Over the years, many cartoon shows have come and gone, some leaving footprints, others forgotten. We all remember the funny antics of Wile E. Coyote or Road Runner. However, we don't remember seeing a lot of violence all those years ago. Now, after many years, you can flip through the channels at any given day or time and run across what is considered "children's" television programming. There is too much violence in children's cartoons and it is affecting their way of life. Some problems are the amount of time kids spend on TV, the influence of adults and older siblings and many inappropriate shows being broadcasted on children's networks.
One means of which violence gets to kids is the amount of time they spend sitting in front of the tube. For example, in Canada young children watch an average of three to four hours of television daily. During this time, they become brainwashed into believing things that are not true. On TV, cartoons especially, perpetrators go unpunished in 73% of all violent scenes and only 4% of violent programs emphasize an anti-violent theme. Many shows circulate on TV and young kids may see many inappropriate cartoons or other shows. Watching too many cartoons full of violence, such as Bugs Bunny, that rely on violent behavior to hook viewers, is not good for young kids who don't know the difference between right and wrong. By seeing so many acts of violence, children become desensitized and violent behavior may become common in them. Also, by spending so much time in front of the television, kids" minds become convinced that whatever they saw on the TV is the right thing to do and they must follow in that path. This is not what we want our young children to learn. To prevent this, we could get our children to participate in activities that do not encourage violent behavior, such as specific sports or reading. By taking into consideration the amount of time young children spend on the TV, it is clear that violence is evident in cartoons and it is affecting our children.
