BLOG VIEW: You know there is something wrong with society when the Muppets are stepping in to fill a void that families, the school system and the federal government are not willing to address: Teaching kids the value of financial responsibility. Nonetheless, I am glad that Elmo and his pals are ready for the challenge, because the stakes are anything but child's play.
The producers of ‘Sesame Street’ have created a series of DVDs and printed materials under the title ‘For Me, for You, for Later: First Steps To Spending, Sharing and Saving.’ This series will teach youngsters about the basics of how to save money and to spend money wisely. PNC Bank is financing this series, which will be distributed for free at their branches. There will also be an online version of the materials, and some of the segments will be incorporated into the ‘Sesame Street’ television program later this fall.
The lessons in this series may seem simple, but they are quite effective. For example, there is an episode where Elmo has a dollar and is undecided on how to spend it. After considering the purchase of ice cream or flowers, he decides that he wants to buy a ‘Stupendous Ball’ that lights up and plays music when it bounces. But the ball costs $5, so Elmo learns how to save money from his work in order to afford his desired purchase.
Another concept of this new production is having children set up three jars to hold their money. One jar is labeled ‘spending,’ one is labeled ‘saving’ and one is labeled ‘sharing.’ The third jar is designed to encourage charitable goodwill – in one episode, for example, a young boy uses the funds from his ‘sharing’ jar to buy cat food for the kittens of a local animal shelter.
Even the wacky Cookie Monster joins the fun in a segment on saving money. Cookie Monster gets the message that time is your ally when you are trying to build up your savings in order to reach a financial goal. That's no mean feat for a Muppet who is known for endless acts of impatient overindulgence.
The thrust behind the series is extremely optimistic: If youngsters can get an understanding of fiscal responsibility at an early age, they can keep the notion of savings and responsible spending with them through their formative years and into adulthood. And if adults are watching the new series with their kids, there is the hope that some of the lessons being presented here will rub off on them, too. If this concept pays off, then everyone wins – especially the next generation of loan originators, who will be dealing with customers that (hopefully) possess more mature knowledge of the subject of borrowing money.
Quite frankly, this new series is the right idea for the right time. ‘Sesame Street’ is a logical choice to provide a friendly educational environment, and financial education is certainly among the most important lessons to provide to children today. After all, we certainly cannot expect the U.S. school system to offer those lessons – according to the Associated Press, 26 states do not require any personal finance lessons, and only four states require that the subject be taught at an elementary school level. Considering the state of the economy, however, I wouldn't be surprised if state-level budget cuts slice away these relatively few remaining programs.
I wish the folks behind this series would send some of their DVDs to the regulators and elected officials in Washington, D.C. – those characters seem to have forgotten the basic lessons that the Muppets are teaching. In fact, I don't think the federal power elite wants anything to do with any form of fiscal education: One of the most egregious cuts in the so-called budget compromise was the complete erasure of the entire $88 million operating cost from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development's Housing Counseling Program.
Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, once commented that the most sophisticated adults were all children on the inside. Here's hoping that when today's children become tomorrow's sophisticated adults, they will recall their childhood lessons from Henson's beloved Muppets on the value of money.
– Phil Hall, editor, Secondary Marketing Executive
(Please address all comments regarding this opinion column to hallp@sme-online.com.)
(Photograph courtesy of Sesame Workshop)
