Sesame Street CNN Racism town hall: what’d you think?

[Anonymous]

Kids at a young age will be impacted far greater by watching parents and family members model inclusive behavior than by passively watching one television program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perfect on-ramp for our 8yo. We used it as a jumping off point into a much bigger conversation.

Even thought Sesame Street is for the younger set I think you had to be at least 7-8 to begin to understand some of the concepts they were taking about.
We watched with our 11 year old. But unlike covid that is impacting her life right this right this very second, racism is Not. We are white and she goes to an incredibly diverse school. She was in tears earlier in the week when we talking about what was happening. She thought because the civil rights movement had happened, racism wasn’t around anymore. She was upset that people would treat her friends differently then her.

[Anonymous]

There’s a reason they call him Big Bird

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perfect on-ramp for our 8yo. We used it as a jumping off point into a much bigger conversation.

Agree it was better for a bit older kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect on-ramp for our 8yo. We used it as a jumping off point into a much bigger conversation.

Even thought Sesame Street is for the younger set I think you had to be at least 7-8 to begin to understand some of the concepts they were taking about.
We watched with our 11 year old. But unlike covid that is impacting her life right this right this very second, racism is Not. We are white and she goes to an incredibly diverse school. She was in tears earlier in the week when we talking about what was happening. She thought because the civil rights movement had happened, racism wasn’t around anymore. She was upset that people would treat her friends differently then her.

We are black, so we don't have the luxury of pretending that racism doesn't exist. My 8yo has already been told by friends that they don't like brown skin or curly hair, which has left her in tears earlier this school year.

We've talked to her about many issues raised in the town hall, but I still thought it was worthwhile to watch. I agree with PPs that my 8yo didn't pay attention the whole time--she played with Legos and occasionally looked up when a kid asked a question or when Abby Cadabby or another muppet spoke, lol. I think a lot of it was for the benefit of parents, not kids. But at least it was a step in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect on-ramp for our 8yo. We used it as a jumping off point into a much bigger conversation.

Even thought Sesame Street is for the younger set I think you had to be at least 7-8 to begin to understand some of the concepts they were taking about.
We watched with our 11 year old. But unlike covid that is impacting her life right this right this very second, racism is Not. We are white and she goes to an incredibly diverse school. She was in tears earlier in the week when we talking about what was happening. She thought because the civil rights movement had happened, racism wasn’t around anymore. She was upset that people would treat her friends differently then her.

We are black, so we don't have the luxury of pretending that racism doesn't exist. My 8yo has already been told by friends that they don't like brown skin or curly hair, which has left her in tears earlier this school year.

We've talked to her about many issues raised in the town hall, but I still thought it was worthwhile to watch. I agree with PPs that my 8yo didn't pay attention the whole time--she played with Legos and occasionally looked up when a kid asked a question, or when Abby Cadabby or another muppet spoke, lol. I think a lot of it was for the benefit of parents, not kids. But at least it was a step in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

I think as a resource it worked better as a way for parents to frame conversations with their kids about racism--especially white families who aren't sure how to approach the subject. My (half-black) 5.5 y/o was only mildly interested although she paid attention to the parts toward the beginning where they described what racism is (how they talked about being treated badly because of skin color). Like a PP she also thought it was cool they mentioned Rosa Parks and she knew who she was. And she asked about the protestors, connecting it to an earlier conversation we had last week about protests.

It's good to see CNN and Sesame Street doing these town halls and helping facilitate discussions. Not everything is going to resonate with everyone and there are a lot of misses among the hits. But it's progress.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad they tried, and my 3.5 yr old did seem to pay attention to the opening sequence of Elmo talking to his dad about what racism is. But the rest of it was mostly just adults talking, which did nothing to capture my 3.5 year old's attention. It wasn't inappropriate or harmful in any way, just not designed to engage or be understood by Sesame Street's usual preschool audience. I think a kid would have to be at least 6 to have the attention span and understanding for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect on-ramp for our 8yo. We used it as a jumping off point into a much bigger conversation.

Even thought Sesame Street is for the younger set I think you had to be at least 7-8 to begin to understand some of the concepts they were taking about.
We watched with our 11 year old. But unlike covid that is impacting her life right this right this very second, racism is Not. We are white and she goes to an incredibly diverse school. She was in tears earlier in the week when we talking about what was happening. She thought because the civil rights movement had happened, racism wasn’t around anymore. She was upset that people would treat her friends differently then her.

We are black, so we don't have the luxury of pretending that racism doesn't exist. My 8yo has already been told by friends that they don't like brown skin or curly hair, which has left her in tears earlier this school year.

We've talked to her about many issues raised in the town hall, but I still thought it was worthwhile to watch. I agree with PPs that my 8yo didn't pay attention the whole time--she played with Legos and occasionally looked up when a kid asked a question, or when Abby Cadabby or another muppet spoke, lol. I think a lot of it was for the benefit of parents, not kids. But at least it was a step in the right direction.

+1. (not Black, but Indian). An important step for families who have not had this conversation before.