Sesame Street and the “parent vote”

Once upon a time, moms and dads let their children watch “Sesame Street”, “Electric Company”, the “ABC Afterschool Special” and various other forms of entertainment solely designed to entertain and hold the attention of the too-young-to-vote demo.

That was also a magical time when, if you got in trouble at school, you were also in trouble at home—because, and I know this sounds unbelievable, but the notions of right and wrong were the same in both places. There was usually no daylight between the expectations or standards of a teacher, principal or coach, and your parent.

It’s not like that anymore, you say, and you would be right.

Change was gradual, but a whole lot of people started noticing it in the last couple of years (virtual learning in the home’s biggest unintended consequence, among many).

There’s a lot we can say about WHY it changed—why the people competing for your child’s attention these days are not necessarily allies, or even trustworthy.

One thing’s clear—a lot of parents in Virginia had figured it out last week.