THE NEIGHBORHOOD ARCHIVE - All Things Mister Rogers
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Helping and Loving (Tape 5)

Artist: Fred Rogers
Date: 1979
Format: Cassette
Label: Hubbard
Series: I Am, I Can, I Will
Catalog: 000-8699

Running Time: Approximately 10:17
Copyright © 1975 Family Communications, Inc.


Transcription

Did you ever have a pet at home? Or in your school? A fish or a hamster or a rabbit? Did you ever help to feed it or to clean up after it? Well feeding and cleaning up after a pet are ways of taking care. And when you do take care of a pet, you’re helping it.

Of course it’s not just pets who need help. We all need help once in a while. Some children need help with getting dressed or going where they want to go. Some children need another person to push their wheelchair. When children can’t see with their eyes, another person’s hands can help them to go where they want to go.

Does your mom or your dad help you at home? And do your teachers help you at school? Well they’re taking care of you. Helping you to grow. I like to think that I’m helping you, too.

[Sings I’m Taking Care of You]

Do you ever want to say “I love you” to somebody who’s important to you? Well giving someone a smile could be a way to say “I love you.” Touching a person can be a special way of saying “I love you.” And doing what we know another person wants us to do can be a fine way to say “I love you.” There are many ways to say “I love you.”

[Sings Many Ways To Say I Love You]

When people you love get mad at you and say, “You’re a bad boy” or “You’re a bad girl,” that can be hard to understand. But, you know, it may mean that those people care a lot about you and know what you’re able to do.

What does seem bad to you? Is it hitting other children or calling them names? Is it messing up a room or saying, “No! No! No!”? Everybody does some bad things, you know? And often it’s hard to decide just what is good and what is bad. But one things is sure, and that is everybody is good sometimes and everybody is bad sometimes. It’s the same for you and it’s the same for mothers and for fathers. And it’s the same for me. Because the very same people who are bad sometimes are the very same people who are good sometimes.

[Sings Good People Sometimes Do Bad Things]

You know, nobody is good or bad all the time. And nobody is happy or sad or angry all the time. Everyone has many ways of feeling – good, bad, happy, sad, scared, brave, angry, loving. All those feelings are all part of being a person.

When I was a little boy I used to play outside a lot. And it seemed that just when I was having the most fun, my father or my mother would call me to come into the house. Well, I didn’t want to go in since I was having such a good time playing and it made me angry that I had to go inside.

But there were also times when my father and mother made me very happy. I often wondered how they knew what I wanted most to do. Sometimes they would take me for a ride in their car. Or just hold me tight. That made me feel happy. You see, the people you love best can make you feel mad as well as glad. Because you care so much about them.

[Sings It’s the People You Like the Most]

You make me glad to be who I am. Why you even help me to be Mister Rogers. Do you know why? You see, I’m a man who likes to talk and sing with children and help children to grow. So I need someone like you who likes to listen to a man like me. And it’s you who makes your mom a mother. And it’s you who makes your dad a father. You see, it’s people who are important. It’s the people who are important to you who help you grow.

You’re certainly growing and one day you’ll be able to say to someone you love, “I’m taking care of you.”


Appearing On This Tape

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Corner image by Spencer Fruhling. Used with permission.
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