Growing up I loved to watch Sesame Street.  I was fascinated with Bert & Ernie and Grover, laughed at Oscar the Grouch and was always wondering if poor Big Bird would convince everyone that Snuffleupagus was a real ‘person’ and not an imaginary friend.  Fast forward 30+ years and I’m thrilled to see the show is as wonderful as I remember it to be and in many ways even better.  All of the warm, friendly faces are still there (Gordon, Maria, Luis, etc..) as well as my beloved furry friends like Cookie Monster, The Count and Big Bird.  New characters like Elmo, Zoe, and Abby Cadabby have joined the cast, adding to an all-star lineup.  Always creative and on the cutting edge of what is new and trendy, Sesame Street continues to hit the nail on the head with their subject matter and in many ways have taken it to a level well beyond what it was when I was a first time viewer.  The word of the day, the letter of the day and the references to today’s trends such as computers, email, music all contribute to a show that has captured little David’s attention, as well as mine.  While he is way too young to understand what he is watching, it amazes me how the characters are able to capture and hold his attention for quite a long time.  I would never have expected at only a few weeks old the sound of Elmo’s voice would soothe him but it did many times.

Most books and doctors strongly discourage young children watching TV especially when they don’t understand what they are seeing but I disagree.  While I certainly don’t advocate parking your child in front of the set for hours at a time, there are moments when you have run out of things to occupy a child that is too young for independent play and can only sit in a bouncy seat.  After reading books, playing on the gymini, walking around the house, singing and playing with him, the only way to create new stimulation for him is to turn on the television.  Sesame Street is what I rely on when I’ve exhausted all other ways to occupy David.  He is enthralled by what he is watching and the show grabs and holds his attention for a majority, if not all of the time.  That is pretty incredible for a four month old baby.

Sesame Street definitely has the ’secret sauce’ to educating children while making their learning fun.  Keep up the amazing work!  I’m loving it the second time around, maybe even more than I did the first time.