The Wiggles…Genius or Creepy?

By Amber Ortega on May 5th, 2009

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I had a long conversation with a friend the other day about The Wiggles.  My two-year-old loves the Wiggles music.  He jumps up and shakes his body to the music as soon as he hears it.  My friend said she couldn’t figure out if they were genius or creepy.  Initially I told her I didn’t care, my son loves them and it keeps him busy.  Plus, if I’m having trouble with too much energy, I can turn on some music and he will dance until he drops.

The Wiggles are actually genius, and not creepy in any way.  The Wiggles founders were originally musicians from Australia.  They were in school for early childhood education and found that there needed to be more entertaining music for children.  The music for children was outdated and wouldn’t get the kids dancing.  They came up with their own songs and became a hit sensation, being added to the Playhouse Disney lineup in 2002.  They have become such a big hit that they have sold out Madison Square Garden more than 12 times.

Many still believe it is strange for a group of grown men to be singing and dancing with children.  I still stick to my thoughts that The Wiggles are genius.  After becoming incredibly popular with young children, they became worried that they would begin to receive negative responses from adults because the children were running up to hug them.  They did not want to hug the children back because they could potentially put themselves in jeopardy with false accusations of inappropriate touching.  The Wiggles as a group decided to start shaking their hands at the children, this keeps the children happy to receive acknowledgement from them, but keeps the children at a distance.

The Wiggles have grown from more than just a preschool music group.  Go into any toy store and you will see a vast variety of games and toys with The Wiggles plastered all over them.  So regardless of how you feel, The Wiggles have grown into a huge success and look to be around for a long time to come.

(Photo by Heydrienne on Flickr)