Parent call for one armed children's TV presenter to be sacked!!

C. - posted on 03/31/2010

No, I don't think that ANY parent has the right to be concerned about something like that! If children aren't exposed to something like that at a young age, then when they go into public it could turn pretty ugly should they see someone with any form of a disability. Whether the child should tease the other person b/c they're "different" or whether they're afraid of them b/c they've never seen anyone like that before.. Both reactions could be prevented if kids were exposed to it ahead of time. But that's my opinion.

Jessica - posted on 03/31/2010

That sounds like when they killed off Burt from Seaseme Street because Burt and Ernie might be ..dun dun dun...gay! Most ridiculous thing I had ever heard... I'm glad this lady was able to keep her job! Go team her! :)

Good Day! - posted on 03/31/2010

I think the parents calling for the sack were made uncomfortable by their children's questions. But that is just part of parenting.

When I taught (sorry I keep bringing up stories from my teaching days, but there were a lot of life lessons to be learned during that time) I had a student with a shriveled tiny arm that was twisted at the elbow so his hand faced up. I don't remember the kids ever making fun of him or asking him about it. I'm sure they had class together since prek (small town) so they were used to it. No one was bothered by it.

So this parent that wants this tv host fired....what would she have done about this child in my classroom? Asked that he be banned from school? It's the same thing. Ridiculous.

Shannon - posted on 03/31/2010

What? I've never heard this.. I think it's appalling. They have handicapped children on Sesame Street, which is fine. Why not this show too.? Parents are paranoid about some stupid things.

Johnny - posted on 03/31/2010

I remember hearing about that. It was such a big deal/debate that it was even fairly widely discussed where I am in Canada. And during that time, I don't remember talking to anyone who agreed with those parents who had the issue. I personally think that kind of sheltering could really damage kids. Trying to sanitize your child's world of everything that could potentially confuse or upset them is at best futile and at worst will lead them to a big shock later in life. As a parent, it is your role to teach your children what is right and how the world works. If you can't handle explaining to your kids why a tv presenter may be missing her arm, then you probably are not equipped to help your kid navigate the complexities of life. What would happen when that kid goes to a playgroup and meets a child with a facial deformity? Would the parent ask that child be removed? It really boggles my mind that parents want their children to be so deeply naive. And if they didn't like her that much, they really could have just stopped showing their kids the tv program.



Before people point out that we should of course be monitoring what our children see, I do agree. But this has to be within some reason. For example, UFC fighting/mixed martial arts is something that I do not believe any child should view. Personally, I think it should be adults only like pornography. But suddenly my local tv news channel has seen fit to broadcast clips from it during their nightly sports report. We often have the news on as dinner gets ready, and I've learned that I have to be prepared to turn off the television right after the hockey report. And if it happens that my daughter does see this despicable violence, I always tell her that "we don't fight like that, that is bad." I want her to know that mommy does not approve. While I would like to not have to take those steps, I do believe it is my responsibility to control and guide my child's environment to some extent. And to teach her why in the process, especially since I don't want her trying to rip some other kids arm off the next time we go to playgroup.