Probably like many of you, I attribute many of my earliest life lessons to Sesame Street. When I was a year old, barely able to take a few steps unassisted, Elmo and Grover taught me the concept of an alphabet. “What is H for?” my mom would ask. Apparently, I would respond by drooling “huuuu” and turning my tiny thumbs and index fingers into a triangle — my version of a roof on a house.
When my sister came around a while later, Sesame Street showed me the importance of sharing and the value of siblings. At the time, I was side-eyeing her crib (I mean, my crib) pretty hard. Bert and Ernie helped me understand and process my jarring new reality.
As the most widely viewed children’s show in the world, Sesame Street has assumed some weighty responsibilities. Its stated mission today, 45 years after first airing, is to make kids “smarter, stronger, and kinder.” This includes helping kids through difficult, scary times — sometimes, issues much more serious than gaining an unexpected kid sister. Some episodes help kids work through “Big Feelings” that they may not fully understand today.
Below are five clips that I found particularly moving. As a quick warning, a few of these are tear-jerkers (at least for me!), so you may want to keep some tissues handy. Enjoy!
“Goodbye, Mr. Hooper”
This video, which aired in 1983, is one of Sesame Street’s earliest efforts at addressing tough issues. The real-life actor who played Mr. Hooper, Will Lee, had recently passed. Big Bird had a special affinity for the character, often going to his store for birdseed milkshakes.
Instead of simply re-casting the role, Sesame Street producers decided to use the opportunity to teach its young audience the frightening and unimaginable concept of death. In the clip, Big Bird doesn’t understand what death means. The adults respond with compassion, explaining in simple language that Mr. Hooper isn’t coming back.
“I don’t understand! Everything was just fine. Why does it have to be this way? Give me one good reason.”
“Big Bird, it has to be this way… because.”
“Just because?”
Just because.”
“It’s Not Your Fault”
Abby Cadabby, the show’s peppy fairy-in-training, has parents who are going through a divorce. In this short segment, Abby tearfully confides to her adult friend Gordon that she thinks she’s to blame.
“Sometimes I don’t clean my room,” she says, “and this one time, I turned my mommy’s favorite vase into a pumpkin.”
“Abby, listen to me,” Gordon replies, his voice booming with authority and kindness. “It is not your fault. A divorce happens because of problems between grown-ups. It is never a child’s fault.”
“The Good Birds’ Club”
Here, Big Bird receives an invitation to join something called the Good Birds’ Club. As soon as he gets there, the leader starts berating him. “You do not look like much of a good bird to me,” he says, to the confusion of the other members. He points out Big Bird’s large feet and insists that, if he wants to be a good bird, they need to be smaller.
Dejected, Big Bird gets his friend Abby Cadabby to shrink them. He can barely walk with his little feet, but he doesn’t care, since he’ll now fit in with his new friends. Not surprisingly, just like many playground (and online) bullies, the leader finds something else to pick on: Big Bird’s overall size.
His friends Abby and Elmo are upset that anyone would want to change Big Bird. But after Big Bird insists, Abby turns him into Small Bird — and, after another round of bullying, into Small Blue Bird.
By the end, Big Bird’s friends — and a trusted adult — help him realize that he was fine the way he was. They decide to start a new club that everyone can join, called, “I’m Happy to Be Me!”
“What Is Incarceration?”
With at least 1.4 million people in the US in prison, an increasing number of children are growing up without their primary caregivers. This clip speaks directly to those kids, assuring them that they are not alone in this painful situation.
In this segment, two of Alex’s friends (Alex is the Muppet with blue hair) are talking about how they want to make toy cars with their dads. They turn to Alex, whose mood suddenly changes when he says, “I don’t think so” and walks away.
After some time, Alex admits that his dad was in jail. “I don’t like to talk about it,” he says. “Most people don’t understand.” The adult in the segment, Sofia, shares that her father was also incarcerated when she was young. She explains what that means to the other Muppets — “when someone breaks a law, or a grown-up rule, and then they have to go to jail or prison” — and lets Alex know that he has friends to support him.
“Sesame Street Gets Through a Storm”
This hour-long episode is part of a weeklong series to help children cope with their emotions during natural disasters. In this episode, which aired shortly after Hurricane Sandy, Sesame Street is destroyed by a big storm. “My nest, my home,” Big Bird says over and over, after seeing his home in pieces. Adults let him know that they’ll all rebuild it together.
The episode focuses on the process of rebuilding Big Bird’s nest, with some help from the Three Little Pigs (from the architecture firm Pig, Pig, & Pig, naturally). After a few failed attempts, the team builds a nest that Mr. Wolf officially declares hurricane-proof.
Just for kicks, here’s a photo of me, in 1984, proudly making a “house” for my mom. Do you have a Sesame Street memory or photo? Hit “write a response” below and share your story!
