Sesame Street has never shied away from the big stuff. Alongside the songs and silliness, the show has quietly built some of the most gentle, age-appropriate tools around for helping young children cope with worry, fear and upset. If you’ve ever wondered how Sesame Street can help kids deal with trauma, the answer is in the characters themselves — modelling exactly the kind of coping skills child psychologists recommend, in a way preschoolers can actually understand.
Sesame Street has a long history of tackling topics other children’s shows tend to avoid. The muppet Lily was introduced to help children understand food insecurity, and Julia, a muppet with autism, joined the cast to help build understanding and acceptance among young viewers. This same thoughtful approach shows up in how the show handles trauma and big emotions.
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How Can Sesame Street Help Kids Deal with Trauma?
Many children will go through a difficult or frightening experience at some point in childhood — whether that’s something happening in their own life, or something upsetting they’ve picked up on from the news or the adults around them. These conversations aren’t always easy to start, especially with preschoolers who don’t yet have the words for big feelings. Sesame Street’s approach works because it doesn’t try to explain trauma directly — instead, it shows familiar, trusted characters coping with stress in simple, visible ways.
Watching these characters work through upset gives young children permission to feel their own big emotions — and shows them that feeling angry or sad is completely okay. Counting helps The Count calm down, Rosita punches a pillow to relieve her frustration, Big Bird uses his imagination to find his “safe place”, and Elmo builds a blanket fort to find comfort when he is scared.
Each of these is a small, concrete coping strategy a child can copy at home — counting slowly, punching a cushion, imagining a calm place, or building a cosy den of their own.
Give Yourself A Hug
One of the loveliest videos in the series is about giving yourself a hug. Hugs are a simple way to show love and support for the people we care about — and it turns out hugging yourself works the same way, helping children nurture their own sense of comfort and self-care.
It’s a gentle reminder for kids that when they’re feeling anxious, sad, angry or scared — or all of those at once — wrapping their own arms around themselves can genuinely help them feel a little better.
What makes these Sesame Street resources so useful is that they’re not just for moments of big trauma. Children can reach for the same simple tools — counting, safe places, blanket forts, self-hugs — for everyday wobbles too. And honestly, they’re a good reminder for the grown-ups in the room as well.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does Sesame Street help children cope with trauma?
Sesame Street uses familiar characters to model simple, visible coping strategies — like counting to calm down, punching a pillow to release frustration, imagining a safe place, or building a cosy den. Seeing trusted characters work through big feelings helps children feel less alone with their own.
Is this approach only for major traumatic events?
No. While the videos were designed with big worries in mind, the same coping tools — a self-hug, a safe imaginary place, a blanket fort — work just as well for everyday stress, tantrums or anxious moments.
What age group are these Sesame Street videos aimed at?
They’re designed with preschool and early primary school children in mind, using simple language and familiar characters rather than direct explanations of difficult events.
Can these techniques help my child with everyday anxiety, not just one-off events?
Yes. Coping tools like counting, deep breaths, safe-place imagining and self-hugs are useful everyday skills, not just responses to a single upsetting event.
Related Articles
- Do You Know How to Explain Death to Your Child?
- 5 Practical Tips To Help Overcome Anxiety in Kids
- Helping Children Cope With Big Emotions
Save This For Later
If this is useful now, it’s worth keeping close for the next wobbly day too. Bookmark this page or save it to your parenting folder so these simple coping ideas are easy to find when you need them.
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