Cocomelon, a popular children’s cartoon, may act as a stimulant drug for toddlers due to hyperactive overstimulating qualities and extreme color use (Educator Claims Cocomelon is a drug).
“This show is highly overstimulating and is very likely to result in behavioural and attention disorders. According to Child Development specialist Jerrica Sannes, it acts as a stimulant that gives the toddler brain a hit of dopamine in every scene,” According to Child Development specialist Jerrica Sannes.
Sannes also believes the more a child watches the show, the more their brains expect that level of stimulation, making it impossible for them to play creatively without entertainment.
Health risks to children can also occur after prolonged exposure to Cocomelon, resulting in neurological issues similar to those with ADHD and Autism (Experts on Cocomelon).
Cocomelon is different from other children’s cartoons because of the fast pace, non-stop bombardment of color, imagery, activity, and relatable toddler instances, which keep the toddlers hooked (Cocomelon plot summary).
Gabi Casais, a mother, believes her daughter was addicted to the show because she would “cry and scream” if Casais refused to show it.
Elmer Bustillo, Camila’s stepfather, noticed an issue with her watching the show.
“When we turned it off.” Bustillo continued, “The first time we took the show off the television, we started seeing a reaction from her. She started crying and throwing a tantrum and was slightly more aggressive.”
Bustillo said she would react by throwing tantrums, crying, and repeatedly demanding to watch the show once the program was turned off.
“She reacts by crying or repeating ‘coco melon,’ ‘Cocomelon, ‘Cocomelon.’” Bustillo added, “[Cocomelon] is all she talked about. There was nothing else that she wanted to see or hear other than Cocomellon. She was zoned into watching the show; I had to get in front of the television to snap her out of it.”
Parents on Common Sense Media rate the show a single star and urge parents not to show children as it depicts graphic, adult themes like “nudity, drug use and violence) believing the show should be rated “18 and up” (Common Sense Media).
Bustillo and Casais did not see any indication that the show had “adult themes.” The main problem these parents had with the show was that it consumed their daughter’s life. The show was so time-consuming for their daughter that when Camila watched it, Bustillo and Casais could get more work done around the home than with any other show.
“I could easily put Cocomelon on and keep [taking like a two-hour nap] or get laundry and cleaning done,” Casais said.
The show was watched for 33 billion minutes last year (2021), more than the Netflix hits Squid Game and Bridgerton combined, according to market-measurement firm Nielsen (Time).
The show’s popularity is due to the bright colors found throughout the Cocomelon world, no conflict within the show, no sharp edges or corners, and each scene is presented from a toddler’s point of view, and the characters are “unfailingly” kind to one another.
These aspects of the show make it highly desirable for young audiences. It is colorful, relatable, and clean. The show is tailored to its target audience at every level.
The show’s effect is not limited to children; parents often found themselves sitting alongside their children, wholly absorbed by the show’s colors and non-violent, calming nature.
“I turned the show on for my son one day and decided to look at it with him. When I finally realized how long I had watched the show, three (3) hours had passed,” Brie Garballi, mother of a 3-year-old, said.
There is no national or international regulation on this show, and the show has recently become more popular. However, the show came out in 2006 (no research or studies were conducted at that time) and became the most repeatedly watched show in Hispanic, Asian and African American households, easily besting other children’s titles.
Nielson, a global audience measuring company, released data showing Cocomelon was the second most-streamed show in 2021 and only had nine episodes available to stream on Netflix. Few episodes indicate that the show has repeat viewers watching the same episodes repeatedly.
René Rechtman, co-founder and CEO of Moonbug, told Forbes. “As kids across the globe look to CoComelon for relatable content, we’re continuing to grow the show. This is just the beginning of the brand’s global growth as we work to expand the franchise both on and off the screen.”
Another aspect to consider is that the show is harmful for various reasons. Research indicates that children need high-quality educational content, and not all shows have educational content, let alone high-quality. For those younger kids under 2, playing and social interaction are essential to social, language, and physical development, according to Child Phycologist Daniel Marullo. Marullo also believes it’s not that the show is not directly harmful (Cocomelon and Behavior).
What is unhealthy is that the show does not add anything constructive to a developing child’s brain. The cartoon presents how someone in that age group should act socially kind and behave around parental figures.
The show’s popularity and effect on children are evident. The show maintains children’s attention and often leads to poor behaviour if the show is unavailable or parents limit how much time the child can view the program. As the children age, more time is needed to see the show’s long-term effects on the developing mind.
By Alexander Fernandez
Additional Sources:
https://www.thelist.com/353533/the-untold-truth-of-cocomelon/#:~:text=With%20that%20in%20mind%2C%20it's,of%20encouraging%20abusive%20fan%20behavior.%22
https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2022/02/16/why-children-love-cocomelon/
https://netflixlife.com/2021/06/17/cocomelon-season-4-release-date-update-netflix/#:~:text=There%20are%20nine%20episodes%20of%20Cocomelon%20on%20Netflix.