10 Reasons Why The Wiggles Are Better Than Sesame Street

Posted on 11 15, 2006 under Doodads by Noodad |

wigglesrThe Wiggles, the singing Aussie foursome with the colorful shirts, is the best half an hour of kid's television on the air right now. You may say that it is boring, cheesy, girlie, or otherwise a waste of time but whatever you may think you know about the Wiggles, I am telling you that you may be wrong.

I used to loathe Wiggles like I loathed a teeth cleaning at the dentist. Whenever it would come on the TV, I would cringe at the sights and sounds. But what I didn't realize is that the problem wasn't the show, the issue was my kid's weren't ready for it yet. Because what makes the Wiggles so enjoyable is not what is actually being backlit from your boob tube, it is the reaction of your kids when the show comes on.


When my kids hear the Wiggles theme song, the excitement builds to such a fervor that you would have thought it was the live broadcast of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. But you may be saying to yourself, despite how good this show may be, how can it be better than Sesame Street? Here are 10 Reasons Why The Wiggles Are Better Than Sesame Street. You make the call:

1. The Wiggles Teach Nutrition
One of the Wiggles' most famous song is called "Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy" and the words not only teach kids that fruit is fun to prepare and to eat, but that it is important to clean up afterwards. Quick! Name a song about food on Sesame Street. You came up with "C is for Cookie" didn't you?

{mosnooad}2. The Wiggles Teach Geography
Frequently, the Wiggles pull out musical gems about other countries, including customs and cuisine into the song while performing traditional dance. Big Bird went to China. One time! Big deal. The majority of content on Sesame Street occurs on Sesame Street: some random neighborhood in New York City.

3. The Wiggles Are Not Violent
Captain Feathersword, the resident Wiggles pillager, has a sword made of a feather. Sesame Street has a guy falling down the stairs with pies!

4. The Wiggles Are Like MTV for Kids
With minimal skits, lots of sing-along songs, and even concert footage, the Wiggles plays out like TRL for kids. Sesame Street has drawn out skits and randomly inserted old shorts that break the continuity of the plot. For instance, Telly could be looking for his pet rat one minute and then all of a sudden you see a clay ball with eyes trying to bounce from the kitchen sink to the dining room table to a lame late 70's soundtrack.

5. The Wiggles Are Current
Using animation, and shot on location, the Wiggles feel like a current show. Sesame Street subsidizes gaps in their programming with stop animation shorts from the late 70's.

6. The Wiggles Have Eye Candy
Some of the backup singers on the Wiggles are hot (Lucy in particular). The hottest thing on Sesame Street is Maria. And uh…she's old.

7. The Wiggles Keep It Simple
It's easy with the Wiggles: Jeff sleeps all the time. Anthony likes to eat. Murray plays a guitar. Greg drives a red car. That's about all you need to know. None of this Grover is Grover until he is Super Grover. Or Snuffy used to be imaginary and now he isn't. Or Ernie and Bert are friends. Now they are lovers. Now Ernie has leukemia. Now he doesn't.

8. The Wiggles Actually Tour
The Wiggles, like any other legit rock band, actually play to sold out toddler audiences all over the world. Sesame Street Live is made up of people wearing Muppet suits. Have you ever tried to explain to your kid why Elmo is now 6 feet tall? The fact is, the Wiggles build up demand and they pay it off live.

9. The Wiggles Aren't Overexposed
Sure, on the playgrounds and daycares of the world, the Wiggles are the real deal. But they are no where close to the overexposure that Sesame Street has in almost every product known to man. Today, I gave my son a bath with his Elmo shampoo and Cookie Monster sponge. I then dried him off on a Zoe towel and put on a Pampers diaper with Big Bird's face on it. You don't see your kid's ass rubbing on any Wiggle that's for sure.

10. The Wiggles Actually Rock
The lyrics aside, the Wiggles songs actually do rock. This isn't like how you rock out to "Rubber Duckie" on your iPod. These guys are actual musicians and it shows.

So what do you think? Did I convince you that the Wiggles are better than Sesame Street?

 

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Viewing 11 Comments

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    I\'m going to have to make this tomorrow\'s article I think... more later.
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    The wiggles are indeed good, although I\'m not a fan of the pirate. Hes just a bit too manic IMHO.

    Another really good show is the Young Einsteins. Dunno if youve seen it but my son gets just as active watching those cartoony kids as with the wiggles.
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    My daughter loves them. And they teach her a lot too. I definitely concur.
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    The american pediatric society officially recommends [B]no[/B] TV for children under 2. If you think the baby einstein series or any other series for you kid under 2 are doing anything for them you are just buying into a marketing lie.
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    First off, my daughter is not 2. But also, if you saw how a kid under 2 can learn songs, the alphabet, basic reading skills, animal recognition, and colors all from engaging with a tv show like I have, you too wouldn\'t give a sh*t about what the American Pediatric Society said.
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    The Baby Einstein series (including the incredibly fabulous Little Einsteins) and some other series for under two, such as Sesame Street do something for my 20 month old---they are entertaining for him. They make him smile and they encourage him to do things like sing, dance, laugh, giggle, and generally be silly. Yes, those things can come from other mediums, but they can also come from tv. TV is only evil if it\'s a babysitter and used excessively. You seriously would deny any child under the age of two Elmo?
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    Baby A (almost 2.5) looooooves the Little Einsteins, and her Disney-hating mom (me) is fine with that. I\'ve been suprised at just how great a show it is. She pretends \"Rocket\" all the time, sings the theme song at least ten times a day, wants to play the violin like Leo, and ballet-dances around the house pretending to be June.

    She also watched a little Sesame Street and SS videos, and learned to count to twenty, could nail the ABCs at...I don\'t even remember...19 months?...and knows every color, shape, and so on, thanks partly to the show. Yes, her dad and I have influenced her, too, but it doesn\'t hurt to have an entertaining backup when there are, you know, meals to cook, clothes to fold, and blog posts to write.

    I\'m afraid I\'ll hate the Wiggles, but I hated the Teletubbies, too, before I saw her reaction to them. You\'re on to something when you say it\'s not the characters you hated, rather, it was too early for your child to enjoy them. (Except Barney. Barney deserves hate.)

    She is allowed to watch maybe 1.5 hours a week, and it\'s the first privilege we take away when she\'s naughty.

    - L
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    Don\'t mistake laughing at a TV for learning, Harry. It isn\'t. And when kids grow up and have ADD because they are used to the flashing fast images on a TV why are we surprised as a society? The Baby Einstein series is brilliant for one reason, marketing. They created where none existed for [b]babies[/b] to watch TV. How? With clear titles like Baby Van Gogh, Baby Mozart etc that we all eat up thinking of our babies that way.

    Instead our babies get used to sound and motion they simply aren\'t ready to understand.

    Here are some links for ya:

    http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/money/...

    The telling thing about the link above is the interview with the founder of Baby Einstein....he claims that there product is intended for parents to interact with their babies when using, much like a book. Bunch of lies cause he knows all parents do is plop their baby in front of the tv and walk away,

    http://www.edupax.org/Assets/divers/documentati...
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    Face it rupertz. Television helps prepare kids for today\\\\\\\'s society where everyone is constantly bombarded by entertainment, games and advertisting. A little knowledge about popular culture is a good thing. Their friends will be talking about it and they will be able to join in.

    Am I advocating 3 hours of TV per day? No. Do I advocate reading books? Of course. Do I advocate only books and no TV? No way. I do not want my kids to be little introverts, not do I want them to be TV junkies. I have been allowing them a little TV every day, even the little one. Sure they like TV, but they still prefer books.

    The important thing is that you go heavier on situations where they can hone their social skills, crafts and play.
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    I agree with everything you say foodad. The only thing I have issue with is the whole baby einstein thing. Kids watching TV is one thing (my kids do)....babies watching it is another.
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    Grew up with sesame street, still love sesame street, wouldn\'t go see sesame street live to save my life. Went to a wiggles concert last year. LOVED IT! (I do have Eagle Rock on my mp3 player 8) ) Was sad to hear about Greg, though.

    As for babies watching TV, we bought a DVD called PraiseBaby (basically, a Christian version of Baby Einstein, but MUCH better done) and started putting that on for our little one when she was only about 12 months. She LOVED it (and still does). She mostly engaged in the music. She\'s now 3 and a half and way smart, very social, and super energetic. She also loves books and singing and playing outside (just bought her first bike with training wheels :eek and she cant get enough).

    We have another one on the way and have no hesitation to use the same DVD for this baby as well. I agree with foodad that it\'s all in moderation and balance.

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