More than 5 million children under the age of 11 in the U.S. have a parent with a substance abuse disorder. Why should they not see their lives addressed on screen?
Sesame Street, which has introduced characters struggling with hunger and living with autism in the past few years, has a new lesson to teach children. So it gave Karli, the show’s accidentally pro-life character, a fuller backstory.
Karli was introduced earlier this year as a character in the foster care system. Now, it turns out, she’s in the system because her mother has an opioid addiction. While some parents may be concerned about the show addressing something so serious as the opioid crisis, Sesame Street does it with forthrightness and simplicity.
“Karli’s mommy has a disease called ‘addiction,’” one character explains. “Addiction makes people feel like they need a grown-up drink called alcohol or another kind of drug to feel okay.”
In another scene, Karli explains that she used to think she was responsible for her mom’s addiction. “I used to feel like a lot of things were my fault, especially my mom’s problem,” she says. “But she told me no, it was a grown-up problem. It wasn’t because of anything I did.”
Sesame Street has never dealt with addiction before. But it decided that it was time to do so because the crisis doesn’t just affect parents.
“So often, it’s only an adult issue and grown-ups are being treated,” Sherrie Westin, president of social impact and philanthropy for Sesame Workshop, told the New York Times. “Given that we know how much this impacts a young child, in terms of their own development and the trauma that can literally inhibit a healthy development, more and more I think this allows us to raise awareness to the importance of addressing the impact on a child and not just the adult, who is struggling with addiction.”
Yet some parents disagree. In “A is for Addiction: ‘Sesame Street’s new storyline is a wrong turn,” one columnist and mother writing at the Boston Herald argues against the new narrative. “Awareness is good, but pummeling toddlers with storylines explaining addiction only adds to the increasing anxiety of the youngest generation,” Jessica Heslam wrote.
The beauty of the Sesame Street storyline, though, is that the characters are not anxious. Karli is sheltered in some ways because she has a mother who tells her she loves her, and she’s found a good foster home. She’s able to share the reality of her situation without pain and fear. The most important message is not about despair, but that when bad things happen, kids must understand that those things aren’t their fault.
Children’s shows ought to address serious issues that children face. Mr. Rogers dealt with taboo topics from racism to divorce to death. Throughout Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he never shied away from tough topics, even explaining “assassination” to children after the killing of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
“What children probably need to hear most from us adults is that they can talk with us about anything and that we will do all we can to keep them safe in any scary time,” he explained years later. “I’m always glad to be your neighbor.”
Good children’s shows can remind viewers that yes, there are problems around us, but children don’t need to be frightened. It’s possible that bad things can be happening, but for children who are just learning to cope with the world, it’s still a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
