That's cool that you learned to read so early!
It's definitely true that Sesame Street helped me out with learning early on. I remember one Ernie and Bert sketch, where Ernie ate one of Bert's five cookies. Ernie tries to fix the problem by moving the cookies around:
Ernie: Maybe if we move them like...so. There, now maybe there's five cookies!
Bert: No, Ernie! No matter how you move them there are still five cookies!
That may not seem like much. But after taking Child Psychology, I now know just how important it is for children to understand these concepts early on.
There were other things that had to do with quality of life. I remember Gordon singing a song about how he was afraid of the dark as a child. Bert and Ernie have also sung about overcoming their fears. It was comforting to see that even adults can be afraid, and learn how to conquer your fears.
Speaking of fears, there was always something on Sesame Street that would scare me. But I definitely think it was a credit to the show that we kept coming back everyday, despite knowing we would likely be terrified at some point! As I look back now, I'm kinda grateful. In a way, SS taught you that you can't let fear keep you from the things you love. And just because something's scary, doesn't mean it's bad.