"I HATE Sesame Street!!" she screamed, tearing out of the room like a lightning bolt. "Sesame Street is the stupidest show EVER!"
So my little girl turned five last weekend and apparently now thinks she's too grown for the only children's television program (besides the Backyardigans), that I can even tolerate. All she seems to be interested in is Dragon Tales which has brought me damn near close to self-mutilation on several occasions. What's next, calling Mr. Rodgers and a-hole? That's when I'll know we need counseling.
And I'm not even going to get into the fact that given where we live, she's probably seen more black, Latino amd Asian kids on that show than she has in her entire life. For years, I wondered if MJ and I made a mistake leaving New York Proper – I mean, um – City to raise a family up here in the sticks (but that's an entirely different post altogether.)
Before you remind me that it's okay if kids don't watch television because it's really not all that good for them anyway, possibly even harmful, please remember something: any time the number of children out number the parents – on any given afternoon or in life in general – a grown-up needs all the help they can get. With three under six and a nanny who has yet to fly in with a black umbrella, I can testify to that.
There's a reason why those irritating station break fundraisers do so well: THEY WORK. Countless desperate mommies and daddies have sent their hard earned dollars to PBS just to keep Sesame Street on the air. And ensure themselves forty-eight minutes of peace.
2 comments:
They grow up so fast, don't they?!? My daughter is 5 years old and has a similar disdain for everything "toddler" these days ... she even wants a cell phone for Christmas - I guess one of those Firefly mobile phones with only the Mommy and Daddy buttons programmed is harmless enough!
I live in a predominantly Black neighborhood in the metro Atlanta area, but my daughter goes to a predominantly white private school. I like that arrangement so she is exposed to lots of different kinds of people, since she tends to shun the Sesame Street-type shows now.
I am lucky that my five y.o. is still in love with being "the baby"
As I have an 11 y.o. I am well aware that the day will come though, that I do not recognize her and will want her to stop talking so that I can collect myself and determine who left their tiny grown-up at my house.
Personaly, I still love Sesame Street and wish that I could curl up on the couch daily and get a happy dose.
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