From Yahoo News:
The U.N. Children's Fund announced Monday that it has appointed an HIV-positive puppet who stars in the South African version of Sesame Street as a "global champion for children."
Kami, a furry yellow puppet who appears regularly on Takalani Sesame, represents a 5-year-old girl who has been orphaned by AIDS. UNICEF said she "has brought levity and compassion to a topic that so often evokes the opposite."
Kami will help promote messages of acceptance and an end to stigma for HIV/AIDS sufferers across the world in a way that is appropriate to the age group, UNICEF said, announcing a partnership with the Sesame Workshop, which gives creative support to the South African makers of Takalani Sesame.
Why are UNICEF and Sesame Workshop assuming that children in the Sesame Street age group (approximately 2 years old to 9 years old) need to learn about sexually transmited diseases? And why is a program like Sesame Street making that decision for parents?
Sesame Street is a terriffic program. The basic lessons the show teaches, such as counting, reading, getting along with others, and sharing are important. But since when do five year olds need to learn about sexually transmitted diseases? Lessons about that topic should come later in life, not at the age of five.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude. When the time is right I plan on being very forthcoming with my daughter about the topic of sex, safe sex and the possibility of diseases, but at three years old I don't want her running around talking about HIV. That's just not appropriate. At three, she should even know what sex is let alone what an STD is.
Sex is a delicate topic and its introduction into a child's life shouldn't be left up to the parents, not beamed into the child's living room by television producers.
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Article comments
1 - Joe
AIDS is not only a sexually transmitted disease. In South Africa where this character is featured, it is much more of an epidemic and has a higher transmission rate and well as increased instances of mother to child transmission. With the increased incidence in the society, this character serves to provide a representative for those victims.
2 - Rob
But is it an issue that requires the attention of our children?
3 - Joe
Nobody's forcing them to watch and as a parent you can turn off the TV. I don't know if they get into the issue of the means of transmission. I would imagine that until there's a cure, that it doesn't hurt for kids to have some education about it, age appropriate of course, and I don't see that they're doing anything inappropriate in this instance.
4 - ernie
Joe's nailed the issue on the head I think. South Africa has a huge amount of HIV/AIDS cases. Check out this page for some eyeopening stats. Depending on the study, in South Africa, approximately 1 out of 6 or 1 out of 20 children have HIV, 1 out of 3 or 1 out of 11 20-24 year olds do, and 1 out of 3 or 1 out of 6 age 25-30 do.
I'd say for a South African resident, with HIV prevalence rates that high, this is a very valid issue that needs to be addressed, especially since there are a significant number of children who are carriers, primarily through being children of HIV carriers. Even going with the 1 out of the 20 figure (and assuming that children don't know anyone in the 20-30 age bracket) the odds of them being around someone who's HIV postive is rather likely, and awareness of the issue is a necessity.
Now, for the US-centric view, you're probably right, we can shelter our children as the issue isn't one they have to face.
5 - Natalie Davis
Unless, of course, they meet or know someone who is HIV-positive or has AIDS. This is a wide world, and kids are exposed to more than you might think.
My kids know and love some people who happen to be HIV-positive (including one of my son's young friends). My daughter, in particular, had to deal with mourning one very close friend of ours who died from the disease. She also witnessed the differences in how this friend, who was also gay, was treated by family and friends -- some were supportive, others not.
The HIV-positive Muppet is introduced to kids in a very age-appropriate way. The subject isn't about transmission or about sex, it is about treating people with respect and offering them acceptance.
6 - Eric Olsen
I think the character makes sense as representing a significant social segment in South Africa. It would be gratuitous here at this point.
7 - TDavid
The color of that muppet looks very bright (possible eyestrain?). I bet it is an eye killer on a monitor in the light unless the web color translation is poor. Wonder if the color scheme was intentionally there to make Kami stick out.
8 - jadester
you do realise, i hope, that a HIV-positive adult can pass the disease onto a child if the child is conceived after the adult is HIV positive, i.e. a child can be born HIV positive.
9 - Natalie Davis
"I think the character makes sense as representing a significant social segment in South Africa. It would be gratuitous here at this point."
Perhaps that may be true in Aurora, but I assure you that in other areas, HIV stigmatization is an issue. Any lesson on tolerance is, IMO, needed and welcome.
10 - Rob
You do realize that this message is being sent to children ages 2 - 6 years old, a group not typically associated with intolerance.
11 - Natalie Davis
Yep. I've raised two children with the help of Sesame Street. One of my son's friends is HIV-positive, and trust me, some of their classmates could have benefitted from getting to know Kami. Sad to say, I've known plenty of intolerant kids who are carefully taught by their ignorant, hate- and fear-filled parents.
12 - Rob
I'm sorry, but I don't think that lessons in HIV are age-appropriate for my three-year-old daughter.
That's just how I feel.
13 - Joe
If polio was still a problem, would you object to a muppet with polio? What do you see as the message being sent? My interpretation of the message is: there is a disease which afflicts around 40 million people, their affliction is no reason to reject them from society.
14 - Natalie Davis
Rob, that is why your television is equipped with a channel changer. You always have the option of slipping a "Veggie Tales" tape into the VCR. Why deny my kid and others a valuable storyline because you "feel" a certain way? There is no law that says every program has to be suited to your situation.
15 - Rob
Should this HIV-positive muppet make an appearance on American television, I will use the channel changer. I will do so because I choose to teach lessons about sensitive topics like HIV and STD's to my child myself, rather then depending on the television to do it.
16 - Natalie Davis
Good for you, Rob! I teach my children myself as well. When TV helps out in reinforcing important lessons, however -- as in this instance that teaches about tolerance, not sex -- I appreciate it. There is so much trash on TV.