“Mom’s tree is over there. Dad’s in another tree.”
This simple statement, uttered by a Sesame Street character, reflects a new approach to the way the celebrated program is addressing divorce for its young viewers. Sesame Street is getting decidedly proactive in helping children understand the realities of parents who divorce.
According to the Huffington Post, the state of Florida ranks eighth in the nation for divorce, so many young viewers of Sesame Street in the state are likely to be clued in and avidly listening to what Abby Cadabby, Birdie and other program mainstays have to say about mommy and daddy no longer living together.
Children often feel responsible for the deteriorating family unit and wonder what they did wrong. They ask questions such as these: “Do mommy and daddy still love me? Will I still have two parents? Did my parents’ divorce me, too?”
Sesame Street is helping children find answers and assisting parents in explaining what divorce means to help them cope with their array of emotions. Children should know that it is normal to have mixed feelings and to know they are not alone. They understand better when they know other children face the same things while coping with divorce.
Child psychologists, school administrators and other advocates welcome Sesame Street’s involvement, noting that parents now have the option of going online to the Sesame Street website to ease into the topic of divorce and related matters such as child custody and visitation through program videos.
Source: Fox,‘”D’ is now for ‘divorce’ on Sesame Street,” Tammy Vigil, Dec. 13, 2012