How kids benefit from cartoons and caricature

Everyone has fond memories of watching cartoons. They have been an indispensable part of our childhood. As a form of entertainment, they always achieve their job of making children sit and focus on a fun narrative. But their function is not merely reserved to entertainment. Cartoons have the ability to teach kids about the world around them and about life in a unique way. They are consumed not just through television and movies, but also through comics, another loved art form. Here is how cartoons and caricature are beneficial for kids, all while acting as portals into fantastical worlds.  

Encourage self-expression 
Although normal drawing and doodling can be fun activities, inducing a more narrative-led perspective to them can allow your child to self-express in a creative and challenging way. Apart from drawing, kids also have to come up with dialogues and a story-line for creating cartoon, no matter how short or big, humorous or plain. It sharpens their writing and story-telling abilities.  

Help retain information better 
For young kids, perceiving and retaining information are a little different in the sense that they respond to and engage more with visual cues. The use of colour and animation in cartoons allows kids to focus and follow a storyline, and thoroughly engage with it. These visual cues and colours also act as symbolism to communicate meanings which are embedded deeply and are picked up subconsciously by kids. 

Motivate kids to create visuals 
Moving images in colour are the first to demand the viewer’s attention- even before comprehending the nature and theme of a given story! Evidently, animation is a massive part of cartoons. Your child’s interest in caricature and cartoon can gradually develop into a more advanced interest pertaining to creating visuals and graphics.  

Open the doors of imagination 
Cartoons and caricature are so immensely loved because they can help children transition from the real world and into worlds which are more fun, imaginative and exciting. They encourage kids to put on their thinking caps and explore different possibilities. They can be a creative escapism from the mundaneness of normal life and routine, especially in a pandemic situation. 

Teach life lessons 
Almost all cartoons on TV and in films have the objective of conveying a moral through narratives. They have a very special way of shining light on these subjects subtly which subconsciously, yet effectively, registers in children’s minds.