The psychology of children’s cartoons may not be my area of expertise, but I am fairly intrigued about the content of kids shows and the kind of influence they may or may not have over their behaviour. When Ben 10 ultimate Alien hit the screens shortly after Ben 10 Alien Force finished, I wondered what could be up the veritable sleeve of cartoonish influence. When we sat down to watch Ben 10 Ultimate Alien online, I could see that Ben Tennyson had matured into a sixteen year old and encountering issues with a bunch of adults that just ‘didn’t get him’.

Whilst he still has his crew of supporters with him (grandpa Max, Gwen, Kevin and Julie) and was adored by an ever growing fan base of kids, the rest of the world appear to have it in for him, thinking he is up to no good and all the rest of it. This seems like a valid metaphor for the frustrations that teenagers show towards their parents, and how parents just don’t understand how special and amazing their kids are – whilst the rest of the world (read: mates at school) do.

The only shame is that Ben 10 Ultimate Alien is aimed at a younger age group, who have no idea what the teenage years have in store for them and the feeling of unfairness that will no doubt prevail. Then as if by magic (reference to a childhood cartoon well placed!) I had an epiphany. The message within the new series of Ben 10 is maybe not for the kids, it is for the parents. By letting your kids watch Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, you will be watching it too and it could be good for the teenage years because you can glean an understanding of how they will feel about it all and actually be able to help them – be Grandpa Max so to speak rather be an adversary like all the other ‘adults’ out there.

It is possible that I am of course reading far too much into a theory that just doesn’t exist. Maybe my own fear of coping with my own children’s teenage years has placed meaning where there is none. Whatever the reason, if you decide to watch Ben 10 Ultimate Alien online with your kids you can either prime them and/or you for the teenage years, or just enjoy some time together watching what is actually a pretty cool cartoon. Win Win as the kids say.