Why does Elmo refer to himself in the third person?

he doesn't know who elmo is!

"Also, is this how we want our children to speak?"

This is exactly my issue with Elmo and the Teletubbies. Kids learn by imitation, and I can imagine the headaches some parents might come across if one of their kids gets into the habit of talking improperly. Other than that, the rest of Sesame Street besides Elmo was/is great for teaching kids quality stuff before they start elementary school.

My guess why Elmo does this is because it sounds "cute" to the writers.

Elmo speaks as a child does - hence, it's part of his personality and appeal to the little ones. Things we can relate to, we have a tendency to move towards.

Do we want our children to talk that way, of course not ... but it is a form of teaching as well. When Elmo says "Elmo is hungry", the child repeats "Elmo is hungry" ... hence, the child refers to Elmo in the correct tense.

Elmo mimics the behavior of many preschoolers. Like most three-and-a-half-year-olds, he doesn't always have the mature skills or knowledge to speak "proper" English. However, cast members and many of the other Muppets do demonstrate the proper usage of the English language.

that is probable purely an element. If he has been gazing Elmo then he probable picked it up from that Angelina Jolie's daughter, Shiloh, like's to be called John (from the movie Peter Pan).

Because Elmo is a big Bob Dole Fan. And if third person is good enough for Bob Dole, it's good enough for Elmo.

(Liberal controlled media my a**)

okay think of it this way, your on the inside and portraying this character on the outside. It's more of an actor thing, to speak in the 3rd person is ment to not confuse the person inside with the Elmo persona he/she is portraying.

"Elmo should either be fired or put on a sabbatical until he learns proper grammar"-i agree

Probably the psychological factor. Anyone that does that in the human psyche can seem less like a threat and more 'cute'. I guess referring to themselves in third person makes them look somewhat distant to themselves and there's probably a deeper psychologic answer but I'm no psychologist.

cause he's a crack head!!!! it's sad but true i saw it on the e! hollywood true stories. he was a harvard grad than he got into acting but his acting suked so he got in to drugs and had to make some bondage films to support his habit (burt & ernie did it 4 fun) and then that dracula dude saw him & said i want to suck your... hey wait a minute would you like to do a tv show and elmo said yes but first... back to the sucking part!!

It's all a result of puppet inbreeding.