I hope you know I'm just teasing you with all this. I guess I just don't understand when people blame the character for being used so much and by saying that just because Elmo is overused that is grounds for him to be full of himself and demand attention away from the others.
I understand. I think the reason people can't separate it is becasue of the character pattern, in some ways. I mean, Elmo is supposed to be 3. Parenting is all about teaching kids that other people matter, and at that age, you're lucky if they're not mean and bossy on top of being self centered.
There are plenty of threes who are nice, kind, and loving, too, of course. Elmo is one, despite the lapses he has from time to time; he's as good as any three portrayed in media. (Which would be...well...not many. Michelle on Full House might be the best comparison, especially because there is a similar pattern with the Olsens, and yet at that age she was very well behaved, especially since the show portrayed it as the dad being so lax his oldest daughter had to be the one reacting and disciplining offscreen, but that's another post, another board, another site...
. About the only other three-year-old I can think of is Jeffy, one of the boys in the "Fmily Circus" comic strip.)
But, Elmo is still someone who is totally focused on himself, like many threes. So, people see him, think of the way many three-year-olds they know act, and they make a connection that *soudns* logical in their minds, but it isn't. It's the connection that, "Elmo is spoiled, he gets his way all the time, etc., and that's why he gets so much air time." Which would make sense if this were a real family and everyone was catering to the toddler's needs, but it's a TV show, and Elmo's not constantly demanding, "I want my screen time" and throwing tantrums if he doesn't get it. He didn't go into the office as Sesame Workshop, demand 15 minutes each day, and throw a hissy fit and hold hit breath till he got it.
(I just thought of another three-year-old as I was about to his send - Angelica on Rugrats. Oh, boy, if there was ever a 3YO who was mean, bossy, etc., *that* is the one. She *would* demand screen time and threaten a tantrum if she didn't get it