The CBeebies Lesson for Everyone

I read at the weekend that parents have been complaining to the BBC about the CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell. Cerrie was born with one hand missing and apparently some over-protective parents were concerned that their offspring might have nightmares about her appearance.

If you truly believe that there’s nothing more difficult for your child to have to deal with than seeing someone with a disability then you should be thanking your lucky stars. Personally, I applaud both Cerrie and the BBC for helping to introduce young children to the notion of disability in an environment that’s familiar and comforting to them.

I think the BBC has a pretty good record when it comes to addressing the thorny issues of gender, race and disability in its children’s programming and I find it extremely saddening that parents feel the need to try and shield their children from the realities of disability. Cerrie is a great role model and presenter who just happens to have a disability – so what?

One of the most important jobs we have to do, as parents, is to instill a sense of understanding and acceptance into our children. Children are naturally inquisitive and, when given a reasonable response to a reasonable question, they will digest the information and move on. My daughter asked about Cerrie’s hand and I explained it to her. No big deal. If kids were exposed to, and learnt about, disabilities from an early age then the world would be a far more tolerant place. What message is it sending to your child if you snatch the remote control and desperately try to change channel, or throw yourself in front of them every time someone with a disability comes onto the telly?

Forget the organic baby rusks, yoga classes and hand-spun ethical cotton sleep suits; teach your child to accept people for who they are, not how they look, and you’ve given them the best start in life.