This was revealed on 1978’s “Christmas Eve on Sesame Street”.
I bought the DVDs of the old *Sesame Street *shows from the first five years of the series. You know, back when you actually saw the street and everything looked properly grimy and Jesse Jackson turned up to do empowerment speeches. Now it’s all very sanitised and Elmo-heavy. Yuck. However, in Elmo’s defense my daughter (who is almost three) does frequently speak in the third person and seems to struggle with proper use of the words “I” and “me” (although - believe me - she’s got no trouble at all with “MINE!”). She does like the old musical animations, especially the pinball and the other jazzy counting ones (huh - that link says that Grace Slick is singing the latter. Nifty!), as well as anything with Cookie Monster in it.
*Pocoyo *is awesome. I would watch *Pocoyo *even if I didn’t have a child. There are loads of episodes on YouTube - I recommend them.
The daughter also likes *In the Night Garden *and Waybuloo. She’s also a Peppa Pig fan which I hate because Peppa is a horrible role model, being a selfish, lying puffed-up twerp who abuses her father and makes her little brother cry in every episode. And she’s the reason my daughter jumps in every damn muddy puddle she sees. Including ones in the middle of the street. Damn you, pig!
And Barney will never be seen in my house, not while I’m alive.
ETA: maggenpye, yes, I’ve seen the Wot Wots. Spotty Wot and Dotty Wot, yes?
I mention the thing about kids speaking in third person to a friend who teaches kindergarten, and she says the major factor in if kids do that or not is (surprise) the parents. If they talk to their kids like that, the kids will talk to them like that.
If they say “Mommy is eating her vegetables” or “Come give Mommy a hug” (which is how some people talk to their toddlers and is in third person) then their kid will mirror them. So when Elmo says “Elmo loves his goldfish, his crayons too” he’s simply a reflection of how his parents talked to him.
Parents these days . . .
It’s amazing how quickly they change watching shows. I have a 3 yr old boy, Elmo went by pretty quickly. I was very glad of that. Of course, that happened when he discovered the movie Cars.
He’s still on a Cars kick (this month has been torture with the new movie), but I’m glad he moved into a Phineas and Ferb phase. Of course, he still watches Max and Ruby (hate).
Shit McGregor, that DVD bugged me. I thought it was fine and inclusive that they had a segment about how the kid in the wheelchair can exercise, too, but why did they have to have the chick who can’t sing a note do that song? And it’s such a bad song. Workout in a chair…it’s a workout in a chair…You can do it anywhere…It’s a workout in a CHAIR!
You would know if you’d seen Yo Gabba Gabba. There’s no way to be basically unsure of that. Hint: It’s the only kid’s TV show that features a humungous marital aid as one of its characters.
He was great, but Ringo Starr was good, too. My kids were absolutely gobsmacked that the same Ringo Starr (and, for a while, one of them called him Wrinkled Star by mistake) was in the Beatles. Crazy!
I don’t know if I should be proud or not (wotwot) … steampunk aliens? Yeah, I’m proud.
Love Pocoyo, too. The kid’s way beyond it, but I could listen to Stephen Fry read the instruction book for my blender.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Yo Gabba Gabba is Teletubbies on acid.
(I’ll echo the comments that your kids will grow out of them fast - I have a 6 and 8 (almost 9) year old now, and the channel is rarely switched to Treehouse (the preschool channel in Canada), although sometimes the 6 year old sneaks a peek when he thinks his sister isn’t around to catch him to make fun of him for watching “baby shows”
Damn you, Shmendrik! Now I got “Nananananananananananananananananana Elmo!” going around in my head with Elmo wearing a Batman costume. I hope you are pleased with yourself, putting a fellow Doper through this.
Oh please, you want Teletubbies on acid? Check out some Boobahs my friend. Made by the same folks as made Teletubbies, but with a thousand times the psychotropic drugs.
Yo Gabba Gabba is like fucking Tolstoy compared to Boobah.
Word.
Oh, geez. I had blocked all traumatic memories of Boobah. But you’re right. You are so right.
The episode I can’t seem to forget is the one where they kept talking about Grandmama and Grandpapa play with the giant hot dog. They would not stop. Grandmama. Grandpapa. Giant hot dog.
::wimpers::
No no no - Elmo plus Ricky Gervais plus “Na na na na na na na na!” equals this.
My favorite episode of Oswald:
One of the characters is voiced by the guy who played Squiggy in Laverne and Shirley.
His cousin came to visit. The voice? Lenny! I thought it was classic … And completely over my daughter’s head.
As for Dora? Mom and I always laugh at that one. We think somebody nerds to call CPS.
Abuelita: I need some chocolate. Let me send the preschooler into a forrest filled with snakes… Alone!
I hate to “this”, but … yeah. What lorene said.
Ricky Gervais is my new hero merely for fucking with Elmo. 
Never thought about that, but then again, I talk to my child like she’s a little person, not a baby. I never use the third person to describe me, but I can see how this could be the norm.
However, I don’t see why Sesame Street would want to perpetuate this speaking faux pax by making one of their most popular characters speak in the third person. Combine that with that idiotic, possessed laugh of his, and I’d like to grab the little red bastard by the throat, yank him off the hand that’s up his ass and sell him on ebay. Even his voice annoys me. Yes, I suffered major Elmo trauma today.
THIS 
XD
I cannot hear “Witch Doctor” without going insane.
Show the kid “Amy, Sally, and Mina”. It’s a show about 3 humanized animal girls who are singers going on tour. It’s more or less a “sane” version of the chipmunks, if you could call it that haha
On a side note, NEVER, EVER show the kid this. Just don’t.
Or this. (the damn chipmunks)
The former made me go into therapy for weeks beyond end. I just can’t believe I found the link to it, I swore to God I would NEVER have to hear that song again.
Wait – If I start watching Sesame Street, can I get younger too?
No, only if you star in it, like Gordon, Luis, and Maria.
I would be HIGH to agree to sign up for the Chipmunks.
My 3.5 y.o. used to love Yo Gabba, and it honestly never bothered me. However, she has discovered Youtube which means the TV never (theoretically) is off. Her favorite requests:
Masha and the Bear: some Russian cutsie thing, not too bad
Some Filipino-sounding mama making things with Playdoh (kill me…)
Pretty bad Indian nursery rhymes with animation. I think they must be graphic design projects.
The worst: Let’s open up Kinder Surprise Eggs (real or fake) WTF??!!! These things have 8 million views.
How could I forget: Peppa Pig!! Now she has a vague London accent and asks me if she can sit in the trolly at the supermarket. Or if I can mend her brolly because it’s drizzly out, and she’s got her muddy puddle boots on. Or if I can make custard puddings for after dinner. Etc. It’s kinda cute, actually.
Oh, and she finally discovered Frozen. I’ll say n’more.
Blurgh.
I kinda miss Elmo.
Recognizing that you posted this 4 years ago, and may not see this:
<nitpick>Mah Nà Mah Nà, or, the muppet version: Mahna Mahna (even though the you-tuber spells it wrong. I used to play the 45 by the Sesame Street Singers on my college radio station).</nitpick>