مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - VIEWS of MOTHERS ABOUT CARTOONS’ IMPACT ON CHILDREN’ BEHAVIOUR

Abstract :

The purpose of this study is to examine effects of cartoons on child audiences regarding the views of mothers. This research was designed according to descriptive method and survey model. The sample of research consisted of 940 mothers who have child attending public pre-schools (preschool-kindergarten) and primary schools (first, second and third graders) in the center of Isparta province. To collect data, a questionnaire was designed by the researcher. Frequencies and percentiles of the answers of parents to the questions for pre-school kids and primary school students have been computed separately. The results obtained in this study show both pre-school and primary school children’s watch cartoon programs on average 1 to 2 hours per day. Mothers rated television as ‘a multifunctional device’, ‘informative device’ and ‘leisure time device’ consecutively. Older students spared more time to watch cartoon films than to games and social activities. A majority of the children prefer a certain cartoon film and watch it on a regular basis. The findings suggest that a substantial number of pre-school kids prefer to watch cartoon films which have human characters in the heart of them. According to the mothers it is mostly primary school children who believe that the virtual heroines, the places and scenes of the films are genuine. There is no significant difference between pre-school kids and primary school children in identifying themselves with the heroines of the cartoon films, imitating the movements they have seen in them and using the words they have heard in their daily routines. Besides, other findings suggest that both pre-school kids and primary school children exhibit behaviour very much related to the content of these cartoon films, have requests inspired from them and ask questions and talk about these films at varying degrees. According to the findings of the four questions asked ‘My child asks for items (toys, clothes and other things) which he has seen in a cartoon film’, ‘cartoon films have an impact on her choices of clothes and toys’, cartoon films have an effect on his food and drinks’, ‘wants to buy clothes which have the cartoon film characters on them’, cartoon films have a significant impact on primary school children’s choices. The last eight questions of the questionnaire suggest that both pre-school kids and primary school children talk with their parents about the cartoon films.