Tuesday, August 21, 2007

It's A Wiggles World

It all started when Julia was a toddler and the Disney channel would play short clips of 4 Australian guys singing cheery songs in between shows. Little did we know that the Wiggles were on the cusp of world domination.

We bought her a Wiggles CD and joyously all sang along and laughed as she mispronounced all the words. Eventually, the CD got stolen out of my car, she outgrew the music and we became a full-fledged Thomas family. That's right, by this time Ethan had joined our family and as much as he liked an occasional Elmo or Blue's Clues, he was, and still remains, a Thomas fan through and through. That is, until a couple of months before his 4th birthday (the one he almost didn't get to have because boys who still wear diapers have to stay 3) when he suddenly fell in love with Greg, Murray, Anthony and Jeff and declared that he wanted a Wiggles birthday party. The stars aligned, I found a bunch of Wiggles party stuff on clearance and the party was a success.

Of course by now Mr. Bunch had also joined our family and little did we know it but his little ears had been listening to all that Wiggles music all along. So much so that when he started saying Giggo Giggo and we all thought it was so cute, my MIL correctly deciphered it as actually his attempt to say Wiggles. All of a sudden our Tivo went into Wiggles overdrive. This kid whose attention span is shorter than a Lindsey Lohan stint in rehab (i.e. don't blink) will actually sit through a 25 minute episode of the Wiggles.

This was a really really good thing until we went from having three working televisions to one. As anyone knows, the youngest member of any family runs the household. So here we sit in our overheated master bedroom, watching episode after episode of Giggo Giggo. Though we have several episodes recorded, it's not uncommon to find us watching the same episode more than once a day. The little guy will not still sit for Sesame Street or, much to his older siblings' dismay, Wow Wow Wubzy or Spongebob Squarepants or anything else. Giggo it must be. And in the car, we get to watch and listen to Wiggles DVDs. This is what I mean by world domination.

Thankfully, I've always liked the Wiggles. Their songs are cheerful and catchy and they don't get on my nerves like they do several of my mommy friends'. I'd much rather listen to an endless loop of Hot Potato than one performance of insipid Barney, for example, singing I Love You, You Love Me. So our little Wiggles obsession could be much worse to tolerate than it is.

The funniest part of all this is that now Julia is a born-again Wiggles fan. She loves the shows, she likes the songs and she jumps out of her seat to dance along. She's even got the choreography down. She probably would prefer that her friends think she spends her days watching Hannah Montana, but the truth is much sweeter.

You might be tempted to post a comment about the perils of too much television for children. Don't bother. I have no floors; basically, no downstairs. If Giggo is going to get my kid to sit still while I feed him and save me from having macaroni and cheese smeared into my bedroom carpet, then bring it on. If three kids will sit down and be quiet and not ask me for one more thing for 25 minutes so I can figure out which fire to put out next, then thank the Lord. And if these Wiggles will distract my babies from the fact that their house is a disaster, their mom has lost her mind and their dad is a little broken, then it's a miracle indeed.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

T -

I absolutely love it when you write. You are a gifted writer. I'm with you. My kids watch t.v. all day, every day when we are at home. When school starts it's a different story. But, they are good, all around broad minded kids, so who cares. I've taught them right from wrong, they know the boundaries and I don't believe the hogwash about t.v. and what it can do to kids. If they are brought up well, there is not a show in the world that they will watch and think, "Wow, I should do that." That's all IMHO, btw! I know others will disagree!

I can honestly say I'm glad my kids are past the Wiggles, Barney, Thomas, Sesame Street, Blues Clues and Dora stage. It's bad enough that I have to listen to Spongebob Square Pants once in a while! I do have to say though, *said quietly* that I, myself, enjoy Hanna Montana, The Suite Life and Drake & Josh!

Jax

tannaz sassooni said...

1: the youngest rules the house? where ever did you get this idea?

2: i sheepishly admit i enjoy the occasional hannah montana as well!

Tara O said...

Yeah sister bring on the Giggo....whatever it takes to get a moment's peace...LOL.....the only perils of TV is overuse...ROTFLOL...if you use it too often they won't watch...and ugh then whatdyado?

Kim -today's creative blog said...

Ahh, children's programing. Lucas loved the teletubbies. I couldn't believe it.
We also must have played the Thomas Movie at least 2000 times. Jim and I had every line memorized.

t said...

Wow! Who knew the Wiggles would get such a response?

diva-Thanks from the bottom of my heart for the compliments on my writing. I really appreciate it.

tannazie-most definitely

tara-you're not kidding. the key is to achieve the perfect balance of Giggo and downtime so he still enjoys it when it's on.

Kim-My Ethan would have LOVED the Thomas movie. He was born a couple of years too late for it though.

onescrappychick said...

girl.. whatever it takes to get you through the day....

Artful Creations by Tracie said...

I absolutely LOVE the Wiggles!! My boys have since outgrown them (sadly) but they were avid watchers (and singers) - we have several DVDs and CDs that I have since passed along to my cousin who's 2 year old is quite obsessed as well.

My oldest loves Thomas and is still hooked (who knew there were so doggone many trains???) Currently their TV obsession is American Dragon - and well that is OK but I much prefer Kim Possible myself!!!

Nik said...

Ditto on the gifted writer... I love reading your blog babe..

Now as for The Wiggles on behalf of all Mummy's who love them.. "Your welcome" all Australians are proud of what they have acheived..

On behalf of the Mummy's that fall into my basket.. I AM SORRY!!! Those four men in the bright skivvies never cease to drive me insane..

But for now with it making my "T's" house a place of peace and tranquilty... I say GO THE WIGGLES!!!

Meghan said...

Ethan will sit thru a 50 min dvd of Elmo's World. And to be honest, sometimes I have put 2 on back to back b/c I need to do something else when I am awake rather than exhausted at the end of the day when he goes to bed.

So I say in the words of the great Marie Antionette...Let them watch tv!

Going For Greatness said...

Amen, sistah!
The Wiggles were my saviors for 3 years! I LOVE them and think they are fantastic entertainers. We've seen them live and even our 6 Flags has 1/2 the park devoted to you guessed it, THE WIGGLES.
Mackie (now 5) STILL watches every morning at 7am as I am preparing her breakfast. Mornings are MY QUIET TIME and I need it that way in order for me to remain SANE for the remainder of the day. I am thankful that the Wiggles ( Giggums as she used to call them before she was 2 )are there for me!!!
Ellie (now 3) has NEVER liked the Wiggles or Sesame Street, Thomas or Blue's Clues. She's strictly a Hannah Montana, Spongebob or Animaniacs girl, thru and thru.
~XO~
Gabi

t said...

Gabi - Giggum is just the cutest!