photo: Facebook/Sesame Street
Somewhere in New York City is the most famed street that both children and adults dream of.  This street is filled with a giant birds, an elephant, people, and even monsters found in trashcans. “Sesame Street” has been a source of education and influence for most children for the past 40 years. The show has always tried to educate children of not only numbers and letters, but also issues that are sometimes difficult to explain to young minds. For the first time, Sesame Street is introducing a new character, Lily, who comes from an impoverished family.  This character truly hits home with Elmo, whose mother just lost her job due to the recession. The main idea for the creation of the character was in order to teach children about poverty and hunger. The new addition to the classic show has great potential to inform children that are in this situation that they are not alone; as well as to teach children not to make fun of peers that may be in a similar situation as Lily and might have to go to the food pantry for food.

It is sometimes difficult to explain to children issues that may affect themselves, or people they may now.  “Sesame Street” has therefore attempted time and time again to transcend the simple children entertainment Muppets, to an art form suited for day-to-day learning experience for both children and adults.

It is sometimes the little people that are forgotten. We have to remember that it is the small children that are the most impressionable at such a young age. Even the adults can take a message from Lily; maybe  its our time to step in and teach the children about others and the difficulties they might be going through. We can place the first barrier that a children has to cross before thinking about bullying  someone that may be different than himself.

Watch “Sesame Street” on Sunday, Oct.9, at 5:00 pm, on PBS, to see Lily’s first steps on Sesame Street.