Written by Ella Byrne. Edited by Abigail O’ Connell.

Today’s toddlers are growing up surrounded by screens. On average, children can access five different screens at home (Sigman, 2012), and many are exposed to animated shows featuring magic spells, gravity-defying stunts, and characters that transform into superheroes or animals. These are called fantastical events, and while they’re imaginative and fun, they might place heavy demands on a toddler’s developing brain.

The Rise of Fantastical Cartoons

Fantastical content often includes things that are impossible in real life such as flying pigs or talking trees, for instance. Additionally, fantastical cartoons are typically fast-paced, with character movement and scene changes switching rapidly. Research suggests that such content might temporarily overload toddlers' cognitive systems, reducing their ability to focus, remember, and control their impulses afterwards (Lillard et al., 2015; Keşşafoğlu et al., 2024).

With the growing popularity of animated content designed for very young audiences, researchers are paying close attention to how fantastical media affects early brain development, particularly a set of skills known as executive functions (EF). These are the mental processes that help children focus, remember instructions, manage impulses, and switch between tasks, skills that are crucial for learning, behaviour, and even emotional regulation.

So, what’s really going on when your child watches fantastical cartoons? And how can technologies like eye-tracking help us understand their experience?

Why Are Fantastical Cartoons So Draining?

A theory called the Limited Capacity Model may just explain why fantastical cartoons can affect toddlers (Lang, 2000). Young children have limited cognitive resources. When they watch something that defies the rules of the real world, their brains work overtime trying to make sense of it. This can leave fewer resources for other important tasks like practicing self-control or planning a new goal.

One study found that children who watched a fantastical cartoon performed worse on problem-solving tasks immediately afterward, compared to those who watched more realistic or slower-paced content (Lillard & Peterson, 2011). Fast pacing, frequent scene changes, and magical events may all contribute to this mental fatigue.

What Are Executive Functions and Why Do They Matter?

Executive functions are a set of mental skills in the brain. In toddlers, they include:

Working memory: holding and using information briefly (like remembering where a toy was hidden),
Inhibitory control: resisting impulses (like not grabbing sweets when told ‘no’),
Cognitive flexibility: switching focus between tasks or rules (like sorting blocks by colour, then shape).

These skills start emerging during toddlerhood, a crucial stage for laying the groundwork for future learning, behaviour, and emotional wellbeing (Garon et al., 2008; Diamond, 2013).

What Is Eye-Tracking, and Why Is It Useful?

This is where eye-tracking comes in. Eye-tracking is a technology that allows researchers to see exactly where and how long a child looks at different parts of a screen. It helps us understand which scenes capture their attention, how often their gaze shifts, and whether they are focusing deeply or quickly scanning new information (Porras et al., 2024).

For example, if a toddler watches a fast-paced, fantastical cartoon and shows frequent short fixations (quick glances), it could suggest that they are overwhelmed and struggling to process all the visual information (Li et al., 2020). On the other hand, longer fixations on key scenes might indicate more focused engagement.

Other Factors That Influence Screen Impact

Not all toddlers are affected the same way. Research suggests that sleep quality, general cognitive ability, and the home environment all play a role in how well toddlers can process screen content (Chen et al., 2021; Morales-Muñoz et al., 2021). For instance, poor sleep can impair working memory, and screen time before bed can disrupt sleep (Hale et al., 2018). Parents’ device use also matters; screen time interrupts play or bonding and could impact children’s emotional and cognitive development (McDaniel & Radesky, 2018).

Our Study

At the UCD Babylab, we have run a study with toddlers aged 18 to 24 months to explore how different types of cartoons affect executive functions. Using eye-tracking, we examined how toddlers visually engage with high-fantasy versus low-fantasy cartoons. We also collected data on their performance in simple games that measure memory, attention, and cognitive flexibility, along with parent questionnaires about screen use, sleep, and cognitive development.

Our goal is to better understand whether frequent, fantastical cartoon content puts additional strain on toddlers’ developing cognitive systems, and how this may influence their behaviour and learning in everyday life. By combining eye-tracking with behavioural and parent-reported data, we hope to offer clear, evidence-based insights to guide parents in making screen time more developmentally supportive.

Stay tuned to learn more about our findings!

References

Chen, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, S., Zhang, M., & Wu, N. (2021). Self-Reported Sleep and Executive Function in Early Primary School Children. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.793000

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750

Garon, N., Bryson, S. E., & Smith, I. M. (2008). Executive function in preschoolers: A review using an integrative framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134(1), 31–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.1.31

Hale, L., Kirschen, G. W., LeBourgeois, M. K., Gradisar, M., Garrison, M. M., Montgomery-Downs, H., Kirschen, H., McHale, S. M., Chang, A.-M., & Buxton, O. M. (2018). Youth Screen Media Habits and Sleep. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 27(2), 229–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2017.11.014

Keşşafoğlu, D., Küntay, A., & Uzundağ, B. A. (2024). Immediate and delayed effects of fantastical content on children’s executive functions and mental transformation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 248, 106067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2024.106067

Lang, A. (2000). The Limited Capacity Model of Mediated Message Processing. Journal of Communication, 50(1), 46–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02833.x

Li, H., Hsueh, Y., Yu, H., & Kitzmann, K. M. (2020). Viewing Fantastical Events in Animated Television Shows: Immediate Effects on Chinese Preschoolers’ Executive Function. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.583174

Lillard, A. S., & Peterson, J. (2011). The immediate impact of different types of television on young children’s executive function. Pediatrics, 128(4), 644–649. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1919

Lillard, A. S., Drell, M. B., Richey, E. M., Boguszewski, K., & Smith, E. D. (2015). Further examination of the immediate impact of television on children’s executive function. Developmental Psychology, 51(6), 792–805. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039097

McDaniel, B. T., & Radesky, J. S. (2018). Technoference: Parent Distraction With Technology and Associations With Child Behavior Problems. Child Development, 89(1), 100–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12822

Morales-Muñoz, I., Nolvi, S., Mäkelä, T., Eskola, E., Korja, R., Fernandes, M., Karlsson, H., Paavonen, E. J., & Karlsson, L. (2021). Sleep during infancy, inhibitory control and working memory in toddlers: Findings from the FinnBrain cohort study. Sleep Science and Practice, 5(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41606-021-00064-4

Porras, M. M., Campen, C. A. N. K., González-Rosa, J. J., Sánchez-Fernández, F. L., & Guzmán, J. I. N. (2024). Eye tracking study in children to assess mental calculation and eye movements. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 18901. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69800-x

Sigman, A. (2012). Time for a view on screen time. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 97(11), 935–942. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-302196