Old School Sesame Street episodes come with a warning - Adults Only

[Darkbeer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/ma...hw0HMpk0Fih3xg

Sunny days! The earliest episodes of “Sesame Street” are available on digital video! Break out some Keebler products, fire up the DVD player and prepare for the exquisite pleasure-pain of top-shelf nostalgia.

Just don’t bring the children. According to an earnest warning on Volumes 1 and 2, “Sesame Street: Old School” is adults-only: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”

Interesting article...

You can find the DVD's on sale at this link...

http://store.sesameworkshop.org/

[knittingknerd]

Thanks DB for posting that.

Okay being a preschool teacher... I am offended by that warning. Dude....sometimes... This may go into the debate lounge after I say this but I kinda' am fuming now:

Right now in this day and age, the best thing a preschooler needs for their education is a family that cares they get an education. Videos, DVDs, videogames, toys, all that other junk doesn't matter if the family doesn't go to parent teacher conferences, knows the type of school their child is going to and what happens at that school (ie how they discipline, are videos shown, what the philosophy of the school, director, and teachers are, I can list even more), doesn't take time and play games with their kids (anything can be a math game. Baking cookies "We baked 10 cookies, you ate two. How many do we have?" Laundry sorting "red shirts" "blue pants," cleaning can be gross and fine motor... It's easy if you take a few minutes), doesn't have a set schedule (ie dinner is at 6. Bedtime at 7:30, wake up time is 6:30)... As someone who has seen the richest and the poorest kids, kids who come from families that have all the gadgets and the doodads and whatever but their parents don't spend time with them and they act out they are the class clowns who have a hard time. I have seen parents that have no money but they sit with library books and read with their kids every night and their kids do well...So... And Baby Einstein was just proven to hurt child development! So all these people need to....

[Cmash95]

that's really interesting considering there is a pullout book for the kids. I remember the older sesame streets very well and I would have no problem with little ones watching. now oscar was pretty bad and there was one counting series that had to be discontinued because at the end a chef fell down the steps and kids were throwing themselves down the stairs because of it. my brother was one of them . He loved the counting series and one day he stood at the top of the stairs at my parent's house and yelled out "5 strawberry pies." we had just finished baking a bunch of strawberry rhubarb pies at the time. He then proceeded to tumble down the basement stairs. thank heavens the stairs were carpeted and my mother was at the bottom to catch him. btw he was four years old at the time. She called the doctor to tell him about it and he said that there had been alot of that behavior going on. So much so that the AMA had contacted the producers of sesame street and they took that particular part of the show off the air.

[Jazzman]

And Baby Einstein was just proven to hurt child development! So all these people need to....

Actually, the study merely proved that kids are being shorted by parents who buy the Baby Einstein videos and plunk the kids down in front of them for hours at a time without real world, tactile stimulation to complement them. Kinda goes along with what you were saying though; nothing can substitute for active parenting.


As for Sesame Street, screw the warning and the PC Fascists who caused it. It's friggin' Sesame Street, and to be honest I'd much rather have my (future) children watching old school Sesame than the hyperactive, spiritless, cracked-out-Elmo-starring Sesame Street of today. We're going to make it a point not to shelter our kids and hide them from the world. I personally believe that raising children according to PC standards cripples them once life takes over and reality sets in. Yeah, they should have imagination, believe in Santa and all that important stuff, but they shouldn't be taught that the world is all cupcakes, unicorns and teddy bears. And really, what better way to teach them about reality than through a show set on a gritty New York street, featuring a pre-diabetic obsessive over eater, a habitually grumpy manic depressive, two closeted gay roommates, and a hulking avian perpetual adolescent with a Pollyanna complex?

Viva la Sesame!

[SusieP.]

...and there was one counting series that had to be discontinued because at the end a chef fell down the steps and kids were throwing themselves down the stairs because of it. my brother was one of them . He loved the counting series and one day he stood at the top of the stairs at my parent's house and yelled out "5 strawberry pies."

Ouch! I so remember that part, probably a good thing we had a single story house.

[Melonballer]

If I heard someone yell 5 strawberry pies and saw them fall down the stairs, I'd laugh.

Anyways, the only warning I think they should have is that "Elmo is not in it". Imagine some kid saying "Where's Elmo and who is this Mr. Hooper?" Of course, a child would be improved by learning about Mr. Hooper. Mr. Hooper > Elmo.

[Cmash95]

If I heard someone yell 5 strawberry pies and saw them fall down the stairs, I'd laugh.

a child throwing themselves down a flight of stairs isn't funny. and I didn't laugh, as a matter of fact I screamed, he could have had severe injuries, luckily it was only some cuts and bruises. nothing broken, but he was very sore for several days after that.

[aimster]

I am sooooooo getting this! Classic Sesame Street was the best!

[Ex-SmallWorld CM]

Frankly, I don't understand that disclaimer but I have both volumes of classic SS. I watched these old shows on Noggin but remember the skits used frequently in later seasons. This show as well as The Electric Company and Mr. Rogers were the best on PBS

[sediment]

Long time ago, Sesame Street wasn't for four-year olds. Six and up, IMO.
And people watched what their kids were watching on the TV.
It jumped the shark when Snufflufagous was created (IMO, though jts web site says it's all about the red dude.)

Sesame Street is now dumbed down so toddlers can watch.

[Barbossa]

It's funny, I just found the link to this article on another site and just wanted to post it here, but someone beat me to it. It's an interesting article.

I miss the old pinball cartoon that they always had on there. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12!"
But because of that cartoon I still don't know what numbers come after 12.

[Jazzman]

"who is this Mr. Hooper?"

[knittingknerd]

Actually, the study merely proved that kids are being shorted by parents who buy the Baby Einstein videos and plunk the kids down in front of them for hours at a time without real world, tactile stimulation to complement them. Kinda goes along with what you were saying though; nothing can substitute for active parenting.


As for Sesame Street, screw the warning and the PC Fascists who caused it. It's friggin' Sesame Street, and to be honest I'd much rather have my (future) children watching old school Sesame than the hyperactive, spiritless, cracked-out-Elmo-starring Sesame Street of today. We're going to make it a point not to shelter our kids and hide them from the world. I personally believe that raising children according to PC standards cripples them once life takes over and reality sets in. Yeah, they should have imagination, believe in Santa and all that important stuff, but they shouldn't be taught that the world is all cupcakes, unicorns and teddy bears. And really, what better way to teach them about reality than through a show set on a gritty New York street, featuring a pre-diabetic obsessive over eater, a habitually grumpy manic depressive, two closeted gay roommates, and a hulking avian perpetual adolescent with a Pollyanna complex?

Viva la Sesame!

Dude Jazzman, can I just tell you you're awesome? You said some stuff that I kinda' wanted to say but fear saying because I am "perky and fun" and such? Who is the manic depressive/bi polar?

It jumped the shark when Snufflufagous was created (IMO, though jts web site says it's all about the red dude.)

You want to know why Snuffy is no longer Big Bird's invisible friend? Apparently a bunch of bad stuff was happening to kids because bad people would say "I'm your invisible friend just like Mr. Snufflufagous. Don't tell anyone you saw me..." After that started happening and being reported, Snuffy was visible by everyone! My mom told me this when I was like 16.

Here's the thing: I love Sesame Street. It's like my favorite kid show. I wanted to marry Big Bird. Think about it: Big Bird to a 4 year old is a perfect man. He's tall, he's nice. He's funny. He's cute. He likes to play. Everyone loves Big Bird. And aren't those qualities everyone wants their daughter's future husband to have? But I think sitting your kids down and not talking to them, letting them watch endless t.v. is bad. And my parents outted Bert and Ernie to me when I was 4. I asked my dad about it "Why are 2 boys taking a bath together that aren't brothers?" Dad was like "well...when two men love each other..."

If it weren't for that writer's strike I'd be looking some old school Count. One word! Ha ha ha! Two words! Ha ha ha! Three words! Ha ha ha! Kim has written three word in her novel in an hour! Ha! Ha! Ha!

[Sully]

I guess I shouldn't have brought my 2 y/o to Avenue Q then?

[tassie]

this is when I used to watch it!!!!

I'll always rmember poor old solomon grundy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ8UOsUTd0Q