You have to hand it to the marketing department at the Children's Television Workshop: they know how to get kids hooked. We have tried our best not to have Nicholas watch TV yet (I think pediatricians recommend none before age 2, and yes, we make an exception for The West Wing). But he's still hooked on the characters from Sesame Street, especially Elmo. It is, in large part, because of their ubiquity. His diapers have Elmo, Ernie, or Cookie Monster on them (and he likes seeing the character on the new diaper when I'm changing him, and it's now part of the routine). We have several Sesame Street books, and have taken a bunch more out of the library, of which his favorite is Elmo Says... (kinda like Simon Says, but furrier and cuter). And yesterday at Alice's birthday party, he was captivated by a sign that said "Happy Birthday" with the Sesame Street characters on it (including, of course, Elmo). Every time he saw it he practically jumped out of the arms of whoever had him and beamed.
Now, this is not a bad thing, of course. If he's going to get hooked on something in popular culture, I'd much rather it be Sesame Street than just about anything else. It's a classic, which appeals to me (and us both, I think), it's intensely educational in terms of language (and bilingual to boot!), manners, friendship, dealing with adults, and so on. We don't want to punt on any of this, to be sure, but he's going to pick up on TV eventually, and if it's Sesame Street or fart jokes on Nickelodeon, I take Elmo and Oscar every time.
In any event, as Nicholas begins to discover the world around him, it's been fun to watch him develop attachments to cultural objects. And then for us to share them with you through the blog!
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