Column:
Parents more powerful than Cookie Monster's diet
Published April 15, 2005
There's nothing like the tarnishing of your favorite childhood television show to make you realize your childhood is truly, completely behind you. One of my favorite childhood role models has forsaken his longtime eating disorder for a healthy diet. Yes, Cookie Monster is cutting back on his one true passion: cookies.
I'm not the first person upset about this development. In America, even adults take their childhood programming seriously. Of course, because "Sesame Street" just celebrated its 36th anniversary, a lot of us have grown up with Cookie Monster and his somewhat disastrous diet.
"Sesame Street" was central to my early years of development. Perhaps in spite of better judgment, my mother allowed me to watch all three hours of "Sesame Street" that aired on our local PBS affiliate. Perhaps that seems like a ridiculous amount of television for a toddler to watch, but I seemed slightly more well-adjusted than my sister, who was raised on a strict half-hour of "Barney and Friends," suggesting there are worse things my parents could have exposed me to.
Given the amount of time I spent with "Sesame Street" characters in my formative years, I'm a bit distraught to hear that Cookie Monster is giving in to this societal pressure to eat healthily. Although the show's producers claim this is an effort to fight childhood obesity, I think it's an unfair condemnation of Cookie Monster's differences.
"We are not putting him on a diet, and we would never take the position of no sugar," said Rosemarie T. Truglio, the show's vice president of research and education. "We're teaching him moderation."
I'm glad to hear that they're not planning to starve poor, misunderstood Cookie Monster. But I think it's a little late to try to teach him new ways. After all, Cookie Monster has been binging on cookies for more than 30 years. Do they really expect behavior modification to work?
The tarnishing of my beloved childhood characters aside, this is really a superfluous position for "Sesame Street" to take. Although childhood obesity is skyrocketing in the United States, I have a sneaking suspicion it has a lot to do with the number of fast food advertisements to which children are exposed.
According to the Prevention Institute for the Center of Health Improvement, almost 11 percent of advertising during children's programming is for fast food.
Although it would certainly be advisable to curb the number of fast food ads children are exposed to, that is still somewhat peripheral to the real problem at hand: parenting.
No matter how many fast food ads a child sees, or how many cookies they watch Cookie Monster eat, if their parents are willing to demonstrate and demand healthy eating habits, none of the media they are exposed to will have any lasting effect.
By trying to mold Cookie Monster into someone he's not, the media is again allowing parents to shrug off their responsibility for their children's upbringing.
So, Cookie Monster, don't let Sesame Street tell you "cookie is for sometimes." It's your parents who should've told you that one a long time ago.