Et tu, Sesame Street?

In a shameful example of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em so you, too, can make money by pretending that something harmful to children benefits them, Sesame Street has tarnished its once-impeccable reputation by entering the "Baby Einstein" marketplace. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood statement calls on Zero to Three to avoid tarnishing its previously impeccable reputation by withdrawing its endorsement. Zero to Three founder Barry Brazelton expressed his dismay in a letter sent by CCFC, according to the Washington Post.

But perhaps even more stinging is the rebuke by T. Berry Brazelton, the famous baby doctor who helped found Zero to Three nearly 30 years ago. "I absolutely support the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that children under two be kept away from screen media. It's too expensive for them physically as well as psychologically," he wrote late last week in CCFC's protest letter to Zero to Three.