Blog #322: Watching Childish or Children’s Shows Should Not Be Judged (Part 3)
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Mar 29, 2023
- 3 min read
As I wrap up my 3 part blog on why neurodiverse individuals watching classic or childish’s television shows should not be judged, I often consider the fact that the reason a lot of parents tell their neurodiverse children to stop watching their programs is because they will get teased or picked on for loving something as childish as preschool programming. Of course, in the Brony Fandom, we saw this in 2014 with Michael Morones, who was bullied for liking “My Little Pony” and tried to take his own life as a result. He ended up becoming a vegetative state and died a few years ago.
Of course, all this was told to me by my psychologist today when I met with her and I discussed this multi part blog. After meeting with her, I thought about it and I feel that while parents have this fear that the child will not only embarrass him or herself, but themselves, it’s a matter that we all have to take with a grain of salt.
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A good example is “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” which I religiously watched and became a member of the Brony Fandom for 8 years. My own parents had their fears of me being a fan of a cartoon meant for little girls and that it would be a waste of my time when I could be focusing on something better…like Disney for example.
But you gotta remember that watching “Friendship is Magic” and attending Brony Conventions for six years inspired me to tell my story of growing up on the Autism Spectrum. It was because of watching something like My Little Pony enabled me to find my true purpose in life. Had it not been for a children’s cartoon, I would never have pursued my passion of being a writer and a speaker and furthermore, “Going the Distance” would never have come to existence.
Remember how I said in Part 1 of this blog that shows like “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” inspired some people to pursue a career as a history teacher or historian? That was the same impact “Friendship is Magic” had on me and something like “Sesame Street,” could do the same impact on someone who is neurodiverse. It may not be a career move, but watching “Sesame Street” repeatedly could allow someone who is neurodiverse to be a better person and to see their real life situations come to light through Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, etc.
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Of course, there is another preschool show that is just as important as “Sesame Street” that neurodiverse individuals will often go back to frequently and that is “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.”
Yes, I get the fact that Mr. Rogers has puppets and a neighborhood of make believe that neurotypical parents would much rather forget as they grow up. However, Mr. Rogers could also influence someone to become something like a public speaker and even get a better understanding of the world around them. Unfortunately, nowadays something like “Mister Rogers” can only be seen early in the morning and that’s it. I mean, if someone neurodiverse is trying to get decompressed after a hard overstimulating day, where do they turn to for comfort?
Maybe something like “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers” could teach the importance of why we are in a community and that why no one will always be on the same page as we. Hell, I saw that on “Friendship is Magic” and all the other programs that I watched on Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, etc. Where will you get something outside of children’s programming that can teach important life lessons and make us better people?
Certainly not from something like any garbage modern day preschool or tween show that is on nowadays. I mean, who can watch something and not have it bring people together instead of apart?
I’m not telling anyone what to do, but if you are forcing a child or someone who is neurodiverse off of something that is relaxing to them, you are just as bad as some of the preschool children’s programs who teach absolutely nothing or news outlets that are just in it for the ratings and not the facts.
There is more to educational shows like “Sesame Street” than we don’t know and the only way we can become better and understanding people is by embracing something we try to resist. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like to do and that includes something watching childish that holds valuable lessons we can all learn.
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Catch you all later!!
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