Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the popular children’s television show, has welcomed Morli, a turquoise Muppet to Sesame Street this week as a part of their continued effort to educate children about complicated issues facing our nation. After tackling homelessness and autism, naturally, the PBS show chose to turn it’s attention to the pressing, but rarely discussed issue of mom’s who text too much.
During Monday’s episode, Morli confessed to Elmo and Nina that her mom’s phone kept buzzing while painting the walls of her new apartment on the block. Elmo absolutely went off about Morli’s mom being so distracted by her texts, while Nina explains that parents with phones and opposable thumbs sometimes get a lot of texts from their friends. That’s when Morli revealed that she is one of 2.5 million American young adults with a mom who texts too much, causing Elmo to feel like an absolute dick.
“It’s about time someone started talking about this,” said executive producer Melinda Rogers. “Moms are just texting all the time. Kids need to be prepared for that, and we’re happy to play that role.”
Morli, with tears in her eyes, shared with Elmo and Nina that every morning she wakes up to the sounds of her mom receiving and sending texts.
Morli’s mom tries to keep her texting under control. However, Morli recently hit her breaking point when her mom sent 25 texts over one hour about a seasonal sale at Anthropologie, which included photos of various items her mom was considering.
“Sesame Street” hopes this initiative will start an at-home dialogue about whether moms should be texting so much.
“Our goal is that by 2025, the majority of children across the United States will have moms who can look them in the eyes when they ask for a cup of milk.”
If you know a child struggling with a mom who texts too much, check out PBS.com for videos and other online resources.
