Kiddipedia
From tantrums and anxiety to friendship struggles and confidence issues, many Australian parents are navigating big emotions with their children every single day. Now, the nonprofit organisation behind Sesame Street is expanding its emotional well-being initiative to help families build resilience, emotional awareness and stronger social connections from an early age.
Sesame Workshop has unveiled a new suite of free emotional well-being resources designed to support young children and the caring adults around them. Featuring beloved characters including Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Rosita and Grover, the initiative aims to make conversations about feelings more normal, accessible and practical for families.
Available via Sesame Workshop’s mental health hub, the free resources include videos, songs, articles and digital content designed to help children understand emotions, build resilience and learn healthy ways to ask for help.
Why emotional well-being starts early
According to Sesame Workshop, emotional well-being starts with the everyday moments children experience at home, at school and in their communities.
“When children are given the tools to navigate challenges, they gain the confidence to learn, grow and thrive,” said Rocio Galarza, Vice President of U.S. Educational Programs at Sesame Workshop.
The organisation says that while children need support learning to manage emotions, parents and caregivers also need guidance, particularly when talking about mental health in age-appropriate ways.
The new content is designed to help families tackle common childhood experiences such as frustration, anxiety, friendship difficulties and disappointment, while also encouraging kindness, cooperation and empathy.
How Elmo and Abby are helping kids build resilience
At the centre of the initiative are videos and digital resources featuring familiar Sesame Street faces.
New content encourages children to:
- understand and express their feelings
- develop a growth mindset
- practise active listening
- build friendships and social connections
- learn perspective taking and empathy
- work through problems collaboratively
A new song called ‘We Can Do Hard Things’ encourages children to persevere through challenges and reminds them it’s okay to keep trying. In the video, Elmo struggles to hit a baseball while Abby Cadabby becomes frustrated practising her magical spells. However, they are reminded of the power of persistence and sing ‘We can do hard things, yes we can! We can keep on trying, that’s the plan.’
Digital content featuring Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and their Sesame Street friends emphasises core messages such as the value of taking others’ perspectives, doing kind things and cooperating.
The emotional well-being themes are also woven throughout Sesame Street’s current 56th season on Netflix, reinforcing the messages through storytelling and play.
A simple exercise to try at home
Watch the video together, then chat about some of the hard things your child has been able to overcome. Encourage children to share their own experiences too.
The song explores big ideas, so it can help to watch it a few times and have fun moving along together.
After listening again, try personalising the lyrics with children’s names and remind them of all the hard things they’ve already overcome.
Helping parents navigate everyday emotions
One of the strengths of the initiative is its focus on practical, everyday parenting moments.
Rather than focusing only on moments of crisis, the resources encourage families to build healthy emotional habits through everyday conversations, routines and connection.
Sesame Workshop says trusted adults play a critical role in helping children feel safe, supported and understood.
“At a time when leading paediatric organisations have identified children’s mental health as a national concern, Sesame Workshop’s emotional well-being initiative focuses on reaching children early,” said Lesley Bourns, Senior Vice President of Impact Programs at Sesame Workshop.
“Our emotional well-being videos and books emphasise nurturing relationships and compassion for oneself and others, helping children build a strong foundation for lifelong emotional health.”
New Sesame Street books tackling big feelings
Alongside the digital resources, several new Sesame Street themed books are also being released to support emotional learning at home.
Upcoming titles include:
Elmo’s Day with Rocco
Published by Random House Children’s Books, this new Little Golden Book stars Elmo, Zoe, and of course, Zoe’s pet rock. Young readers will love the hilarious dynamic between Elmo and Rocco. Will Elmo find a healthy way to express and manage his big feelings?
Elmo Checks In: How Is Everybody Doing?
Released by Chronicle Books later this year, the book is inspired by Elmo’s viral social media check in and sees the furry red monster bring his affirmations and trademark insight and comfort to anyone in need of a little reassurance.
Building Relationships with Sesame Street®
Lerner Publishing Group will be introducing Building Relationships with Sesame Street®. The new six-book series explores key social and emotional learning topics, with additional mindfulness-focused Sesame Street titles also arriving later this year.
Everyday Feelings with Sesame Street series
Mayo Clinic Press Kids is debuting its “Everyday Feelings with Sesame Street” series, starting with Get the Wiggles Out: Playful Ways to Embrace Every Feeling. This playful picture book helps kids manage big feelings, one movement at a time, from nervous wiggles to excited jumps. When Elmo feels nervous at the doctor’s office and Abby bursts with excitement at the library, Get the Wiggles Out shows children fun, simple ways to handle big feelings. Additional titles will roll out later this year.
For Australian parents, Sesame Workshop’s initiative is a reminder that emotional resilience is not built through one big conversation, but through many small moments of connection and support.
Families can explore the free resources at www.sesame.org/mentalhealth
