Fast-Paced Cartoons Like SpongeBob May Harm Children’s Brains
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Children who watch fast-paced cartoons like SpongeBob SquarePants perform worse when asked to follow rules or delay gratification than kids who spend time drawing or watching slower, educational programs, a study found.
The 4-year-old children who watched nine minutes of SpongeBob on Viacom Inc.’s Nickelodeon channel performed only half as well on tasks as those who spent the same amount of time drawing or watching Caillou, a Public Broadcasting Service educational program about a 4-year-old boy, said Angeline Lillard, lead author of today’s study in the journal Pediatrics.