Should Sesame Street be discussing the topic of divorce?

[The Ween]

I only count 4.

Mine is probably one a different setting than you.

 

[devilof76]

At the time (and in previous times) I did. Regardless we've already talked about this and it's water under the bridge. Thanks for explaining yourself, I appreciate that.

It is water under the bridge. I apologize for bringing your name into this at all.

 

[devilof76]

Mine is probably one a different setting than you.

Brown font and short pages!!!???? What are you thinking???!!!!

 

[work13]

Man, devil and nam used to be buddies. Look what you've done, Sesame Street! I hope you're real ****ing happy with yourself!

Can't we all just get along?!

This is a passionate subject because it involves kids.

Maybe this argument can be broken down into the following:
Is it worth the price of sacrificing the innocence of the majority to help out the minority(i.e: divorced kids with nobody to talk to)? Or is it better to maintain the innocence of the majority and let the minority suffer on their own? This is a very grey area. Both arguments for or against are equally valid. I'm neutral on this, but if I were forced to pic a side, I'd say it's ok for sesame street to talk about this.

 

[Blackthornone]

That's not, and should never be, Sesame Street's concern.

Parents who get divorced are not fully competent human beings and need all the help they can get. The Sesame Street I recall was geared towards the proper social adjustment of children, and with divorce as high as it is now, teaching about divorce falls under that purview.

Children with parents who aren't divorced will just get a little insight and might become more savvy as to how to deal with it with other children, and children whose parents are divorced will get some of the guidance they no doubt could benefit from.

Sesame Street, is after all, optional viewing.

 

[Blackthornone]

Underaged boys, underaged girls; as long as they "tickle" Elmo, he'll be happy. He seems to like it a lot when he's tickled...

Kinko, Kinko the kid loving clown, if the kids just love him back he'll never wear a frown...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJNV4FMpGh8[/ame]

 

[Blackthornone]

People shouldn't rely on a television show to parent their own children.

What are shows like Sesame street if not an electronic babysitter or parental surrogate? Parents used to spend time with their children to teach them and play games with them to raise them before more households had to have both parents work. Sesame Street is a substitute for parenting. That is what it is there for. The same went for Mr. Rogers. Those shows provide a valuable public service.

 

[terran22]

sure why not? don't they already talk about everything else?

 

[thenammagazine]

What are shows like Sesame street if not an electronic babysitter or parental surrogate? Parents used to spend time with their children to teach them and play games with them to raise them before more households had to have both parents work. Sesame Street is a substitute for parenting. That is what it is there for. The same went for Mr. Rogers. Those shows provide a valuable public service.

Maybe if you're devilof's kid (if/when he ever gets around to having one), since he clearly wants Sesame Street to be a surrogate for his. Mine use it as a moderated means of entertainment with educational value. They shouldn't have to sit through someone else's dirty laundry because parents can't be responsible enough to include their children in conversations that involve them.

I do agree with devilof's point that Sesame Street should get off the government's teet. As was pointed out during the elections, if Dora can do it, so can Sesame Street.

 

[Jen]

I have no problem with it. I am sure they will approach the subject with sensitivity to their young viewers. I think it could definitely be something positive for those who have divorced parents. And I'm sure many kids whose parents are still together know someone in their class, daycare, family, church, etc...who has parents who are no longer together.

 

[Blackthornone]

Maybe if your devilof's kid (if/when he ever gets around to having one), since he clearly wants Sesame Street to parent his. Mine use it as a moderated means of entertainment with educational value. They shouldn't have to sit through someone else's dirty laundry because parents can't be responsible enough to include their children in conversations that involve them.

Like I said, Sesame street is optional viewing. By implication, it is the parent's responsibility to exercise discretion as far as what they allow their children to watch. Not all households are the same and not all children are the same. A lot of children could benefit from some guidance about the issue of divorce, and enough to justify including it on Sesame street, because it is such an important social issue.

Watching the show is optional. You cannot on the one hand say that Sesame Street should not be teaching your children about life and then on the other hand use it to do exactly that for your own children.

like you said, it's all ultimately about PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY.

 

[thenammagazine]

Like I said, Sesame street is optional viewing. By implication, it is the parent's responsibility to exercise discretion as far as what they allow their children to watch. Not all households are the same and not all children are the same. A lot of children could benefit from some guidance about the issue of divorce, and enough to justify including it on Sesame street, because it is such an important social issue.

Watching the show is optional. You cannot on the one hand say that Sesame Street should not be teaching your children about life and then on the other hand use it to do exactly that for your own children.

like you said, it's all ultimately about PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY.

I don't recall ever stating Sesame Street should be teaching children about life. I was stating to the contrary.

 

[jstep13]

Like I said, Sesame street is optional viewing. By implication, it is the parent's responsibility to exercise discretion as far as what they allow their children to watch. Not all households are the same and not all children are the same. A lot of children could benefit from some guidance about the issue of divorce, and enough to justify including it on Sesame street, because it is such an important social issue.

Watching the show is optional. You cannot on the one hand say that Sesame Street should not be teaching your children about life and then on the other hand use it to do exactly that for your own children.

like you said, it's all ultimately about PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Who says they shouldn't be teaching your children about life and then on the other hand is okay with doing it for their own children? And no one has said all households or children are the same. You are creating a fictional argument.

Obviously, the show is optional but when it positions itself under the guise as a children's show and then wants to talk about adult subjects in between the ABCs and 123s is where some people take exception. They shouldn't advertise they are one type of show and be a different one. That takes it out of the hands of parental responsibility and places it in the hands of network responsibility.

And how exactly do you know what children may or may not benefit from?

 

[jstep13]

By the way, I don't know if anyone actually took the time read the article posted by the OP but there are two important details. First, they aired a segment on divorce 2 decades ago, which was still a peak time for divorces and quoting the article:

You can pretty much guess where it goes from there: Gordon explains why divorces happen. Viewers learn that sometimes divorce can be “for the best.” We are assured that Snuffy and his sister Alice will always be loved. And yet when Sesame Street tested the segment on preschoolers, just weeks before it was scheduled to air, it was nothing short of a disaster. The children didn’t know where Snuffy was going to live. They didn’t think his parents loved him. Some worried their own parents might get a divorce. They cried. “It was really the first time we’d produced something, put all this money into it, tested it, and it just didn’t work,” says Susan Scheiner, a longtime Sesame Street researcher, who worked on the segment. “We thought we had it. We thought this was really revolutionary, and then it was just bad.”...Sesame Street killed the segment, and for the two decades since, producers have avoided the D word on air — until now.

Now what's interesting is I hadn't read the article, but sure enough, as some of us presumed, it had a more adverse affect on children than positive.

In fact it had such an adverse affect on children that now that they are trying again to air it but it's not being shown on their tv shows. It's only available ONLINE:

The segment itself won’t air on TV — it’s among Sesame Street’s “targeted” programming aimed at specific populations...But perhaps the most important difference had to do with audience: targeting only the kids who are experiencing a divorce or whose parents wanted to make the point of downloading the content.

So in essence, even Sesame Street knows it's not right to air on TV. They can put whatever they want online, and if I CHOOSE to show my children a Sesame Street bit on divorce, that's different, that's fine, because it was a conscious choice. Not something that was embedded on a regular airing of Sesame Street.

So yeah, I guess that kinda kills the argument right there...

 

[Jen]

Well then I guess this whole thread is moot. Them only airing it online is a smart choice. I'm glad they did film it and have it accessible for those parents who may find it beneficial for their children to watch.

 

[jstep13]

Yeah, I mean, I'll do a 180 on that perspective, if it's available online, I think it's great. Something that if I'm personally experiencing and would consciously choose to show my kids, that's totally different. I was under the impression that this was just part of their daily curriculum which I personally don't agree with.

 

[Blackthornone]

I don't recall ever stating Sesame Street should be teaching children about life. I was stating to the contrary.

You said you liked Sesame Street for education. Same difference.

 

[devilof76]

Well that's just crazy. Someone needs to throw those pre-schoolers out into the real world and teach them to man up.



Just kidding.

 

[agen_kolar]

I have no problem with this. Some children will go through situations such as divorce, and it is a difficult topic that honestly might be better heard from their favorite tv show characters than from an emotional mommy or daddy. Regardless, I think Sesame Street generally handles real world children "issues" with great tact. Yes, they may teach something you don't want your child to learn, but your child will learn it at school soon enough, and without your permission.

I think one moral of this story is, always engage with your kids. Each day after Pre-K or school, ask them what they learned. Whether you like it or not, your children are going to learn about divorce. They're going to learn that gay people exist. They're going to learn about s-e-x. By asking them what they learned, this gives you the opportunity to fill in any blanks or answer lingering questions they may have. This still gives you the opportunity as a parent to teach them about life. And they will always remember it.

 

[work13]

I have no problem with this. Some children will go through situations such as divorce, and it is a difficult topic that honestly might be better heard from their favorite tv show characters than from an emotional mommy or daddy. Regardless, I think Sesame Street generally handles real world children "issues" with great tact. Yes, they may teach something you don't want your child to learn, but your child will learn it at school soon enough, and without your permission.

I think one moral of this story is, always engage with your kids. Each day after Pre-K or school, ask them what they learned. Whether you like it or not, you children are going to learn about divorce. They're going to learn that gay people exist. They're going to learn about s-e-x. By asking them what they learned, this gives you the opportunity to fill in any blanks or answer lingering questions they may have. This still gives you the opportunity as a parent to teach them about life. And they will always remember it.

well said.