Ask Carrie: Who is your favorite Wiggle?

Dear Carrie: We hear your son is a big fan of The Wiggles. We have to ask… who is your favorite Wiggle?

Sometimes I think I know the Wiggles as intimately as I do my own family. Not only can I recite every single one of their songs (should I be embarrassed to admit that?), I also know just what makes Greg, Jeff, Murray, and Anthony tick. I’m very familiar with their nearest and dearest –including but not limited to Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Captain Feathersword, and Henry the Octopus – and I often worry about Jeff’s apparent narcolepsy, which no one else seems to take seriously. If one of your friends fell asleep throughout the day, wouldn’t you think something was up?

Truth be told, I have yet to figure out their appeal, but I know that my 2-year-old’s first full sentence was, “I wanna watch the Wiggles,” and he is totally and completely mesmerized by them. I firmly believe that if Murray showed up at our door (with his guitar, of course) and asked Reid to join the group, he’d jump in that big red car and never look back.

Reid’s favorite Wiggle changes weekly. For a while, it was Jeff – also known around here as “Biggle Beff.” I don’t get it. All Jeff does is sleep, though sometimes he does wake up to play his keyboard. Other than that, he’s relatively boring, and old Reid is not into anything boring.

Sometimes it’s Murray, and that one’s a little easier to understand. Reid has a mighty strong attachment to his Wiggles guitar, which looks almost just like the one Murray himself plays. Other kids have blankets or lovies; mine has a guitar – one that sleeps with him, rides in the car with him, sometimes even goes to school with him. Dig around in my closet enough and you’ll find our back-up guitar, which sits at the ready. How I hope we never need it.

Greg isn’t as popular with Reid, though he does like his “lellow” shirt since yellow’s his favorite color. He’s just not all that into Greg’s magic tricks, I guess. I think the one thing Greg has going for him is his permanent spot in the driver’s seat of the big red car. I haven’t really figured out why no one else gets to (or wants to) drive, but since those Wiggles never bicker, they must know something our family doesn’t.

Least popular in Reid’s book is Anthony, and that one I can’t figure out. I mean, I’ve learned to tolerate these four men that spend a fair amount of time with my younger child, but I don’t by any means want to go on vacation with them or anything. However, if I absolutely had to choose a Wiggle to spend my day with, it would be Anthony. He seems the most “normal” (and I use that term loosely) of the group. Of course, maybe that’s why Reid DOESN’T like him so much!

The Wiggles definitely have a solid fan base – they were the highest-grossing Australian celebrities last year. I suppose I can rest easy knowing that my son is not the only toddler who thinks the sun rises and sets on Greg, Murray, Anthony, and Jeff. Besides, he’s picked up some really suave dance moves that have to come in handy at some point!