Sesame Street aims to help kids cope with divorce

When young children are going through a divorce, it is not uncommon for them to feel sad, confused, angry, hurt or any combination of emotions. Unfortunately, aside from siblings, there are rarely any sources of support and understanding that are their age and experiencing exactly what they are. Further, there are relatively few child-oriented books, television programs or movies aimed at helping children understand and cope with divorce.

Fortunately, that no longer appears to be the case. For the first time, the long-running kids’ show Sesame Street has created a web series that is focused exclusively on divorce and helping children through it. Titled “Little Children, Big Challenges: Divorce,” the show will not air on television, but will only be available on the Sesame Street website.

The series focuses on the Muppet character Abby Cadabby, who is in the process of telling her friends about her parents’ divorce. “This one is where I live with my mommy. And this is the one where I live with my daddy,” Abby says. As she attempts to work through her divorce, one of her friends comes forward and admits that his parents are also divorced. He tells Abby that her feelings are perfectly okay. “You can feel mad, or bad, or scared, or sad, all at the same time too.”

Most divorced parents of young children will likely agree that it is extremely helpful to have a resource through which to be able to talk about and help their children through their divorce. One child psychologist echoes this sentiment: “Social support is a really big psychological aid for many people,” she said. “It’s great to see ‘I’m not the only one that has to go through this.'”

Source: KDVR, ” “D” is now for “Divorce” on Sesame Street,” Tammy Vigil, Dec. 13, 2012