Sesame Street… Live!
Addie with Elmo, her favorite Sesame Street character.
Addie has not spent a lot of time watching television. Kendra and I made a conscious choice to keep her completely away from it for as long as possible. Now that she is 18 months, that’s not really feasible, though we still limit how much she watches each week. All the studies we’ve read indicate there is no cognitive benefit for children under two, so we figured there’s really no reason for her to be plopped in front of the TV.
Of course, weekend mornings neither of us can resist cuddling with her on the couch while she giggles and cheers for Elmo on Sesame Street. She fell in love with Elmo this summer on our cross-country road trip. On the rare occasions when she would get cranky in the car, we’d pop in a Sesame Street video for her to watch. Now, when she is in the mood to watch Elmo, she let’s us know by pulling her rocking chair in front of the television, handing us the remote, pointing to the TV, and saying, “Elmo!”
Knowing of Addie’s obsession with Elmo, my mom bought tickets for the three of us, plus my sister and her three kids, for Sesame Street Live. I was excited to take Addie, but not sure how she’d react. When she saw my cousin Lathan dressed up as Santa Claus at Christmas, she screamed and shook like nothing I have ever seen before. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous.
The minute Big Bird walked onstage to open the show, she pointed and said, “Big Bird!” Addison was mesmerized for the next hour and a half. Though she was very quiet and reserved through most of the show, by the end she was dancing on the floor and high-fiving the characters. (My mom got us second-row seats, so we got to interact with a lot of the cast!) She even had her first taste of cotton candy, and she could not get enough.
My nieces and nephew had a blast as well – every time Abby came over to us, Bria would squeal and hold up her Abby figurine.
It was a great time, and I would recommend the show to anyone with kids who love Sesame Street. (Okay, what kid DOESN’T love Sesame?!) However, I wouldn’t bring a child much younger than Addie. At the end, the show gets very loud as they pop streamers into the air. Addison was scared by the noises and started crying. She was quickly pacified, but I would imagine it would be very scary for an infant or young toddler.
