There are so many kids shows that come and go, it's hard to keep track of what's in and what's out these days. And we get it - kids have rather short attention spans, and when something shiny and new comes along, it's out with the old! But a few shows are so good, so pure, and so helpful to families that they stand the test of time. Sesame Street is one of those shows.
Even in a sea of competition, Sesame Street has remained on the air and incredibly popular for 51 years. Why? Because it's simply one of the best educational shows for toddlers to ever be made, period. We grew up watching the show, and we're so thankful that our own kids are able to enjoy it still.
Sesame Street has always been a place where everyone is welcome, where kids are treated with kindness and respect, and where important life lessons are broken down and taught in a way that makes them easy for little minds to understand and process. 2020 has shown us that it's so important, maybe now more than ever, to teach our kids the lessons that will help them grow into kind, accepting, empathetic adults. Sesame Street always comes through with this life education, and has taught their young fans some incredibly valuable lessons over the years.
One of the things that makes Sesame Street one of the best educational shows for toddlers:
The show's willingness to address heavy topics and make them accessible to kids. Their talking about race and racism is the perfect example.
Racism is always a tough topic for some parents to talk about with their young kids. But Sesame Street has been very vocal about talking about it and explaining why it's bad and how we can be more anti-racist. They recently teamed up with CNN on a town hall addressing racism called Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, with many characters participating. Elmo was joined by his dad Louie, who explained what racism was and how it hurts people of color. And Abby Cadabby talked about why being mean to others because of what they look like is hurtful and wrong.
The organization also used their Instagram account to educate their followers about Juneteenth and joined in the celebration with the Black and African American community.
Sesame Street has always been a place where ALL are welcome, and they teach acceptance and kindness in every episode.
The cast (human and muppet) of Sesame Street has always been incredibly diverse, and one of their biggest and most lasting lessons is that everyone deserves to love and be loved, and all we have to do is accept people as they are. They're vocal about their support of the LGBTQA+ community, and make sure kids know that ALL families are welcome on their block. In 2002, the South African version of the show introduced a character named Kami, who is HIV+. Kami even appeared in a PSA with President Bill Clinton about HIV/AIDS education.
In 2015, the show introduced Julia, a preschooler with autism. Julia was originally created as part of a digital campaign, but her character and the lessons around autism and acceptance and understanding were so popular that she was added to the series in 2017, and her family was introduced over the next two years.
In 2018, they introduced Lily, the show's first homeless character. And in 2019, we met Karli, a muppet in foster care whose mom was battling addiction. With each of these characters and their stories, viewers were introduced to a life that they may not have known existed, and shown that all people (and muppets) are worthy of love and kindness.
Sesame Street promotes a sense of community and togetherness, which is so important during these difficult times.
Sure, the muppets sometimes quarrel on the show. But they always communicate and work out their differences together, because their friendships are so important. When the pandemic hit and kids were separated from their friends, family, teachers, and routine, Sesame Street created an entire collection of resources to help kids understand what was going on, learn how to process their sadness and fear, and help them grieve. Elmo even hosted virtual playdates to help keep the Sesame Street community connected.
And with the emphasis on connection and friendship, Sesame Street has also highlighted a couple other important lessons for young viewers. On Sesame Street, people come as they are, and they are accepted as they are.
The show celebrates differences, and encourages kids to just be themselves. The show also uses friendship as a way to teach kids how to share, how to listen, how to be supportive of their friends, and how to be a good friend.
Everyone is welcome, everyone is loved, everyone is important, and every single person and muppet on Sesame Street and those watching at home are valuable and important.