By Meg Hodson
It's my perception that our society puts a lot of focus on "setting an example". As parents, we are worried about violent movies influencing our children's behavior. We're concerned about video games and their influence on our kids and their actions. If we're drinking too much soda, eating too much candy, or overindulging on any level, that's going to affect our kids, right?
It was one day when my youngest was enjoying his daily dose of Sesame Street that these thoughts entered my mind vividly. Cookie Monster was on, singing a cute melody about a letter. It was part of a skit that, of course, led him to eating a lot of cookies. He's Cookie Monster, right? He's SUPPOSED to eat lots of cookies.
Photo Credit: www.di.ens.fr
It's interesting that there is no significant backlash from the parents of the children that watch this show. We are trained to be so sensitive to ANYTHING that will affect our children, we've grown accustomed to being outraged at the slightest issue. So naturally, shouldn't we be concerned about the amount of cookies Cookie Monster is eating? Honestly, I can't believe someone hasn't sued Sesame Street for making their kid overweight.
Is my toddler going to walk away from the t.v. and ask for 10 cookies? Probably not (it hasn't happened yet). Are we teaching our kids bad habits by endorsing a show that celebrates this? If that's the case, then Oscar the Grouch and his hygiene are in trouble, too.
What I'm getting at here is two-fold. First is our impulse to assume all the influence and persuasion on our children is from outside influences like t.v. While this must play a part on some level, it is certainly not the be all, end all. On some level, I also think children know Cookie Monster is make believe and therefore, they know, deep down, that he is not really eating those cookies.
Secondly is the importance of parental guidance as our children are exposed to things like this. What I wish to stress is how the message is being delivered. It seems children would be more impressed by Cookie Monster than, for example, violent video games (Cookie Monster is much more lovable and appealing). I haven't run any tests, I'm not a scientist. But my child is not running to me the minute the show ends, asking for cookies. I don't think we should always jump to conclusions when we try to pinpoint what influences behavior. We should also take heart in the fact that what we are teaching our children is truly sinking in.
