"Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" Hosted A Child With Special Needs Showing Everyone How To Treat People With Kindness

Jul 29, 2019 by apost team

Everyone knows the beloved show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” which aired for over 30 years on television. The host, Fred Rogers, was able to talk to his young viewers and tell them about the world around them in a way that was interesting and relevant.

In one particular episode, Mister Rogers brought a special needs child on his show and showed his audience how to treat children and people who have disabilities. 

In 1981, Jeffrey Erlanger was invited on the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” show by Fred, Jeffrey was only about 10 years old when he appeared on the show. According to the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” website,

“Fred Rogers wrote a script that included an electric wheelchair, he had Jeff in mind. His producer and director tried to convince him that instead of bringing in Jeff’s family all the way from Madison, Wisconsin, they would be able to find someone locally. But Fred Rogers insisted, “I want Jeff.”

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The episode is a beautiful display of how Fred wanted his viewers at home to learn how to treat people who are different. Fred asked Jeffrey about his condition and why he needs an electric wheelchair to get around. Jeffrey delightfully explained that when he was seven months old he had a tumor on his spinal cord which had ultimately led to him becoming paralyzed. Jeffrey also discussed his other difficulties but the young boy gracefully summed it up at the end saying, 

“It just shows you have a lot of things happening to you when you’re handicapped, and sometimes it happens when you're not handicapped.” 

“Mister Rogers didn’t dismiss Jeff’s disability or the difficult times “when you do feel sad.” He wanted to give Jeff a chance to talk about it and share those honest feelings with others,” Rogers’ website said.

A final example of how Fred showed that Jeffrey was no different from any other boy or girl is when he sang the song “ It’s You I Like,” which in turn echoed the message that Fred was trying to send to his young viewers, that it doesn’t matter what someone looks like on the outside it only matters what’s on the inside. 

What do you think about Fred’s beautiful example of treating people with special needs with kindness? Let us know in the comments and pass this article along to friends and family who would enjoy reading about this episode.