Remember when Sesame Street taught you letters and songs about cookies?
Our government has enlisted the help of furry puppets to combat the H1N1 virus.
Yesterday, Discoblog posted excerpts from CNN’s article on the commissioning of Sesame Street to teach kids about healthy habits to prevent the spread of Swine flu. Elmo and Gordon appeared in several PSAs aimed at children, who, due to their limited understanding and often unsanitary behavior, are considered more likely to aid the epidemic.
I can understand this. Sesame Street, like most kids’ shows, attempts to promote good habits like sharing and eating vegetables and other things of that nature. And, even though younger children aren’t currently the most affected demographic, they are skilled at spreading infectious illnesses. I still take issue with a few things in this arrangement.
First, on a minor note, this is completely ridiculous. This is a news conference about the PSAs. There are no children. Why is there a man dressed as Elmo? Elmo is not even a costume character; he’s a puppet. If you’re a normal person, the only purpose this would serve is to have you giggling at Kathleen Sebelius as she tries to speak seriously while standing next to a fuzzy creature of indistinguishable species. I say ‘normal’ person because, if you’re more like me, you would be hiding in the corner hoping Elmo doesn’t come around and try to give everyone hugs (I…dislike costume characters. In case you couldn’t tell).
My main problem? How much should we tell them?
I, for whatever reason, kind of skipped a good portion of the ‘magic and wonder’ stage that most children have, but even I think that maybe we’re forcing kids to face certain things too soon. The PSAs themselves don’t specifically mention the H1N1 virus; they just talk about hygiene. Some adults, however, think it’s never too early to start opening childrens’ eyes to today’s world. I can agree with that to a certain extent, but jading kids that early is bound to have some repercussions.
Teach them to wash their hands. Teach them to sneeze into their arms and to refrain from touching their eyes, nose, and mouths. You don’t have to tell them that something they can’t even see is floating through the air and killing hundreds of people across the country.
No matter how cute and pink we can make it seem.
