Update: This muppet was actually introduced back in 2013 and resurfaced after Sesame Street‘s latest addition of the autistic muppet mentioned below. Nonetheless, many are happy to discover the exposure of this reality.
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For decades, Sesame Street has taught children the educational basics, as well as how to deal with life’s challenging obstacles. Hot off the heels of introducing Julia, the first character with Autism, it’s just been announced a new character has been added. His name is Alex and unfortunately Alex’s father is in jail.
According to research one in 28 children have a parent in jail and with that information Sesame Street is now doing its part to help change the stigma. Sesame Workshop created an online tool kit “Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration.” The purpose of the initiative is to help children find support while their parent serves their sentence, along with tips for how family can talk to their kids about incarceration.
Alex has blue fuzzy hair, a green nose, wears a grey hoodie and a stripped shirt. On first glance, Alex looks like your average puppet on Sesame Street, but when the idea to ask their dads for help with a fun project comes up, Alex gets sad and then tells the other Muppets about his father.
“I just miss him so much,” he tells a friend. “I usually don’t want people to know about my Dad.”
Alex won’t be a part of the central cast of puppets, but will play an integral role in the online tool kit.
To watch the video, CLICK HERE