There's Something About Cerrie
The New BBC Kids Show Host Is Stirring Up Controversy
The answer is simple. Cerrie Burnell was born with one of her arms ending in a stump just below the elbow, and parents are projecting their fears and prejudices about people with disabilities onto their children.
Cerrie is the new host of the BBC’s popular kids show Cbeebies. She’s your average working mother, balancing her hosting duties and her 4-month-old daughter. Most parents would want their children to see a good example like Cerrie, and these are the parents who have been supportive of Cerrie. But the station that airs the show has received a handful of letters from parents not wanting to let their children watch for fear that Cerrie will frighten them and give them nightmares. The BBC has also been accused of going overboard in their bid for diversity. Others are afraid that seeing the host with one arm will pique their child’s curiosity and do not want to have that conversation yet.
Though she is the center of the whole controversy, Cerrie is not really affected by it. In an interview with BBC magazine, she explained that children aren’t all that fazed by her disability. “Children come up to me in the street every day and say 'What's that?' I wouldn't say they're frightened but certainly they're inquisitive. I would always take the time to explain to a child. All they want is an explanation. And then they will move on."
Barbara Otto, Executive Director of Health & Disability Advocates, says that she would be surprised if there were such a reaction to someone like Cerrie in the US. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Education Act, so many students with disabilities are mainstreamed into regular classes that children, even preschool age, are used to seeing people of all ability levels every day.
All this information points to the conclusion that adults may be the problem here. Kids are naturally curious and want to know why things or people are different from them. They will not turn away from someone in a wheelchair, Otto says. They will simply ask what happened. A responsible adult will answer their questions and explain the situation.
Children take their cues from their parents and if they show a sense of shock or disgust at a person with a disability, the child will also. Many parents in England have been very supportive of the host. Message boards about the show have been overflowing with comments, most positive and some too negative to be left up. One of the nicer negative comments agrees with having a disabled host, but accuses Cerrie of “flaunting” her disability by not covering her stump, which she uses as her hand. That would be like asking a person in a wheelchair to leave it behind when going to work.
Cbeebies having a disabled host will eventually benefit any English child who is allowed to watch the show. Children, especially disabled ones, will be able to identify more closely with Cerrie and realize that they can do whatever they want to do, disability or not.
Alex Winters & Cerrie Burnell, Hosts of CBeebies
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