished watching television or coloring, the researchers had them complete a variety of tasks to measure executive control, or the mental ability to focus, avoid distraction and control oneself. Kids did a directions-following test involving moving disks from one peg to another, played a «Simon Says»-like game in which they were asked to touch their head, toes or other parts, and practiced repeating sequences of numbers backwards.

The researchers also gave the kids the famed » marshmallow test,» a common challenge for children’s self-control. The researchers put out either marshmallows or Goldfish crackers (depending on which the child preferred) and left the room. Before they left, they told the kids that they could ring a bell and eat two marshmallows or crackers immediately. But if they waited instead for the experimenters got back, they could have 10 marshmallows or crackers.

This test of willpower has been shown to predict how much self-control kids will have as adults. That’s important, because self-control and delaying gratification are considered keys to everything from maintaining good health to building a successful career.

The effect of the boob tube

The researchers tallied and placed the kids’ scores on a standardized scale to compare how well each group did. They found that «SpongeBob» watchers scored consistently more poorly across the board. For example, the average standardized score for a child who watched the PBS program on the marshmallow test was around 0.2. For a child who’d watched the frenetic cartoon, it was close to minus 0.5.

Kids who watched the slow-paced cartoon performed on the same level as kids who spent their time coloring, indicating that it wasn’t the act of TV watching that was causing the deficit, but the type of TV being watched.

«It would be wrong for people to overgeneralize this and say ‘SpongeBob’ is a bad show and ‘Caillou’ is a good show,» Christakis said. «It’s not about the specific shows. It’s about the features of those shows.»

A show like «Sesame Street» is more naturally paced, according to Christakis. Theoretically, that would mean that «Sesame Street» isn’t so likely to tax kids’ brains, but that theory hasn’t been tested. A 1977 study published in the journal Educational Technology Research and Development compared the cognitive effects of fast-paced versus slow-paced «Sesame Street» episodes and found no difference between the two. But a 2004 study in the journal Perceptual & Motor Skills noted that «Sesame Street» itself has picked up the pace since the 1970s, and no one has studied modern episodes.

The researchers aren’t yet sure how long the struggles with executive function persist or how children younger and older than in this study sample are affected, but Christakis said observational research suggests that long-term media exposure can have long-term impacts. More and larger studies are needed to answer those questions, he said, but the current research should strike a cautionary chord for parents.

«At minimum, I think parents should take home from this study that I would not encourage them to watch ‘SpongeBob’ just before their kindergarten assessments,» Christakis said.

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on.

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Scientific cartoons, what to show to children without harm to them? / Sudo Null IT News

An explanation of the law of gravity from the cartoon «Physics for the little ones»

I have two very inquisitive sons, aged three and five. They are very fond of scientific cartoons, especially in physics and astronomy, as soon as a tablet falls into their hands, little fingers begin to quickly sort through YouTube videos in search of interesting content. And what do they find there? Since I am not only the father of two children, but also devoted a significant part of my life to teaching physics for young children, I know what teachers, as well as caring parents and kind grandmothers, show children. I will say right away that not all of this should be shown to children.

This should not be seen by a child

For several years now, laws have been adopted, the purpose of which is “to save children from the harmful effects of the Internet”, however, I believe that pseudo-educational cartoons can cause much more damage to the psyche and development of the child, in contrast to the content that he will never watch anyway.

As the brightest and most colorful example, let’s consider the cartoon «Physics for the little ones» This is a cartoon from the well-known and highly respected director Robert Saakyants. The cartoon has gained immense popularity and recognition among parents, grandmothers and even teachers. So what does he really represent?

For 45 minutes, an inquisitive hare has a dialogue with a smart robot, which, using examples, explains to him what physics is and why it is needed. Quite a good plot for a children’s cartoon, but during this time the robot makes about fifty gross mistakes and mistakes! And I don’t see the point in listing them all. But one of the statements of the robot touched my heart so much that I decided to publish this article. Namely, the fragment when the hare, already on fire with science, asks the robot:0007

— Well, maybe then I will also discover some kind of law?
— Yes, you will open the same one that has already been opened, so it’s better not to risk it .

Thus, the author conveys to the minds of children that it is better not to even try to discover something of your own. This goes completely against the way the development and development of a child is seen by me and, probably, by most of the readers of this post.

That’s actually the cartoon itself. The juice itself starts at 9:06, it is better not to watch more than three minutes.

These videos are very popular, they are the first to pop up in parental search queries like: “physics cartoon for kids”, my children often get to them while walking on thematic links from YouTube, and this cartoon is also sometimes shown at the teacher’s school. The latter is hard to believe, but I used to hold classes every month with physics teachers from my field and ask the question, what do they show children? The answers sometimes upset me.

It is worth adding that Robert Sahakyants decided to introduce children not only to physics, but also to mathematics, astronomy, biology, etc. , these cartoons received no less popularity and came out with similar names «… for the smallest.»

Worth seeing for a child

The most important thing

The best way for a child to know the world is to touch it with his hands, so if you really want to arouse an unquenchable interest in science in your child, do experiments with him:

Go with him to the science museum.
Build an ordinary flashlight.
Make the ping-pong ball float in the airflow from the hair dryer.
Make a microscope out of a drop on glass.
Assemble the unipolar motor.
Craft a compass out of a magnetized needle on the water.
Create your own kaleidoscope.
Show the night sky and the milky way (outside the city).
Show Saturn and the Moon through a telescope.
Demonstrate how to build an image with a lens (magnifier).
Assemble the camera obscura.
Electrify the balloon and stick it to the wall.
Buy an ultraviolet flashlight and turn off the lights in the room.
Buy a plasma lamp and light a fluorescent lamp in the hands of a child (do not leave alone with the lamp).
Buy soap bubbles.
…

I can list this list for a long time, different experiences are suitable for children of different ages. Feel free to find and conduct a couple of experiments that are most suitable for yours. I wish you exciting experiments!

UPD: Thanks to the commenters who drew my attention to the fact that I misunderstood the dialogue between the hare and the robot. For example, a note from demchuk13:

Same cartoon:
— … at least you will understand why the object falls from above …
“Also, how high can I throw the stone?”
And with what force it will fall on your head.
“Well, maybe then I’ll also discover some law?”
— Yes, you will open the same one that has already been opened, so it’s better not to risk it.
Consequently, the author conveys to the minds of children that it is better not to even try to throw stones up, as there is a risk of damaging the head with a fallen stone. And this, in my opinion, is not so bad.

Thus, I remove one of the main claims to the cartoon.

The best cartoons for our little children

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All people have the brightest, kindest and most sincere memories associated with cartoons, which go deep into childhood, a time of carelessness and joy. For young children, there is probably no worse punishment than a ban on watching their favorite cartoons, because it is they who take the kids to a world of fantasy, magic and adventure, a world where everything is possible.

Modern animated creations have changed so much that they periodically compete with cinema, because against the backdrop of colorful and realistic pictures you can completely relax, immersed in the world of beauty.

In most cartoons, good conquers evil, positive characters always find strength and opportunities that help them cope with difficulties, and magic wands and magical creatures easily transfer our fantasy far beyond the real.

But is it really that simple? Should you fully trust the creators of such animated masterpieces and let your child sit for hours in front of TV screens and monitors? It turns out that not all cartoons have a beneficial effect on the development of a small personality, and some individual copies are completely capable of shaking the already delicate psyche of a child.

In order to protect your baby from harmful effects, it is necessary to choose the best cartoons for young children, on the basis of which they will be able to learn lessons from a simple plot, learn the seriousness of moral and spiritual values, draw conclusions that are simply necessary for a particular age.

Time should not pass in vain, therefore, even while watching your favorite cartoon, the baby should learn and develop.

It is believed that the first cartoon that was shown to the world is «Phantasmagoria», shown by the Gaumont company back in 1908. This cartoon, of course, cannot be compared with modern counterparts, primitive light lines on a dark background, which resembled the drawing of figures with chalk.

Such a copy is unlikely to please your little child, but at one time it was a real coup, which grew into those realistic, colorful and inspiring pictures that come to life every time from the screens of cinemas and home TVs.

How do cartoons affect the minds of babies?

Parents’ opinions regarding the long and frequent watching of cartoons by their children drastically differ, some believe that this is a real opportunity to go about their business, knowing that the child is «in business».

Others are well aware that with frequent viewing, vision deteriorates, the child communicates less and less with parents and peers, completely immersed in his own, fictional fantasy world.

Watching interesting children’s cartoons is loved by almost everything that allows you to protect your baby from unwanted scenes that can be violent or other, excessively forced, character.

To do this, it is enough for parents to first familiarize themselves with the plot of the cartoon, and only then provide it to their child. By the way, in order for such views to really bring joy, it is necessary to enter certain permitted hours or days.

Most modern psychologists have come to the conclusion that you need to be very careful about what your children watch, because, unfortunately, not all cartoons are harmless, and even more so useful for children’s consciousness.

According to statistics, modern children are increasingly beginning to distinguish the difference between good and evil, they do not see the predominance of positive characters, because often in cartoons it is not courage, kindness and prudence that wins, but strength, assertiveness, but sometimes even arrogance.

Little children are increasingly trying to distinguish between the characters, because instead of the usual gray bunny, an orange hybrid runs on the screen, which too remotely resembles who it is called. I would like to note that the pedagogical impact in modern paintings has completely lost its former strength, sluggish plots and empty stories simply clog your baby’s free time.

How to protect yourself from this?

Of course, everything is not so bad, there are many worthy works, both of the last century and of the present, which can not only entertain, but also teach goodness, justice, show the importance of friendship and love, lay the foundations of correct behavior and moral principles.

An excellent example of such works are Soviet cartoons for children, which in their characteristic manner teach children the ideology by which every worthy person should grow up. All Soviet cartoons are extremely diverse, the best artists, actors and musicians worked on them, who in their works created worthy masterpieces for centuries.

Here, the confrontation between good and evil is always obvious, which always ends positively, the evil characters are expressed not in a bloodthirsty way, but rather, comically and weakly. It is in such stories that the characters learn to be friends, empathize, not succumb to evil and betrayal.

All Soviet cartoons have one common feature: “theatrical” voice acting, characters can be deliberately emotional, which allows young viewers to easily understand simple truths that are not always discussed in modern works.

But you shouldn’t disown modern art too much, because even there you come across really high-quality, kind and deep cartoons.

Many of them are created on the basis of the latest computer technologies, the pictures are not drawn manually, but are processed through graphics, which, as a result, turns primitive scenery into castles and landscapes of unprecedented beauty, and the characters are endowed with incredible abilities and external qualities.

List of quality and interesting cartoons

Of course, it is very difficult to choose the best and kindest among the sea of various works, but we decided to make our own list of the best cartoons for children. Of course, something didn’t fit into it, it simply didn’t fit, and some people won’t like the individual paintings, because everyone has their own taste.

Nevertheless, we will present to your attention a list of 20 cartoons, which will consist of half Soviet and half modern films, which, in our opinion, are worthy of children’s attention.