Elmo Is Helping Kids Who Use Feeding Tubes Feel Seen—and Parents Are Here for It

Sarah ScottWed, August 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM UTC

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Credit: Parents / Compleat® / Sesame WorkshopKey Takeaways -

A new Sesame Workshop and Nestlé Compleat song featuring Elmo helps kids learn about tube feeding in a fun and inclusive way.

The song and video aim to build understanding and empathy, showing that mealtimes can look different for every family.

Families can personalize the song to reflect their child’s unique feeding journey, helping kids feel seen and celebrated.

Sesame Workshop, the creative force behind some of our most beloved children’s programs, and Nestlé Compleat, a leader in tube feeding nutrition, recently teamed up to create the first-ever song centered on tube feeding starring none other than the warm and curious Elmo. Our favorite red furry muppet is tackling something families rarely see represented on screen or in music. “What Is Better Than How” is the first-ever song centered around tube feeding.

It’s accompanied by a video in which kids can watch Elmo visit real-life families and discover that mealtimes can look different from one household to the next. Some kids may eat with a fork and spoon, and others through a feeding tube. This small peek into what’s unfamiliar to so many has an important goal: to celebrate children who use feeding tubes and the families that support them every day. We can’t think of a better song to sing as kids head back to school.

The Sentiment Behind the Song

Despite hundreds of thousands of people in the United States being tube-fed, most people don’t understand it. This leaves the “tubie” community feeling invisible and isolated much of the time. The gap can feel huge in the small moments and milestones that most families take for granted. Maybe it’s a birthday party, a playdate, or even just classroom snack time when a child feels especially set apart from others.

Nestlé Compleat’s Director of Marketing Priyanka Malhotra notes, “Every child deserves to be seen for who they are, not defined by how they eat,” and hopes to bridge this gap using one of Sesame Workshop’s most beloved and iconic characters.

The song and video are meant to promote greater awareness of tube feeding and shift people’s perspectives towards connection and belonging rather than something that sets them apart from others. It also features “tubie” kids who use feeding tubes for nourishment.

Credit: Parents / Nestlé Compleat

With summer coming to an end all over the country, the timing is perfect, as it can lead to greater sensitivity and kindness in how children eat and join in with their classmates and friends.

Every Child Can Sing Their Own Tune

As part of the campaign, starting today, parents and caregivers can even create personalized song verses that reflect their child’s feeding journey. This is such a gift for parents navigating this journey, especially with little ones. It enables kids to see their unique experiences reflected and even to pass them along to siblings and classmates in a simple way. This promotes greater understanding without requiring an extensive conversation.

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Compleat and Sesame Workshop have “created a story that is authentic, joyful, and rooted in real experiences. Featuring real families alongside Elmo helps children see themselves reflected while introducing tube feeding in a hopeful, inclusive way,” Malhotra says.

Jennifer Ahearn, Senior Vice President, Global Strategic Partnerships, Sesame Workshop, adds that this campaign “shines a light on the tube-feeding community... Friends like Elmo have a unique ability to spark understanding, build empathy, and help children and families feel seen, included, and celebrated.”

Giving each child a way to customize the song can turn it from a general message into their own personal anthem.

Supporting With Real Life Resources

The collaboration between Sesame Workshop and Nestlé Compleat doesn’t stop with the song and video but also includes real-life support for the tube-feeding community. To further its mission, the Nestlé Health Science Foundation is generously donating a $50,000 grant through its employee engagement program to Sesame Workshop to enhance its Library Initiative, which provides educational resources for tube-fed children and their families.

Additionally, Nestlé Compleat proudly continues its partnerships with the Oley Foundation and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, demonstrating a long-term commitment to uplifting and supporting the broader tube feeding community.

A Message of Belonging

“What is Better Than How” is a creative and meaningful way to spark the conversation around tube feeding when a child and their parents may need it most. Whether it’s played one time or on repeat, it puts a message out into the world that Sesame Workshop and Nestlé Compleat hope will stay: “It doesn’t matter how you eat; what matters is that you are nourished, loved, and accepted.”

A song that aims to foster greater understanding, visibility, and inclusion is especially appreciated this season, when every child deserves to feel they belong.

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