One-armed TV host scares kids, parents say

[MrCoffee]

When the BBC hired a pretty young actress to co-host a daily program for toddlers, it never expected viewers to complain that the young woman might give their children nightmares.

“I didn't want to let my children watch the filler bits on the bedtime hour last night because I know it would have played on my eldest daughter's mind and possibly caused sleep problems,” wrote one viewer in an e-mail to the British television network after seeing Cerrie Burnell play games and read children’s stories.

The viewer’s problem? Burnell was born with an incomplete right arm that ends in a stump below her elbow.

According to a BBC report, most viewers have been supportive of Burnell, who took over a daily slot on the BBC’s children’s network, CBeebies, at the beginning of February with Alex Winters. But a handful have written to the station complaining about her disability. Some say she may frighten the children. Others accuse the network of going overboard in the interests of diversity. Some say they don’t want to have to address such issues with very young children.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29391313/

Later in the article Sir Bert Massie of Great Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission blames the idiot parents for projecting their inability to cope with difference onto their kids.


Good show, Sir Bert!

[Lost in CT]

1. I agree with Sir Bert Massie...

But in some strange way it doesn't matter.

The parents may be wrong in a big picture kind of way but I understand that some children will have fears of such things.

If the parents don't like it simply don't watch it.

On the other hand I have been told I had an irrational fear of clowns and mimes as a child and refused to watch any program that featured such.

[KamaAina]

2. She doesn't frighten me in the least!

I'll take her over Teletubbies any day!!

[amitten]

3. That's just stupid. Why are parents SO overprotective?

Must children live in a bubble? Faced with nothing but fluffy pink goodness at all times?

How are these ultra-sheltered kids expected to eventually cope with everyday life?

[LeftyMom]

4. That's dumb.

My kid grew up around somebody with an arm that was amputated at the elbow, and it was no big deal. If parents can't explain simple physical differences, that's a failure on their part.

Besides, her arm looks fine. I can see how kids might be a bit frightened if she had horrible scarring at the end of the stump from a traumatic injury or something but all a parent has to do in this case is explain that her arm didn't grow all the way before she was born, and that it doesn't hurt her or anything.

[MrCoffee]

5. It seems like explaining would be easier than writing an angry letter

[LeftyMom]

9. Some people seem to want to avoid actually parenting at all costs.

:shrug:

[MrCoffee]

10. Or they want to "parent" everyone

Either way, I don't get it.

[tigereye]

14. yup - a teachable moment...

hmm, and if you explain, it's highly unlikely there would be nightmares... :eyes:

[Akoto]

6. If the kids are frightened of her, then they should keep watching.

Let the children watch her, get to know her, and realize that she is not a scary person just because of her arm. Young children (or at least, this once-child) can be very accepting if given the space to be so. Hopefully, they will learn respect for the many different people they'll encounter in life.

[KamaAina]

7. Awesome sig line! Youre not from Louisiana, by any chance?

[Fleshdancer]

8. I hate when parents use their kids as an excuse for their own bigotry

I'm sure the kids who watch the show ask questions about her arm, but this is an opportunity to discuss diversity. I notice that when I don't make a big deal out of something, it's easier for my daughter to understand and accept it. When I freak out about things...well let's just say she now shares my fear of spiders. x(

[InternalDialogue]

11. These parents would probably have no issue explaining a pet missing all or part of a limb.

A three-legged dog is brave, cute, persevering, inspiring. A three-legged cat might be ingenious, a miracle, or courageous.

A human being -- eeeek!

Those parents seem to lack both adequate communication skills and the ability to see the learning opportunities presented in situations they deem awkward. And the kids lose out because of it.

[NJmaverick]

12. I feel really bad for Cerrie Burnell

you know it's bad enough to be born missing an arm. How bad must she feel to have people telling her she is scaring small children. That is an awful thing to hear.

[Withywindle]

13. Wow, that's silly and insulting.

She's lovely. Do these parents also want to shelter their children from the sight of those "scary" disabled or different people in real life? What if a friend or relative lost a limb, would they kick that person out of the kids' life?

Kids might have irrational fears, but parents shouldn't be validating or coddling. They should gently explain that some people are different, and why.

[redqueen]

15. So if you hire anyone different, that's going overboard wrt diversity?

I don't understand that at all.

[no name no slogan]

16. British kids are pussies, and their overprotective mums are worse

Sorry mummy, your precious little snowflake is not going to have nightmares because some TV presenter has a stump for a right arm. :eyes:

[Left Is Write]

17. "Going overboard in the interests of diversity"? Give me a break.

Teach your kids that not everyone is the same. There is nothing "scary" about that woman.