One of the benefits of being a parent of young kids is that you get an excuse to watch all the cool kids programming that's available. My son watched Transformers and He-Man, my daughter watched Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake, but before watching any of those shows, they both watched Sesame Street.

The Count and Cookie Monster were my fav...I mean, my son's favorites. ("COOKIE!!!" Gets me every time.)

It seems like the gang at Sesame Street have been around forever, which is almost true -- the show started airing in Canada in 1970, and now it is seen in countries around the world and in as many different languages. ("PL�TZCHEN!!!," "BISCUIT!!!," "GALLETA!!!," "KOEKJE!!!")

What I liked about Sesame Street is that they not only deal with educating children through songs and stories, but they also attempt to put the world into perspective for children. After all, the world is a big place, and no matter how good we may be as parents, we can't know how the world affects our kids. Sesame Street offers a kid-friendly view of things that adults may take for granted or overlook.

Now, the iTunes Store is offering the Learn Along With Sesame Street Series as free downloads. The series includes four episodes (Happy, Healthy, Ready For School, Music Works Wonders, You Can Ask, and Lead Away) that cover a variety of topics, from dealing with bullies, to learning about music.

The Lead Away episode is of particular importance because it deals with a subject that is much overlooked; lead poisoning.

This was a big topic in the late 60s and early 70s, before laws were enacted to remove the sources of lead from our day to day environment. The effects of lead poisoning can be both subtle and deadly and affect both children and adults, though it can be especially harmful to kids under 6 years old.

The National Safety Council says, "There are many different health effects associated with elevated blood lead levels. Young children under the age of six are especially vulnerable to lead's harmful health effects, because their brains and central nervous system are still being formed. For them, even very low levels of exposure can result in reduced IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, and kidney damage. At high levels of exposure, a child may become mentally retarded, fall into a coma, and even die from lead poisoning."

Manufacturers of products that have historically contained lead have worked hard over the years to reduce or eliminate lead content, makers of paints, in particular, have done an exceptional job in ridding its wares of lead. Even so, you should not assume that your environment is lead free. Please check the National Safety Council's fact sheet on lead poisoning, and you can find more information at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And you should download the Sesame Street series and watch them with your kids.

Of course, watching kid shows all day can get to even the most dedicated adult, and from time to time we need to mentally ingest some grown-up fare. How about some nice audiobooks full of politics, murder, drama, blood-sucking vampires, and immortals? Again, you're in luck because this week the iTunes Store is offering a free preview of James Patterson's new book, Step on a Crack, and the complete, unabridged book from Sherrilyn Kenyon titled Fear the Darkness.

You should note that, as of this writing, I had trouble getting Fear the Darkness to play on either of my iPods (5G video iPod and a 1G nano). I've written Apple about it, and I suspect it will be fixed soon. You can play it in iTunes, however (which is weird).

Also note that both audiobook downloads appear in your music library and regular music tracks, not as audiobooks. (More weirdness)

If you're a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dream Hunter and Dark Hunter series then this book is aimed at you. The synopsis says that Fear the Darkness bridges the two series, but I enjoyed listening to the book anyway even though I've not read any of Ms. Kenyon's other books. It's a great little distraction and the download includes other info about the series.

Good stuff!

More free downloads from the iTunes Store (with direct links):