In continuation of my theme of topics Sesame Street has successfully addressed over the years, this week I wanted to focus on the subject of pregnancy and babies. I found it interesting how Sesame Street was able to turn a topic many children witness but can’t fully understand, and instead help children grasp concepts about motherhood and the introduction of siblings into the home. With the use of human and Muppet characters, Sesame Street has successfully presented this issue several times over the years.
While there was talk of having human characters go though a divorce on Sesame Street to highlight that important issue, it was instead decided to use Muppet characters, feeling children had grown too attached to the human characters on the show. With pregnancy, however, the idea of making a human character pregnant was more natural. Especially since star Sonia Manzano was pregnant herself at the time, which became a primary reason for introducing it into the show. They could incorporate Manzano’s own real-life pregnancy into the character of Maria.
The topic of pregnancy became a season-long story arc in the show’s 20th season, first introduced in Episode 2558. In that episode, Maria visits a maternity clinic, taking Big Bird with her. This allowed kids to have a character to relate to, and ask questions they may have had themselves. Children, along with Big Bird, learn about the doctor checking the baby’s heartbeat, Maria’s blood pressure, and her weight. When Maria returns to the Fix-It-Shop, she demonstrates checking the baby’s heartbeat to Luis, Gordon, Linda, Oscar and Elmo. She later has a moment to herself in which she listens to the heartbeat, a sweet moment that allows children to see a mother’s love for her baby. She later shares a similar moment with Luis.
The story arc continued a few episodes later, when Maria’s mother came to visit Sesame Street and an ultrasound of a baby is shown to kids. It is a special device that allows the baby to be seen on a small monitor, with Maria’s doctor even pointing out the baby’s parts and Luis snapping pictures of a pregnant Maria. Maria’s mother also sings a sweet song called “My Baby’s Going to Have a Baby.” Later on in the season, Maria and Luis decorate the baby’s room with help from Big Bird, once again allowing for there to be a character in the story to whom children can relate. Another episode has dream sequences of Maria and Luis imagining what it will be like to hold their baby when it arrives, again putting special attention to the love of a parent to their child in the womb.
Towards the end of the season, Maria goes into labor, an important moment for children to understand (including a special part where Big Bird witnesses Maria doing breathing exercises). The season finale was dedicated to the birth of Luis and Maria’s daughter, Gabi. Telly Monster helps answer an important question many children have, when he has a sweet conversation with Susan and Gordon while they read a book to their son Miles. Telly asks how they could be doing something so normal when there’s so much going on around Sesame Street, with everyone being so excited for the arrival of the baby. Susan explains to Telly that even though having a new baby around will change things, many things will stay the same, a simple lesson that many children who are anticipating the arrival of a sibling need to understand. Even Oscar gets a special part of the episode when he realizes he’s happy the baby is coming (something grouches should never be). The episode ends with the cast visiting Maria and Luis in the hospital and meeting the new baby, with Maria even saying that the experience of giving birth was an adventure.
Continuing into the next season, the show gave children the opportunity to continue to watch the baby grow, with one episode featuring Telly curious about Gabi learning to talk. By incorporating Sonia Manzanos’ real life pregnancy into the show, it gave Sesame Street a chance to help children understand what their parents are going through with the pregnancy, and how they can learn to adapt to having a new baby in the home. The show’s next approach was helping children deal with a new addition to the family, but that storyline didn’t come for almost 20 years.
In Season 34, Sesame Street showed how children can adjust to having a new baby in the home, with the addition of a new character: Curly Bear, the baby sister of Baby Bear. Throughout the season, Baby Bear learns to adjust to no longer being the baby in the family, while also dealing with Curly Bear’s disinterest in porridge and her ability to growl louder than her big brother. What I love about this storyline is the sweetness of the relationship between brother and sister, with Baby Bear protective of his baby sister and Curly Bear being so fond of “Bebo” (her name for Baby Bear). It begins with a three-part episode focusing on the arrival of the baby, including Mama Bear pregnant and leaving for the hospital, and Gina taking care of Baby Bear while his parents are away. When Gina takes Baby Bear to the hospital to see his parents and new baby sister, Baby Bear sings a cute little song to his new baby sister called “I’ll Show You the World,” all about what kind of big brother he’ll be to her.
The third part has a very important story arc in which Baby Bear shares with Telly how his parents haven’t been as attentive to him since the new baby arrived, and how things are changing because of the baby, including changing their bedtime song to include Curly Bear. Papa Bear has a moment with Baby Bear in which he assures him they love them both and will make time for both of them, eventually helping Baby Bear warm up to having a baby sister around.
I personally love how Sesame Street approached the topic of pregnancy, and how much heart they included in helping kids understand and learn to adjust to having a new baby in the family. They used both human and Muppet characters to help highlight the story and, over the years, allowed viewers to watch Gabi and Curly Bear grow up and adjust to the challenges of going from baby to child and, for Gabi, from teenager to adult.
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