Tom and Jerry - Our Favorite Cartoon

Tom and Jerry has been an all-time favorite cartoon in my family for many years. It was one of my favorite cartoons ever since I could remember watching cartoons. The endless cat-and-mouse chases have provided for many hours of fun entertainment in our house. Although we enjoy watching all the Tom and Jerry cartoons, my favorite episodes are mostly many of the original ones. My children, of course, love any of them.

There are a lot of Tom & Jerry fans out there who have watched every single episode of the cartoon and love them. But there has been a bit of controversy about whether or not Tom & Jerry is a violent cartoon.

Given the nature of many of the older similarly produced cartoons in the mid- to -late 1950s, like Tom & Jerry, mild violence is a part of the feature. There are definitely undertones of violence, as you will see Jerry blowing up Tom with a bomb, or Tom attempting to eat Jerry. From bowling balls to hammers and trees, you will see heads bashed and eyeballs pop out, along with just about anything else you can imagine.

So do are such scenes too "violent" for younger children to watch? Should the cartoon only be relegated to adults or older teenagers? While some parents would never imagine allowing their child to watch this cartoon, others (like myself) watch it with a grain of salt.

My experience has been that my children understand the difference between reality and imaginary. They know what is real and what is pretend. They comprehend that Tom & Jerry is not real and can enjoy the humor of the cartoon without me worrying about if they will attempt to try any of the silly antics that go on between Tom & Jerry.