'Sesame Street' Divorce: Fairy 'Abby Cadabby' to Teach Kids About Tough Topic
Divorce has become a common practice, but it's still a tough subject to teach children.
Now "Sesame Street" will try and tackle the tricky subject.
The legendary PBS children's show taped a segment to air on an upcoming episode that will teach kids about the separation of their parents. The segment has been in the works for over two years with the show's writers and producers crafting the best way to tackle the issue directly.
"We want kids to understand that they're not alone, and that it's not their fault," said Sesame Workshop's vice president of outreach initiatives Lynn Chwatsky to Time magazine.
The 13 minute segment will star Abby Cadabby, a pink fairy with divorced parents, and be a part of a multimedia kit called "Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce."
"These kids love and adore Abby," Chwatsky added. "So to know that she's going through something similar to them, something challenging, it's like, 'Wow. It makes it O.K. to have a whole range of feelings.'"
The segment will only be available online as part of the kit and not put on the regular television broadcast of "Sesame Street," according to MSN. The multimedia kit will also have a storybook, a helpful guide for parents and an app.
The topic has been brought up before by "Sesame Street" who had Mr. Snuffleupagus in the position of having divorced parents. The 1992 segment didn't test well with preschoolers who were worried about the character as well as their family. The piece was cut before it could air on television.
But it seems that times have changed and the children are now ready for the tough Muppet-led life lesson.
"This isn't an easy topic, but that's the beauty of Muppets," Chwatsky said. "They can do things that even some grown-ups can't."
