In article , Jan Andrea
wrote:

I watched Sesame Street with my son (almost 4) this morning. It was a show
about babies, as Baby Bear has a new sister (Curly Bear). But of all the
babies shown, and some were shown eating, not a single one was shown
breastfeeding. All of the infants were being bottlefed, including Curly
Bear. So I wrote this to the Children's Television Workshop on their
Contact page (http://www.ctw.org/aboutus/inside_contact.php):
------
As a nearly-30-year-old, I grew up on Sesame Street myself, and am happy
that my nearly-4-year-old son also enjoys Sesame Street. However, I was
somewhat disappointed with the show we saw today, which was all about
babies. I have a four-month-old baby girl, and my son has been just
terrific with her. But there's one thing he doesn't see in our house:
bottles. Both of my children were/are exclusively breastfed as babies,
which is the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics, among
other organizations.

However, not a single one of the babies shown on Sesame Street was shown
nursing. All of the babies who were eating were shown having bottles. As
most women in the United States at least start out breastfeeding their
babies, it seems to me that a majority of the preschoolers in the US will
also have seen their mothers nursing their siblings. Why is this not the
case on Sesame Street? Surely it can't be because nursing is somehow
"controversial" in nature; it is quite possible to breastfeed a baby without
showing any of the mother's breast. It would have been nice to at least see
Baby Bear's mother nurse Curly Bear, as she doesn't have any skin to show
(and therefore offend the easily, albeit mistakenly, offendable).

The only way we will be able to increase the rates of breastfeeding in the
United States is to get rid of the notion that bottlefeeding is the "normal"
or only socially-acceptable way of feeding babies. This needs to start when
kids are little. Right now, pretty much every baby doll comes with a
bottle. Bottles are ubiquitous, and so children assume that they are the
way that babies *have* to get fed. Will these children grow up to think of
breastfeeding as a normal way to feed babies? If they see it in the media
along with bottlefeeding, I think the chance goes up substantially!

I would have thought that at CTW would understand that breastfeeding is of
importance to babies and their future health, mental and physical, and give
it at least a little time on a program devoted to caring for babies. Sure,
show the bottles; they are a way for fathers and siblings to feed babies,
and many mothers do chose to bottlefeed their babies. But a growing and
educated number of women chose to breastfeed, and their preschool-aged
children should also see their choice represented.

Great letter! IIRC, Sesame Street seems to do a pretty good job
representing diversity in most other ways. I would bet that they just
need to hear this message from more parents. I'm going to watch for a
while and write 'em too.

--
Molly
http://www.sonic.net/~mollyf/