Hard to believe that it's been 4 decades since a group of monsters, a frog, and one big bird changed children's relationship to television.

Thanks, Sesame Workshop, for a lifetime of memories! (Share some of your own in the comments.)

Don't miss:

Sesame Corner at Parenting.com -- printables and more

Celebs: They know how to get to Sesame Street

Elmo joins the fight against H1N1

Book Review of Street Gang: The complete history of Sesame Street

And here's a trip down memory lane...

It's official: Baby Einstein DVDs are not magic brain expanders, as many parents were led to believe.

Read No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund (New York Times)  

From the article:

"Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims “false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children.”

The letter cited estimates from The Washington Post and Business Week that Baby Einstein controlled 90 percent of the baby media market, and sold $200 million worth of products annually.

The letter also described studies showing that television exposure at ages 1 through 3 is associated with attention problems at age 7."

Disney, who owns the Baby Einstein brand, announced that they would allow an exchange or a refund of their products. (Visit Baby Einstein.com for the detailed instructions.)

So -- who has Baby Einstein DVDs at home? Did you watch them often, and did you think they were educational? What do you think of the charges of "unfair and deceptive practices" against Disney?

 

Anyone who feels like they had the world's strictest parents needs to meet Cliff and Lisa Bolton, the stubborn but loving duo who were featured on CMT's World's Strictest Parents last Saturday. The Boltons, who refer to themselves as Coach B and Miss B, adhere to all of the discipline rules in the book -- times ten -- and have added their own. Watch a clip from the episode (which airs again on October 15 at 5 PM E.T.), and then read our exclusive interview with the Boltons. World's Strictest Parents airs new episodes every Saturday at 8 PM, and you can see re-runs on MTV and MTV2.

Read the interview
Watch the clip

According to a White House Press Release, President Obama has launched an all-(clean)-hands-on-deck approach to the H1N1 virus with the help of cute, cuddly Elmo. In his high-pitched voice, Elmo gives kids good advice to stay healthy during flu season. "Come on! Wash your hands with Elmo! Wash, wash, wash!" he says. And "Sneeze into your arm with Elmo. Ah-choo!"

Everyone should watch this PSA -- not just kids. If we learned anything from the Tickle Me Elmo craze of 1996, it's that when Elmo speaks (or giggles), America listens.

Good morning! Time for some yoga to jump-start the day. Why not grab the kids for some family-friendly yoga at the farm with this fun, instructional video? Oh, wait. This video is terrible and kind of creepy. But it's also hilarious. Around 2:31, I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. Seriously: WTF?