The Importance of Animation to Children (and their Development)

The podcast discusses the importance of animation to children and their development. The speaker, Alani, shares their personal love for cartoons and how they have learned from them. They explain that cartoons have evolved over time to be less frightening and easier for children to understand. Animation and video-based content are important for visual learning and cognitive development. The speaker references sources that highlight the positive impacts of animation on children's brains, such as promoting problem-solving skills, sensory usage, and creativity. However, it is important for parents to monitor what their children watch to avoid negative effects. Overall, animation is a valuable tool for children to learn and grow. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whatever time of day it is for you, I'm very happy that you're listening and interested in hearing about today's podcast, The Importance of Animation to Children and Their Development. My name is Alani, and though this is actually my first time making a podcast or anything of this sort, I'm pretty excited to get on to this topic. Not only does it heavily relate to me personally, but I'm sure many of you out there can relate as well. Ever since I was a child, I have been a cartoon lover, and animated shows and movies have always been my jam for as long as I can remember. I feel like I've learned so much from this kind of media, and I feel it's important to talk about this in general, since these kinds of shows and movies will keep on going for a long time. So, without further ado, let's get started. So, what exactly am I talking about? Well, first, mostly everyone knows what a cartoon is. At some point, we've seen one, whether it's one of the oldies, a recent one, on an advertisement, or from just about anything. When one thinks of cartoons, most tend to think about the animated shows that we used to watch many years ago, like SpongeBob SquarePants, Phineas and Ferb, My Little Pony, Gersh the Cowardly Dog. You get the idea. Of course, nowadays we see newer shows and movies for children, reboots or remakes of the older shows, and a lot of us may think, what the heck, this isn't anything like we watched, the old stuff is better. Though I also agree with you, it's important to understand what these shows are going for. For example, why is it different? Why did they change the style, or the mood, or the way the characters talk and act? If we understand the why, we understand the intent, which is usually to make children's shows and movies less frightening to watch and easier to understand, along with keeping the fun and full-of-life aspects these shows offer. Nowadays, with much of the advancement in technology, and the increased importance of visual learning, the need for animation and video-based content has become exponential. Though we may have grown up and heard every now and then, too much TV will rot your brain and hurt your eyes. Still true in terms that we should do our best to limit our screen time as a means to prevent overstimulation, just because we watch TV does not mean it's entirely bad for us, nor does it mean we don't learn anything from it. Starting from just one years old, maybe even younger in some cases, children are slowly being trained to learn, and a lot of what they learn is from what they see. Monkey see, monkey do, right? As they develop and grow, go into school and start learning skills, a similar approach can be taken to keep children engaged and learning, and animations can be a helpful tool for that. Before I start going into detail about the many ways animation helps children learn, and develop cognitively, a quick note about where I got my information from. I referenced SimpleShow.com, their blog titled How Animation Affects Children's Brains, posted on April 11, 2018. I also referenced the Oxford School Trivandrum, titled Animation Movies, Impact on Children, Positive and Negative, posted on February 28, 2022, and written by Krishnaja S. With these moving and merging images, animation has shown to positively impact a child's development in several cognitive areas. Not only can animation benefit necessary life skills like inclusion and problem solving, it can promote sensory usage that, in turn, leads to greater understanding and memory. We are all born with creativity, yet the progression of life may hinder it. Animation and technology can be used as an asset to keep creativity intact and flowing. The inclusion of a story further promotes communication and helps children to explore meaning of their own experiences, and sometimes even their own homework. Children also have more personal growth with animations, especially when they include stories. Examples can be movies like Disney's Princess and the Frog, Turning Red, or Inside Out, or even DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon, and Trolls. Animations help with general brain growth and development, like memory enhancement, personality development, and lessons taught through one or more characters allow children to connect and learn through visual and auditory senses. Of course, because children learn visually, exposing them to certain shows and movies that involve rude humor, violence, or horror can impact how they see, talk, and act around others. Parents and guardians should be careful with what they let their children watch, as some can either be overwhelming or overstimulating, which can negatively affect a child's behavior and how they take in information, making it difficult to do so as well. But overall, if done right, animations are an amazing way for children to grasp and understand important ideas and skills, furthering their development and personalities, as well as continuing to let them see the fun in the world, and in the world that they watch. Growing up with animation can be a great thing, but to all the parents and guardians out there, let's make sure to limit that screen time and to be mindful of what your children watch. Let children learn through nicely paced and fun shows and movies. Let them connect with the characters and understand the lessons that they teach. Many who grow up with these animations have taken away something important, a good moral that we still think about and do as an important part of our lives. Personally, I always think about Disney's Princess and the Frog, as Tiana inspired me to be independent and a hard worker, as well as to understand that I can achieve my dreams if I work to it and believe in myself, as well as to give myself time to understand what I have. What's the animated show or movie that you think about? And what's the moral that you took away from it? Though this was a short and sweet podcast, my name is Alani, and that's all I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, and stay safe out there.