Kids watch the darndest things

After working retail for six months, I've returned to my preferred job, hospital volunteering. Having spent a summer delivering labwork/paperwork/blood transfusions at one Boston-area hospital and two summers and a school year making care packages and visiting patients at another, I decided it was time to try out a new place. So I applied to the Waltham campus of Boston Children's Hospital, which mostly does outpatient visits (sports medicine, headache therapy, speech therapy, etc.) and is also much smaller than the two previous hospitals where I worked.

For my orientation and training, I had to go to the Boston campus, where I went through the familiar processes of getting an ID photo, another TB test (I just had one in November…), and learning about the importance of washing your hands and knowing your fire escape routes. All while munching on Oreos and drinking Diet Coke (only the healthiest food for a hospital).

Eventually, a Child Life specialist came up to talk about playing with children. Many of the activities she mentioned brought back good childhood memories, like the plastic cars that kids sit inside and move/steer in front by kicking their feet. While discussing good activities for preschoolers, she mentioned a certain PBS children's show that is apparently still a hit.

It wasn't Mister Rogers, who I think would be a good, calming voice for a sick child. It wasn't Lamb Chops or Thomas the Tank Engine, either. Sesame Street was mentioned, but that show has changed a lot since I was a child, for better (that Masterpiece Theater intro was really scary) and for worse (Elmo's World). Instead, the Child Life specialist told us that Barney, the singing purple dinosaur whose theme song gets mocked by kindergartners, is still popular with preschoolers. 

I was shocked, but probably shouldn't be surprised. After all, even if a kid finds a show/movie that their parents can sit through, the parents go crazy after seeing the same thing 999 times. On that note, I apologize to my mom for making her rent The Little Mermaid three times in a row, but I don't regret making my brother listen to Raffi tapes in the car.