The beloved children's television show Sesame Street is taking on the D-word for the second time in 20 years.
Abby Cadabby, a fuzzy, pink, fairy-in-training on Sesame Street, explains divorce by talking about her parents' separate houses in a 13-minute segment that can only be accessed online.
The children's show attempted to talk about divorce in 1992 with Snuffy telling Big Bird his dad was moving, but in small test groups, kids did not like it and the episode never aired. Now, for Abby, the divorce has happened in the past, so "it is not a new, raw emotion," says Sesame Street writer Christine Ferraro in the Tumblr Storyboard video above.
Not every child watching Sesame Street will see this -- the segment is just one part of a multimedia kit on Sesame Street's website called, "Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce." It contains information to help adults guide their children through a divorce, with a particular emphasis on military families. The kit includes tips for parents, videos and games to encourage children to feel proud of their accomplishments.
The show continues to keep up with changing technologies and ways to communicate with its audience in the more than 40 years it has been on the air. Sesame Street has never shied away from heavy subjects; the show has just put it in ways children can understand. It's interesting to see it tackle such a huge issue -- especially with today's high divorce rates -- on the web instead of on the show. Perhaps targeted episodes will be a good way to reach other kinds of audiences in the future.
Do you think Sesame Street's multimedia information about divorce will be better utilized online than in the show? Tell us in the comments.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, fotostorm
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