The Wiggles: Toddler Heroes

These lines are from the song 'Toot Toot Chugga Chugga' by the Wiggles, an Australian group aimed at preschoolers. Those of us with children under the age of five are all too familiar with this group, and likely know every word of the song. I've heard the Wiggles described as 'The Beatles for kids". Not an unfair comparison, if you've ever been to one of their concerts and have seen them in action. Their boyish charm and fun nature not only win over the children they entertain, but also the parents who buy Wiggles merchandise and tickets to their shows. This skill helps them win over even the most skeptical parents, including myself.

I am the mother of a very "spirited" little girl named Jaimie. "Spirited" is the word her pediatrician used to describe her extremely extroverted behaviour prior to her diagnosis of Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) when she was two and a half.

At three months, we noticed Jaimie started to develop a rather fussy and sensitive demeanor. As she got older, her "spirited" nature became more difficult to endure as she would head-butt, bite, scratch, punch and kick when she got angry or frustrated. It wouldn't take much to get her to the boiling point and I never knew exactly what triggered the outbursts. It became even more worrisome when she turned her anger inward: she'd repeatedly bang her head on the floor or wall, bite and scratch herself and pull out her hair. To make things even worse, she was non-verbal and not able to communicate effectively. I tried everything I could think of to reach her but nothing ever seemed to calm her down.

One day after spending almost half an hour trying to get Jaimie's shoes on, I heard a song come on the children's television station. Holding one of Jaimie's feet between my knees as she kicked me with the other, screaming at the top of her lungs, the music on the television seemed to lull her as her cries softened, then finally stopped. She pulled her foot out from my knees then sat up to see the television. I turned around to see four grown men wearing colored shirts driving in a small red car and singing about, oddly enough, a "Big Red Car". The song only lasted for about two minutes but it was the quietest two minutes I had enjoyed in a long time. Needless to say, I found out who they were and when they'd be on again. Enter: the Wiggles.

The next time they were on, Jaimie just sat there in awe as they danced and sang with Wags the Dog, Captain Feathersword and a huge octopus named Henry. The most intriguing part, for Jaimie anyway, was the dancing. The Wiggles make their dance moves simple enough for children to catch on to easily and mimic. By the end of the show she was actually laughing and waving good-bye to them. Jaimie started to interact more with the Wiggles than she ever had with me. As I watched them, I almost felt jealous of what the Wiggles could do to reach Jaimie with such a simple concept in such a short period of time when I couldn't reach her since she'd been born. Who were these four Aussies and what was this magical power they had over our daughter? Being inquisitive and skeptical by nature, I had to research these guys to answer my question.

Each Wiggle wears a different colored shirt: Jeff Fatt wears purple, Murray Cook wears red, Anthony Field wears blue and Greg Page wears yellow. They act goofy, laugh, treat each other kindly and talk about the importance of such things as good eating habits and washing our hands.

I visited their official website displayed at the end of every episode of their television show. The site gave the Wiggles' history -- how they started out and what they continue to do. I also found a message board where parents and children could post questions about the group and where members of the group had been known to respond to their questions. After I briefly scanned the board, I found stories very much like my own --- how this Aussie wonder group has touched the lives of children all over the world. The most touching stories were those from parents whose children were sick or terminally ill and used the Wiggles' music to ease their children's stress while in the hospital. I found out a lot of information from their very devoted adult fans when I posted questions of my own. The more information I found on them, the more my admiration for them grew.

In a nutshell, Anthony, Greg and Murray, went to school together, studying Early Childhood Education at Sydney's Macquarie University. They had a project to do and decided to use their music skills to write children's songs in order to help them teach children. Jeff Fatt, who was in a band with Anthony called "The Cockroaches", joined them to help out, and the rest, as they say, is history. They took the tape they made for their project to a record company, ABC Music, and released their first self-titled album.

Their songs are simple, they create dance moves children can easily remember and enjoy doing. They also have characters such as Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Wags the Dog, Captain Feathersword, and have added the Wiggly dancers to their live shows and videos, all whom children adore.
Currently, the Wiggles have become the biggest selling children's entertainment group in history in Australia and have the highest grossing income in Australia (beating out Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe). They've won platinum status for their records and, even now, after many years of being together, they still love what they do. You can see it in their videos; you can hear it during interviews and how they interact with each other; and you can feel it with the energy they emit in their concerts. It's as though they feed off the children's excitement. They still smile, laugh and travel all over the world, entertaining children and parents with the exact same enthusiasm they had at their very first show.

I was fortunate enough to catch their show when it was brought to Edmonton and all I can say is, if you weren't a fan before you see them in concert, you will be by the time you leave.

What's impressed me the most about the Wiggles is as big as they've become, they will always take time to talk to their little fans, especially if they know the child has been or is currently ill. They've been known to set up special meet and greets with these ill children to give them a welcome break from their grueling treatments or trauma. During their concerts, the men interact with children from the stage, make eye contact and wave as the little ones frantically wave their little arms at their heroes. I've even seen them kneel down on the stage to accept artwork or take the time to read signs children made for them.

What does all this research teach me about the Wiggles? I've come to the conclusion they are the most talented and heartfelt children's entertainment group I've come across. However, it still hasn't helped me figure out what, exactly, their magic is or why that magic affected Jaimie so deeply. Don't get me wrong, Jaimie's tantrums still happen but to a lesser degree, for a shorter duration and there are now a lot less head-butt bruises and bite marks on me (and her). And, because of their influence, I finally got to hear her sweet little voice when she spontaneously started talking during one of their videos.

I guess it doesn't matter if I ever figure out what their magic is. I'm just grateful for it and for everything they've done for children all over the world -- especially my little girl. Anyone who can give Jaimie the strength to leave the house and face her day head on when I can't even get her out of bed, gets my heart-filled gratitude.

In me, they have a fan for life - long after they stop wiggling!