Why Sesame Street is Exponentially Better Then The Wiggles

Sesame Street is one of the icons of television and certainly the most important show in children’s television history.  The Wiggles is a nice, fun and healthy show for kids to watch. It is fairly important to its genre. If it were a superhero, I would call it Iron Man. 

It’s helpful, sturdy and always there when you need it, but it does not have the same omnipotence that Sesame Street, aka Galactus, possesses. 

While the Wiggles have been able to transcend television with toys, concerts and clothing it is lacking the overall longevity of Sesame Street to be able to say that it is "better".  Sesame Street and Mister Rogers re-invented the genre that pioneers like Howdy Doody and the Mickey Mouse Club kicked off. Sesame Street is the standard by which all other kids shows are measured. 

Sesame Street faces the toughest issues head on.
Where were the Wiggles during Hurricane Katrina?  Sesame Street had a series of episodes about Hurricanes and how to deal with them specifically for kids who were scared and affected by the tragedy. The purpose was to educate kids about the weather and to inspire them to help others in need.  Sesame Street is both current and topical.

Sesame Street is an international phenomenon.
Sesame Street is present in over 12 countries including the US, China, Bangladesh, Eqypt, Germany, Israel and Palestine.  Sesame Street does not retread its characters or dub other languages over its United States based product. The characters are (mostly) different for each country and relevant to the local culture. For instance, in the South African version, there is a character named Kami who is infected with the AIDs virus.   She lives with another character called Ma Dimpho, who adopted her.  The Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian versions deal with several languages and also the challenges of neighboring warring factions, making an attempt to explain this to children. They also focus on teaching them to have a positive image of themselves and others. Many countries have taken the Elmo character and adapted it to their own needs.  Neno (who looks just like Elmo) is South Africa's version.  Ikiri (pictured left) is the Bangladesh version. He has a segment of the show called Ikiri's world.  China has "Little Plum"  aka Xiao Meizi.  Below Germany's Sesamestrasse's Super Grouch.

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Sesame Street teaches the alphabet and expands vocabulary.
Sure the American Association of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids under 2, but  do you think that 30 minutes of educational television a day combined with rigorous activities and outdoor play is going to hurt them?  Both of my kids have been allowed to watch Sesame Street with my wife and me. This has resulted in excellent vocabularies and letter and number recognition.  We work on their letters and numbers with them (very casually) and Sesame Street reinforces that. 

You watched Sesame Street as a kid, look what it did for you.
It’s pretty obvious to me that Noodad watched Sesame Street as a kid and has not seen it since.  Rubber Ducky, 1234567891112 and the pie guy are all really old school. Nowadays it’s about Elmo, Zoe and Mr. Noodle.  Rosita plays on the guitar and Baby Bear and Telly spin the dradel during Hannukah.  I still remember everything that Sesame Street taught me with its witty humor, catchy tunes and masterfully repetitive style. Sesame Street gives a foundation for music, language, math and cultural appreciations.  If you allow your kids to watch just one show, it should be Sesame Street.  Every ESL student should use Sesame Street as a learning guide.

Sesame Street teaches equality and tolerance.
Sesame Street teachs tolerance and equality.  Remember back in the 70s the song “We All Sing With The Same Voice”. That song was all about racial, financial, gender and even sexual preference equality. "You've got a daddy I've got two." Totally radical at the time.  It taught that all families are different and that everyone is great. 

Sesame Street is funny.
Grover always cracks me up.

I know I’m not the only one out there that thinks Sesame Street is what it is.  Please comment!

For more information on Sesame Street's International Flavors, go to http://www.sesameworkshop.org/international/portal.php.