Sesame Street Elmos World:Fami

My daughter LOVES this furry little red guy, so we naturally tried to get as many fun to watch DVD's as possible starring ELMO! Unfortunately many don't feature him throughout, and she gets bored, but this edition is jam packed with Elmo from start to finish. Each segment teaches your little one something useful: "Families" show various types of families; "Mail" teaches how mail is created and mailed, how it gets to wherever it's going; "Bath Time" is hilarious with a long segment starring Mr. Noodle goofing around showing us what "supplies" you need to take a bath. There are scenes with washing babies, animals, etc. Your child will easily associate their own routines with those played out in each segment and of course have fun singing the silly song Elmo plays on his piano.

ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IS WAKE UP WITH ELMO!

I found this DVD to be rather entertaining and educational. I (26-year-old father) bought it for my 18-month-old. Here's my take on different points:

Quality: The video and audio quality are both very good. Although, I found the crayon-drawn set and overuse of computer effects to be too excessive, and rather annoying. I'm not sure how this is viewed through the eyes of a toddler though.

Age Appropriateness: I think the video is better suited for children 2 1/2 and up. My son will likely have to grow into this video. For kids two and under, I HIGHLY suggest "The Best of Elmo" and "Cookie Monster's Best Bites", both of which my son (and we as parents) love.

Educational Value: I believe that an older child (3yrs & up) will benefit from this much more than a toddler. There are good lessons to be learned, but they are over the head of infants and young toddlers.

Entertainment: The video was rather amusing, but not as engaging for our 1 1/2 year-old as the aforementioned recommendations. We as adults didn't find the video very amusing, but ages 3-6 would I'm sure.

Now, to address the issue of previous fascist statements. First, the only "inclusion" of homosexuality is a 2-second snippet showing two men and a young child eating ice cream. There is nothing at all saying that these men are gay and are both the "fathers" of the child. Sure, if you go by stereotypes, they appeared as though they were likely gay, but the video confirmed nothing. The guys could have been best friends eating ice cream with the child of one of the men while the wife was shopping. I've been with a friend before when he was babysitting his son in a public place...if we appeared gay, those that were perceiving such need to find something better to do with their time.

The same people that had a problem with the alleged homosexual reference may have also had a problem with the interracial couples. If you are one of these people, the video is NOT for you. You'd be better off locking your child in the basement, cutting off all forms of outside communication, and showing him Nazi propoganda. That way, your little extremist can be 100% brainwashed and ready to commit hate crimes when unleashed. Grow up.

My daughter is almost 18 months old and she loves this dvd. I've been able to get her to take her bath by singing the bath time song the Elmo sings. This is a great dvd to buy for your kid.