As a young child I used to love Sesame Street. I can remember the days when I would sit in my Dad's bed all cuddled up and watch it with such excitement! When I started letting Baby J watch TV, I started with the Sesame Street 123 Count With Me DVD that I received as a gift.At first Baby J wasn't interested in it, but as time went on this particular DVD has become his absolute favorite. If he is acting fussy and I need to do some laundry or cook dinner, I can pop this DVD in and he will instantly calm down and watch it. He even laughs at some of the parts!
As time went on, however, I began to realize that this episode might not be the best fit for the kind of attitude we want to portray in our home. Let me explain the premise of the movie and why I am leery to continue letting my son watch it.
Ernie is the main character in the story.
At the beginning he finds a key on the ground that says "Please return to the Furry Arms". The Furry Arms is the local hotel. He promptly makes his way to return the key, when he bumps into the bellhop "Benny" outside of the door. Benny is a cantankerous bunny who has a bad attitude throughout the episode. Ernie continues inside where he finds Humphry and Ingrid who work at the hotel. Ernie's adventure continues by learning how to manage the hotel from Humphry and Ingrid while he teaches them how to count. Much of the episode is focused on Ernie ringing a "dinger" in order to see what the ornery rabbit, Benny, will bring. At the end of the episode, Benny gets run over by an elephant.
So, it doesn't sound so bad. Right? (Apart from the being run over by an Elephant part.)
This is where I explain why I am wondering what happened to Sesame Street.
From the beginning, this Benny character seemed like a real jerk, to me. His very first appearance in the episode is of him sleeping on the job. When Ernie apologizes for waking him while he is on his break, he yells at Ernie and simply tells him that he would not "waste time sleeping if he was on his break." What?! He then says "Leave me alone, I'm working here!".
Benny can also be heard saying phrases such as: "Duh!"," This is getting irritating!", and "Forget about it!".
Ernie also seems to provoke Benny by constantly ringing the bell and then laughing "he he he" after Benny gets upset that he has to keep coming out.
One more thing that bothers me is that Humphry and Ingrid can't count, yet they run a hotel.
I realize how this all sounds. I sound like an overprotective mother who won't let their child hear the actual diaogue that is going on in the real world.
He is going to be exposed to it someday, you say.
With that I agree wholeheartedly. But is this the kind of thing I want my child to be focused on every day? Do I want him to learn that it is funny to provoke people to anger and then laugh at them when they get upset? Do I want him to look at me square in the face and tell me "Mom, you are getting irritating!"? Although I would probably fall out of my chair from laughter, I would also have to help him adjust his bad attitude and teach him that the kind of language that is used on Sesame Street is not appropriate or acceptable in my house.
The fact that poor work habits are being made light of is really concerning to me as well. If there is something that I am going to make sure my child will know, it is how to work. Both Daddy J and I were taught the importance of hard work at a young age and we find this to be extremely important.
I feel that it is my job to not present for him the exact opposite of how I want him to act. It is my job to decrease the amount of times I am going to have to correct him. It is my job to guide him on a virtuous path, not let him watch all sorts of garbage and then correct him when he mimics it.
Will I still let him watch Sesame Street? Absolutely.
I love Sesame Street! I want him to learn his letters, numbers, and the various other life lessons that are being taught on that wonderful show.
I think the writers got it very wrong with this episode, however. How very unfortunate for us that Baby J loves it so much.
We are slowly introducing other episodes of Sesame Street, along with some other great shows like Veggie Tales and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
What shows do you let your little ones watch? Are there any that you can just "pop in" and know there won't be any inappropriate material in it?
