Before I had kids Elmo scared the crap out of me. I realize this fear may strike you as irrational – and I will admit it is largely rooted in a traumatic experience I once had with an Elmo doll – but it isn’t totally out of left field. Take a look at Elmo… I mean really look… then tell me his fiery coat of devil’s fur and dead, beady eyes aren’t scary. Lucky for me Madeline never showed much interest in Elmo. Unfortunately, things are different this time around. Elmo-fever has infiltrated the Spohr household.
The weird thing about Annie’s sudden interest in Elmo is that we don’t even know where the heck it came from. We hadn’t bought Annie an Elmo doll or showed her any Elmo videos. Elmo, largely because of my dislike of him, was a persona non grata around these parts. Despite this, a few weeks ago Annie started to yell “Elmo!” (actually, it sounds more like “Elbow!”) whenever she sees the creepy red critter.
It doesn’t matter if she sees him on television or a box of baby food at the store, her reaction is always to point and cry out, “Elmo!”
Annie even noticed there is a drawing of Elmo on the front of her diapers, and now points between her legs and enthusiastically cries out “Elmo!” This, as you can imagine, makes doctor’s appointments very awkward.
After a couple weeks of this Heather and I threw up our hands and gave in to Annie’s Elmo fixation. We bought her an Elmo doll to cuddle with, and even played her “Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland” on Netflix once or twice (or few hundred times).
And you know what? Seeing Annie’s face light up at the sight of Elmo has changed my opinion of the little guy. I might even go so far as to say that he’s kind of cute, you know, when he’s not looking fiendishly evil.
Elle says:
My daughter had Elmo fever but now she’s obsessed with a cartoon called Caillou so now when she shows some interest in Elmo, it’s a relief. Never thought I would say that.
For my daughter’s first birthday, my sister-in-law sent her a ginormous Elmo doll that speaks. I keep on hiding it in the coat closet because I find it creepy but it always reappears. Elmo is out to get me.
Sherry says:
Caillou is also a FAVORITE in our house too, my 2 1/2 yr old son loves to watch it…thought we were the only ones!
Eric@I've Become My Parents says:
I’m convinced that if you slow his voice down and play it backwards, you’ll get some freaky devil worshipping message. The guy creeps me out. Don’t let your daughter’s recent possession by the evil Elmo fool you. Pad her room, lock her in and call an exorcist.
Kermit might be available.
Cheers.
Tracie says:
I was never a big Elmo fan….but my daughter went through a phase where she sure did love him. That was one of those phases that I was not sad to see end.
Penbleth says:
I love Elmo, he’s terribly sweet and cute, plus he is only a baby himself.
katrina says:
We have never had an Elmo doll. None of my kids have ever had a “thing” for Elmo. We did have a Grinch doll once, for our then 3-year-old who loved the Jim Carrey movie, The Grinch. The doll had a head that would flip around so that one face was all nice and smiling, and the other was the evil Grinch face. CRRREEEEEEPY, for sure, but the kid loved it. He took it to bed with him and everything. He reminded me of Eddie Munster, how Eddie always had that very ugly werewolf doll with him all the time. (for those of you who remember The Munsters, you’ll know what I’m talking about, but I’m afraid I just aged myself by mentioning it! Ah well. I’m a child of 70’s tv, what can I say?)
I’m glad Annie is having fun with her Elmo doll
Sharyn says:
I remember Eddie Munster’s doll. Wasn’t it called “Wolfie”? And regarding the Grinch doll — correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Jim Carrey’s real head spin around exactly like that?
Noelle says:
I suppose I should prepare you with the rundown in order as these phases will likely appear over the next few years:
1) Elmo (Get “The Best of Elmo,” it’s way better than Elmo in Grouchland, cute songs, and she’ll learn to count. Backwards, but she’s counting!)
2) Barney (Stick to the Selena Gomez years, they are tolerable)
3) Dora (this phase lasts SOOOO much longer than you want it to. Be prepared to own not just DVDs, but toys, bikes, shoes and clothing even though you SWORE your child would never wear light-up character sneakers.)
4) Disney princesses. Enough said.
5) Strawberry Shortcake (Now you’ll start browsing around ebay for rare, likely plushy, toys after some obscure character, like Coco Calypso or Seaberry Delight. Seriously.)
6) Barbie (I ike this phase the best, but be forewarned that there’s a new Barbie movie every spring and fall…and with it a whole entire CAST of Barbie characters. BTW, you can find Barbie sheets but never bathroom accessories.)
Sprinkled in there will also be an attraction to Littlest Pet Shops, Polly Pockets, My Little Ponies, and Zoobles but the focus here is more on toys than books and movies.
And did I mention American Girls?
Lolavix says:
He might get lucky, since we missed a few levels with my now 7.5 year old daughter. The levels we hit were:
0. Ducks
1. Elmo
4. Disney princesses
5. Fairies (not Disney fairies like Tinkerbell, but the rainbow fairy books)
7. American Girl, although this is not at obsessive as 0, 1 and 4. Thankfully, since those dolls are not cheap.
Sharyn says:
Oy, those Rainbow Fairies! I don’t recall where my daughter first found them, but we HAD to order a set from ENGLAND since they weren’t available here yet. By the time they were sold here, she couldn’t have cared less.
Noelle says:
Oh the obsession with the Rainbow Fairies! How could I forget?
Audra says:
Don’t let Annie’s grandparents and relatives know that she likes Elmo. If you’ve already told them, tell them she doesn’t anymore…and delete this post at the end of today.
Seriously, now that you’re moving into a bigger house people who know that Annie likes Elmo will feel comfortable buying her all sorts of Elmo ridiculousness. There are a crazy number of Elmo dolls that are all one trick ponies…Tickle Me Elmo, Hokey Pokey Elmo, Twelve Days of Christmas Elmo (at one point or another we owned all of these). Really limited play value and annoying voices. Let her play with the Elmo she has all she wants, but hide it when guests come over.
Jenny says:
I don’t remember how or exactly when but a six-foot tall purple dinosaur snuck into our house and stayed for a year or two. Like you, we discovered he was actually tolerable. There weren’t any toys out at that time so we hit eBay. I stand by my policy that the best toys don’t make noise.
Mommy says:
My 2 1/2 year old is still going through the Elmo stage, and like you, at first I was less than thrilled. I don’t know what it is about that little guy, but kids freaking love him!! My son called him “Elbow” for the longest time too (so cute!) and would get so excited whenever we would see him that I eventually gave in to the obsession. We probably have 15 various Elmo dolls around the house now. We also have tons of coloring books, movies, shirts, slippers, bath toys, flash cards, books, cd’s…. you get the picture. Elmo will take over your house, but to be honest, compared to some of the kid shows out there, Sesame Street is pretty non-annoying. You might actually love watching some of the older episodes with Annie, because they might bring back some sweet memories. Also, SS always has fun celebs on the show, and when they re-do popular songs, they’re kinda cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ9WiuJPnNA
While I will admit that there are some Elmo songs that are super annoying, the old school ones that you can find online really aren’t that bad. The original “Elmo’s Song” that they turned into “Elmo’s World” was actually kind of sweet. And “This is the Song About Elmo” by Adam Sandler is funny and catchy~ I’m sure you could play it on your guitar for Annie. Once you give him a chance, you will see that the little red furball isn’t that bad at all.
Oh, and have you seen who does his voice?? You will never believe he is Elmo by looking at him!
I have to admit, we LOVE Elmo in Grouchland- the songs are so cute and the storyline is entertaining. Our little guy had/has a crush on Vanessa Williams and loves when she sings. FYI, that movie is so old now that the DVD at Target is only $5, so it might be one that is worth buying for long car/plane trips. I do really wish Sesame Street would make a new Elmo movie though, because although it’s cute, after 10,000+ times, you will get bored of that one, and the songs will be forever stuck in your head. Plus, at the part where Elmo first meets the Queen of Trash and those weird guys made of trash tell him he is in her kingdom, he responds that it’s junk, one of them gasps, “He said the ‘J’ word!”, but it TOTALLY sounds like he says ‘G’ word. I don’t know why, but it bugs me EVERY time we watch it. I need to get out more!! You will totally notice it now, sorry.
Lastly, you may want to consider taking Annie to see Sesame Street Live. It is a actually a pretty good show with all sorts of lights and fun things to look at. Word to the wise though, before 2, you should make sure your seats are at least 10 rows back. The characters are big, and some kids might get scared (although your little firecracker doesn’t seem like she would be scared of much!). We took our little man when he was 18 months and again last weekend and he was beside himself with excitement both times. Total Baby Crack!!! http://www.nokiatheatrelalive.com/content.php?section=events&page=eventdetail&id=2310
Welcome to the Dark Side, my friend. Once you are in Elmo’s World, it is so hard to get out! Trust me!! But, after seeing the shows my friends’ kids are into, I will take Elmo any day of the week!!
La la la, la la la……
AmazingGreis says:
Elmo’s laugh kinda freaks me out. Is that weird?
A says:
Not at all, Greis, not at all.
Sharyn says:
Did you see this piece in the New York Times? http://tinyurl.com/3ec5en7
barbee says:
Thanks, great article. I love Elmo and named my 100 lb. Golden Retreiver after him.
Mommy says:
Cute story!!! I think my little guy would be beside himself with excitement if Elmo came over the loudspeaker on a plane! What a great sport Kevin Clash is!!
Rebecca says:
Just how old are you, Mike? I think that by the time Elmo came along I was too old to care about Sesame Street anymore, which makes me an old hag, yes, but you must be young.
Ashley says:
I’m not a fan of Elmo either. My little man, who is 15 mos. old has had an Elmo since Christmas – he was scared of him at first. And, he still only wants momma to tickle Elmo… but I *SWEAR* that stupid little thing says among his “hahahas”…. “ahhh, that kid’ll die” And it freaks.me.out. I told my husband about it – he just shakes his head and laughs. I had my friend listen and she thinks he says something else… she’s not sure what.. just ‘something else’ I put Elmo away – but somehow – Jax remembers him and he wants him out…. I hope he forgets all about him because someday I’m getting rid of Elmo.
Jen R. says:
Oh, I really like Elmo. I think he’s super cute and sweet. Elmo’s Potty Time was a great help when my son was potty training (and how could you not like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqLMcyUFrSA) and ‘Elmo’s World’ teaches a lot of great stuff, too.
Kristin says:
The good news is that the Elmo fixation generally doesn’t seem to last for long. My son has instructed me that I can give all of his Elmo DVDs away to “the babies,” and I’m happy to do it, although I’m not altogether happy to be trapped in superhero land for the time being. I still maintain that the talking Elmo Live robotic doll toy is too creepy, and should be banned, but Elmo in Grouchland was actually kind of cute… the first 100 times.
Shannon O says:
Just be careful – his eyes are dangerous. My daughter tossed him at my son, and he ended up with a busted lip. Those plastic eyes hurt! LOL.
Nanette says:
I think it was the following video that made my husband declare, like you, that Elmo isn’t so bad after all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc20vMz0V7Q
Mommy says:
My hubby LOVES that clip toooooo!!!
Bianca S says:
I love Elmo, and even if you don’t – if you don’t laugh at this Elmo video, you must have no soul :p
Pattie says:
I LOVE this post’s title. Made me laugh.
And my eight-month-old is now enamored with Elmo, too. I blame her cousins — both of them worship the ground Elmo’s faux-fur feet walk upon.
Sasha says:
Okay, real-life evil Elmo story. A friend gives us the Potty Time with Elmo book for our toddler twins – it plays sounds when the press the buttons – things like flushing the toilet, who wants to go potty! That type of thing.
I press one of the buttons and clear as day Elmos says “Who Wants to Die!!!” Holy crap. Press it again and again, same thing. Call my husband over, he is freaked out too. I’m thinking we’ve all been cursed.
I google it – turns out we weren’t the only ones, a whole line of the books came out with this super-creepy ‘mistake’.
Enough to give me Elmo nightmares.
Sasha
Ashley says:
Thank you – glad I’m not the only one who hears it… I think mine says “This kid’ll die” Super scary!!!
Jennifer Dawn says:
This is so funny. My daughter is Annie’s age and has recently become OBSESSED with Elmo. We have no clue how it started either, but she first spotted him on her diaper. My husband then made the grave mistake of playing a random 90s VHS tape called “The Best of Elmo” and it has yet to leave the VCR. Elmo has now taken over our lives. But yes, I have to agree… the smile he brings to her face makes it all worth while.
Sharyn says:
I felt the same way about Barney once I discovered that my son liked to hug along with Barney while he sang the ILOVEYOUYOULOVEME song at then end, and I was his favorite hug-ee.
Glam-O-Mommy says:
My daughter started out being obsessed with Elmo. She still loves him, but is actually more into Ernie now due to a Sesame Street video we bought called “Silly Songs” which is circa 1990 and features a long segment with Ernie and the song “Put Down the Duckie” guest-starring Paul Simon, Jeremy Irons (?!), Celia Cruz, John Candy, Danny DeVito, Madeleine Kahn, and many, many more celebs (celeb-spotting is half the fun). We have to listen to the Duckie song the MINUTE we get in the car every day. It’s worked out great though, as we went to a Beaches resort in Jamaica last fall and she had an awesome time dancing with the characters at the nightly shows! And now the Sea World near us opened up a Sesame Street section and we have passes, so she loves getting to hug ALL the characters! (The Potty Time Video has also been very helpful during potty training.) I resisted Dora for a long time, but finally gave in as my daughter loves Boots the Monkey. Then, I tried to hold off on Diego, but now she loves him too! I have successfully kept her away from Barney though. I instituted a Barney ban the minute I got pregnant! We are taking her to Disney World in the fall, so I’ve been showing her old Disney cartoons so she will know all the characters. So now she’s obsessed with Mickey! She’s not super into the princesses yet, but I’m sure that will come. And if someone can find me some sneakers or sandals that DON’T feature Dora or the Princesses or light up, let me know. That was all I could find recently!
Elizabeth says:
I just read your Elmo story and I’m sorry but I laughed, a lot! Glad you’re warming up to elmo though.
Marisa says:
We had the same thing with Elmo. Then it went to Blue’s Clues and now the twins can’t get enough of Kipper (the dog with the slipper).
Kristin Hicks says:
The same thing happened to me with my first child. I hated Winnie the Pooh. I didn’t buy anything with him or the characters on it – no movies, no dolls, no nothing. By the age of 2, Pooh was all she cared about. I caved and bought her things. Now at almost 12, she wants to go see the new movie this summer.