When I was growing up, we had no tv. We did, however, have a record player (yes, I am that old), and an extensive (to my tiny self) collection of children's albums, including Sesame Street Fever (disco-themed, natch). I went looking on youtube for Oscar the Grouch's disco version of "I Like Trash" recently, but no dice. Also that's not the point. The point is, on another album, nameless, at least in memory, was a song sung by Big Bird. The refrain went like this: "Everyone makes mistakes, oh, yes, they do ... your sister and your brother and your dad and mother too. Big people, small people, matter of fact, all people. Everyone makes mistakes, oh yes, they do." And then at the end, the big finale: "Sooooo, if everyone in the whole wide world makes mistakes, then whyyyyy caaaaan't YOOOUUUUUU?"
A valid question.
A central tenet of child-rearing is that children will internalize the messages to which they are exposed. Repetitive messages obviously have more impact, with a few exceptions. One introduces an idea, then bolsters it by revisiting, reiterating, re- ... I can't think of another re-word, but a group of three would have made a nice rhythm. The more matter-of-fact one can be in the delivery, the more effective the message. I like to think of this as brain-washing. One can brainwash children to do anything: take out the compost, finish their homework, believe in themselves ...
I must have heard that song a thousand times growing up, or at least several hundred. Even after the death of the last record player, my mother would treat us to a rendition at least every several months. All that repetition should have led to internalization ... right? Shouldn't it?
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