Yesterday, my daughter did something that she has not done in a while. She watched “The Wiggles” on Playhouse Disney in the morning. Since “The Wiggles” comes on at 7 a.m. (EST) now, instead of 10 a.m. like it used to, she rarely gets the chance to watch. Yes it comes on at 11, but she is usually watching PBS Kids Sprout by then. But that doesn’t matter.
In any case, she was ecstatic to see The Wiggles on television. One of her new fascinations lately is pirates, so she was really enjoying Captain Feathersword. She kept saying, “It’s a pirate, Mama. Argh!” Whenever The Wiggles would sing a song, she would bob her head up and down and sway back and forth. It made me really happy to watch her enjoy herself.
After her bath at night, she usually watches “Dragon Tales” and then goes to bed. Since she had an exceptionally long nap yesterday, she missed “Dragon Tales” last night and was up a little later. So I popped in one of our Wiggles videos. I tell you I have never seen that child copy so many dance moves! You would think that she had been watching this video every day for the last month. She was trotting around the room, throwing her arms up in the air, turning in circles, and wiggling all over the place. “Look Mama, look Dada. Dance!” she shouted with glee as she took over the living room.
I realized something last night. Just like parents suggest changing out a kid’s toys every once in a while, changing out their DVDs is a good idea also. I am sure you are thinking, “Well DUH, Jaime,” but just work with me here. Ciera will be two in mid-November, so technically I am still learning what works for her. I just figured that once she stopped watching them that she wouldn’t want to watch them again. But what I figured out last night is that she is rediscovering the videos that used to be part of her everyday routine. Also, now that she is a little older than when she last watched those videos, she will discover new things about them. She is now more likely to copy what she sees and learn more from it.
In addition to Ciera getting more out of watching her old videos, I will get more. I mean, I am getting tired of watching “Aladdin” every day, although Disney will never lose its charm. Those movies will always be readily available. But perhaps it’s time to put away the “Blues Clues” videos and “Away We Go” for a while and bring out the Wiggles videos and “Classical Baby” once again. I am definitely up for something new anytime — even if that “new” means bringing out old DVDs again.
