Sesame Street doing its part for Military Families

I feel like Sesame Street has gotten to the point where it is an American icon. Maybe it always has been. But, I know they go back more than 30 years and even if you didn't watch the show growing up, at some point or another, you became familiar with the characters. They have covered many life issues, and talked about various topics relating to every family from every walk of life, now including the military life.

Not too long ago, on my own site, I shared a post about Sesame Street and the USO teaming up to do a tour for military families. 2011 was the third consecutive year for the Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families Tour, which made many stops to countries all around the globe. However, Sesame Street doesn't stop there!

Have you heard about Sesame Workshop's 'talk, listen, connect' initiative and site? Talk, listen, connect strives to explore the emotions that come when dealing with deployments, homecomings, changes, and even grief. All very real, and common, situations dealt with in military families today. On this site, I am especially impressed with the resources they have available to get a family through the grieving process. This is something that we must be able to be prepared for, and handle, and yet I don't see very many helpful resources available today.

From the talk, listen, connect site you can also access another site sponsored by Sesame Workshop, along with PBS's Electric Company, which is Military Families Near and Far. This site focuses on staying connected with family members who we often do not have the privilege of living near to, as well as staying connected with parents and family members who may be deployed, and deployed loved ones staying connected with their families and children. This site offers references and tools for all age ranges to utilize, as well as families to use together.

Dealing with the 'in's and out's' of military life isn't easy, and we as parents don't always have all the answers to help our children understand. If you are going through or preparing for a deployment, or even getting ready for a homecoming these sites are definitely great ones to utilize with excellent tools and resources.

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