I love Sesame Street

Whenever I think I am focused on a project at work or chore around the house, there is a soundtrack playing in my head. The soundtrack used to be my favorite songs or the last song I heard playing on the radio. As a parent, this playlist has been replaced with children's songs and most of them come from Sesame Street.

Hopefully, this answers the question of why I am humming "What's the Name of That Song?" while ironing.

I love Sesame Street. I know I am not alone in this. Sharing the joys of watching Cookie Monster and Grover with my little guy is fun.

And the key word in that sentence is "sharing."

You see, we are all guilty of letting our children watch Sesame Street without us. We forget that even though it is educational programming, it still needs parental involvement. In a recent study at Vanderbilt University, three-year-olds were evaluated after watching an educational video. The children of parents who paused the video to ask questions or talk about the story showed significant gains in vocabulary and comprehension.

Parents often use this same technique while reading books to their children, so it makes sense that it works for television as well.

I understand that sometimes you need a break - some privacy in the bathroom or a few minutes to cook dinner - but let's all take a few moments to sit down with our children and ask, "What is Cookie Monster doing now? Do we eat cookies all the time?"

You might even enjoy it. Think of it as a reunion with your favorite neighborhood monsters.

Share you favorite Sesame Street related memory in the comments. No talking about the episode where Mr. Hooper died (you'll make me cry.)