Think of the Parents! Really, kid-show scandals are rarely about the kids

摘要

Like Any Good 2ist Century American parent, I came to develop a healthy loathing for the voice of Elmo at some point in my sons' toddlerhood. He squeaked from the TV. He squealed from talking books. One Elmo guitar toy, somewhere in a bin behind the couch, would begin singing of its own accord late at night, a babyish, high-pitched wail of the damned. So when I heard Elmo on a float in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade singing "Nothing's gonna bring us down!" I was surprised to find myself tearing up a little.