Can You Tell Me How To Get to Sesame Street?

[lls_mutant]

Well, I've officially broken down.

The American Pediatric Academy recommends absolutely no TV- not even Seseme Street- for kids before two. But darn it, a day is really long, and I have officially broken down and allowed Sesame Street. Toby is already SO into Elmo, and he loves watching it, and I sit down and cuddle with him as we watch, and damn it- it's Seseme Street. I watched it when I was under 2 and I turned out fine :P In fact, I very rarely watch TV. (Well, I didn't too much. We watch more now. But it's much more couply than reading books.)

Anyway. I always remembered the Muppets as being very "grown up", but I'd forgotten that Sesame Street was as well. Cookie Monster cracked me up today, saying that he was going to draw the cookie on the paper so "I can eat cookie, and you can have educational information. It's a win-win situation." Cookie Monster using corporate jargon made me nearly keel over laughing.

But what I've always liked about Sesame Street is that it doesn't talk down to kids. I'm all for preaching that peoples is peoples (to quote Pete from Muppets Take Manhattan), and that race/physical ability/economic level/whatever else doesn't affect the worth or validity of a person. But I don't like the "we're all okay!" message. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe a child builds self-esteem by accomplishing things, not just by being "okay". (I don't believe in the extreme, mind you, where a child must be only accomplishments. But I do believe in hard work.) Anyway, yesterday Ernie actually said he was contemplating his toes. Not thinking about- contemplating. And they didn't define it- the kid had to figure it out from context (or ask someone). I think that's great. It challenges kids instead of patronizing them.

Wow. My entire f-list is probably talking about Heroes or Supernatural or BSG, and me? I'm talking about Sesame Street.

I so need a life.

Comments

[aome.livejournal.com]

My kids get an hour of PBS most days, and have since they were a year old. (It started as pure SS, but I said last week, it's now varied and involved some combination of SS, Clifford and Mr Rogers, but still maxed out an an hour/day - if they skip TV, they might get a short video instead). Frankly, I think that anything that teaches the alphabet and social skills is a GOOD thing, as long as they're not glued to the tube day and night. And it taught them English. I honestly don't see the harm in it, as long as you keep control of the situation.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think it was talking to you that kind of made me say, "aw, heck with it." You're someone I respect as a parent, and your girls are such nice girls when I see them, I was just like... "enough. Guidelines are good, but Sesame Street is too." So thanks! :)

[piyer.livejournal.com]

Wow. My entire f-list is probably talking about Heroes or Supernatural or BSG, and me? I'm talking about Sesame Street.

Not all of us. I don't watch the first two, and the only BSG for me is the original series from the 1970s. And most days the only shows I talk about (in real life) are theatre shows -- the hazard of be a performing arts major, I guess.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm glad I'm not the only one then! I'd like to watch some of those, but I'm so not caught up. Oh well!

[mysid.livejournal.com]

"I watched it when I was under 2 and I turned out fine."

That made me laugh, because yesterday I came across a book entitled The Kid Turned Out Fine. It was a book of "true confessions" from parents who broke down and broke the "rules" of no TV for young children, no candy for children, etc.

In one "confession," the mom admitted that she had promised herself, "I'll never let my child watch The Teletubbies," but she'd broken down one morning when she really needed a shower.

My favorite "confession" however, went something like this:
"Jane was forever trying to play with the litter in the cat's litter box. I kept saying, 'No. Yucky. The cat goes poop and pee in there.'

"When we were started potty training Jane, I let her run around without a diaper. When I saw her starting to squirm and dance, I asked her, 'Do you have to go potty?'

"Her face lit up, and before I could scoop her up and put her on the potty, she ran to the litter box. Well, Jane isn't potty trained yet, but she is house-broken."

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's hysterical!!!!!!!

I never have understood the impossibility of getting a shower, though. The kids DO sleep, and heck- if it came down to it, I was not above putting Toby in his crib, making sure he was fed, dry, and otherwise happy and safe, giving him some toys, and taking a quick shower. If he screamed, that was his problem. I WILL have my shower every day. It's my coffee, and I'm a much better person and much better mother when I have one.

[midnitemaraud-r.livejournal.com]

Sesame Street is truly the best thing to happen to children's programming ever. My niece and nephew watched the Baby Einstein videos before anything. They loved it. They still do. And they recognize the music when they hear it in other places. (Now they watch Little Einsteins which always features art and a classical piece in every episode, and they remember quite a few of them from the Baby Einstein vids!)

TV will not harm children or turn them into couch potatoes. It's how often they watch, and WHAT they watch that does that. Josh watched TV earlier than Hannah did because what was my sister going to do - tell Josh he couldn't watch Sesame Street with his older sister? The APA are nice guidelines, but really. They're not absolutes. I'm sure there are thousands of kids who didn't watch telly until they were two who are now couch potatoes and video game addicts. It's all about moderation. *headdesk*

I got my niece and nephew "The Best of The Electric Company" for Christmas (well, Hanukkah) and they love it. They run around spouting of words with hard g and c and soft g and c, and they do the "ch" - "at" - "chat" "mmm" - "at" - "mat" stuff, too. Shows like that are MUCH better than 99% of the cartoons and stuff!

I have so much love for Sesame Street and The Electric Company. :)

[aome.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I didn't know you could get Electric Company on DVD! I'll have to look for that.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I agree that it's all about moderation. It's just sometimes hard to remember that! :)

I have love for the Muppets, too. They might not be as educational, but they are still so much fun :)

[krabapple.livejournal.com]

I'm a confirmed t.v. addict myself, and have been forever, so you can take this for what it's worth. :)

But, anyway, some Little Bear or Sesame Street is, in my opinion, just fine. In fact, I did my master's thesis on media literacy, and how instead of stunting traditional literacy growth (reading and writing -- there's so much out there about how t.v. makes kids braindead), media literacy can be used as a tool to improve traditional literacy skills. When I taught elementary school, it fascinated me that my kids could go on and on about t.v. shows they watched or movies they'd seen, and could talk about the characters, plot, setting, etc. but not do the same thing in reading time. To me it was the same skill set, it just had to be applied in the right way. Anyway. So I actually think that t.v. or movies, especially when watched with an adult and talked about with an adult, can build a bridge for a vast array of learning skills. Kids get characterization, sequence, plot, setting, etc. And preschoolers, with things like Sesame Street are introduced to colors, letters, shapes, counting, numbers, living in a community, etc., which is TONS of prior learning knowledge.

Well. End rant. I think you're perfectly justified. :)

I haven't watched SS as an adult in a while, but it cracks me up. I *love* Kermit anyway, and when he does his reporter stuff, "Kermit the Frog, here" in his little trench coat -- LOVE. Last time he was reporting on The Three Little Pigs. Hee.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Sadly, Kermit is no longer on SS. :(

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

::sniff:: I miss Kermit. well, I would, but we have Season 1 of the Muppets on DVD, so I do get Kermit. He. "Hi ho, Kermit the Frog here," is almost a staple of childhood!

[mitzy7.livejournal.com]

Good God, I had forgotten how much Sesame Street rocks- thanks for the reminder! I must watch it more often XD