Elmo?

One day while shopping, we rounded the corner to find a pile of Sesame Street
books on display. W yelled “El-moo! El-moo!” and voraciously hugged the books.
Every last book got an individual hug.

It was adorable and… confusing. I don’t think my husband and I had ever said the
word “Elmo” to W. We had never watched more than a few isolated minutes of Elmo
here and there on the computer, so I was stumped. Then it hit me – Daycare! They
must be talking about Branded Characters in daycare. I work in Kid’s Entertainment
so this is how I think, “the machine had hold of him”

I am painfully aware of the power of Dora and Cookie Monster and Thomas the Tank
Engine (mainly because they steal all our market share!). I have watched countless
nephews spend hours talking about The Wiggles; I know the slope is very, very
slippery. To the extent that I will purposely rename characters in a story to avoid W
knowing their Brand Name. (I know, over the top behavior).

So, a few days later I remembered to ask the beloved daycare teacher if they talk
about Elmo at daycare. “Oh yes,” she said, “The children LOVE Elmo. We have two
Elmo books and I have to hide them when I am not reading them because they will
fight over them. One is a toilet training book and it makes noise.” She didn’t hide
that they talk about the Branded Character. She was proud of it. Elmo is serving a
purpose – reading AND toilet training. Two things I happen to feel very strongly
about instilling in my boy.

My husband thinks the way W says “El-moo” is so cute he rushed to the store and
bought the toilet training Elmo book AND an Elmo doll that says shapes and colours
when you push where his little monster heart should be. I am not exaggerating
when I say W runs on the spot with excitement at the appearance of these items but
still prefers the book.

In my quest to make myself feel better about this Elmo love, I watched the
documentary; Being Elmo and it made me feel a bit better. Elmo’s job is to share love and make kids feel safe and happy. (I’m paraphrasing but that is the message I took away from the film).

Elmo book is now a part of bedtime routine and as I write this W is sleeping with the
Elmo open book under his face. (I usually sneak in and steal it at some point).
Do I love that W loves Elmo? No. Yes. I don’t care. It depends on the day. And how
tired I am.

-Tightrope Mama