Sesame Street Launches a New Story Line

Environmental & Science Education
Health
Medicine
Children
Education
Edward Hessler

Seasame Street's muppets now include story lines on parental addiction. Videos launched in early October "feature muppet Karli, whose mother is struggling with addiction and show how she copes with the situation with support from Elmo and other friends."

The materials"include seven new videos, a storybook, a coloring activity, and articles that parents, educators, and health care providers can use to talk to children about addiction and help answer common questions that kids tend to have including what addiction is and how adults get treated." These are available in both English and Spanish.

STAT's Shraddja Chakradhar talked with Dr. Jeanette Betancourt of Sesame Workshop. The interview included the inspiration for this, the approach chosen to explain this, the tools Sesame Workshop is making available, how the tools are supposed to help, how the tools were developed, the reaction so far, and how Sesame Workshop responds to those who have concerns about whether such material is age-appropriate. Chakradhar's essay and interview may be found here. There is a link to two videos, one for parents; the other for providers.

I can't close without re-posting a short video, the response of baby Ariel to Andrea Bocelli's Lullaby to Elmo-- "Time to Say Goodnight."