It’s estimated that in the United States, over 4% of children live in a household with a parent who misuses opioids, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For these millions of children, confusion and anxiety have become a part of their daily lives. In response, as they have always tackled difficult topics in the past, Sesame Workshop is stepping up to help explain the complexities of opioid addiction to young children.
“The experience of having a parent with an opioid use disorder is traumatic for children,” Ruth Paris, an associate professor at Boston University who specializes in early childhood trauma, said to NPR.org in a recent interview.
Paris continued saying, “Being able to address trauma in early childhood is imperative, and can make a difference in that child’s growth and development in terms of cognitive development, emotional development and social development.”
This mission for Sesame Workshop may seem like a new venture, but it is not. It is an expansion of their overall arching goal to help younger children process the complexities of opioid addiction. A few years ago, Sesame Workshop developed a program for children, ages one to six, who had parents who used drugs or who were in recovery.
With a grant from the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts, the longstanding children’s programming will be able to expand on what they have already done and produce more videos, and stories. Additionally, they will be able to provide parents and children with resources that center on addiction, treatment, and healing for all.
“The resources that are out there now tend to focus more on older youth and on adults,” Jeanette Betancourt, the senior vice president for U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop said to NPR.org. “Because there’s this myth that with young children they don’t understand or they may not be aware.”
Sesame Workshop will add these new resources to their online resource library, “How to Talk to Kids about Tough Topics.” Once again, Sesame Workshop is stepping in to become a helpful part of the village.
Photo Credit(s)/Featured Image: Sesame Workshop
