My girls love music. I know most kids do, but my girls love it to the point where as soon as they hear the slightest beat of a drum, they break it down like no ones business. They bop in shopping centre’s, cafés, Mum’s nightclub and bar (also known as the car) and anywhere else they hear a tune.
My girls, especially Sienna, also happen to harbour a small obsession with Dorothy the Dinosaur and ABC for Kids. So when I was asked to do this review, the kid in me got excited. Excited until I realised: once I put these CD’s on, will I ever be able to turn them off? Will my children ever allow me to?
I think the reason why The Wiggles became such a worldwide phenomenon is because they really made kids music adult friendly. It’s proven to be quite the masterstroke - mesh rock music with nursery rhymes and you have a parent that is happy to take their child to come see you play. Not to mention buy your CD’s, DVD’s, figurines, activity books.
And I think as much as its great for us as parents to ensure that what we buy for our kids enjoyment is right for them, its also important for us to be able to tolerate it enough so we as adults can function. I know from experience that it takes precisely 5 episodes of Go Diego Go for my husband to migrate to the bedroom so he can put his own TV on just to keep his sanity in check!
It is one of the reasons why these CD’s are so great. They are both the epitome of easy listening - for kids and adults. And as my girls do, lets break it down, shall we?
Dorothy the Dinosaur’s Beach Party!
This CD isn’t just for Dorothy fans: if your children love The Wiggles, they will love this CD. With familiar tracks from both Dorothy and Wiggles TV shows, this CD will get any kid moving so its perfect for birthday parties, play dates, or car trips. Funky takes on ‘A sailor went to Sea’ and ‘Here we go round the Mulberry Bush’, as well as the old favourite ‘Hot Potato’make this CD perfect for any growing child’s enjoyment. And admittedly, it even made my big ol’ head bop on more than a few occasions.What I love about Dorothy and The Wiggles music is they are so Australian sounding and ‘Five Little Joey’s’ and ‘Quack Quack Quack’ are great examples of this. Of course Dorothy’s friends join her in the fun, so Captain Feathersword, Wags, Fairy Clare and Henry the Octopus all make appearances.
This CD claims to “fill your day with sunshine” and it does. Right from the first song, it sets the tone for what is a really fun CD, full of positive energy with lots of lessons to be learned along the way.
Lets go Play! Songs for Happy Healthy Kids - ABC Kids
Well isn’t this CD a real gem?! However, if I can give you one tip when playing this to your kids (especially if they have a semi-obsession with anything Wiggles) don’t do it directly after you’ve played them Dorothy, because there isn’t any real familiarity here, and as we know, kids love songs they know. Don’t we all?
Simply put, ‘Let’s go Play!’ is a collection of life lessons disguised as rock music. It’s awesome. The first track and namesake ‘Let’s go Play’ wouldn’t be out of place on iTunes it is so rock-y and catchy. The rest are self explanatory, with ‘Click Clack’ being about car travel safety, ‘Sun Safe’ about making sure you slip slop slap before playing in the sun and the list goes on. A personal favourite of ours was ‘Little Steps’, all about doing things slowly and you’ll get there in the end.
Some songs on this CD are really basic and easy to understand, but others, perhaps a little more serious. ‘No, Go Tell someone’ is teaching the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching, and I’ll admit at after hearing simple, jovial songs like ‘Everyday Food’ and ‘We’re different’, I was caught slightly off-guard by such a lesson - after all, who wants to even think of such things let along sing about them?
It might be the only drawback for some but once I got my head around it given the otherwise jovial nature of the CD, it was ok. Unfortunately, life isn’t perfect and kids need to know that too.
My daughters will love this CD when they are old enough to understand lessons in vocals and songs and I would say perhaps 5 and over would be the perfect age. But to simply bop around in given the catchy tunes, it’s entertaining for all ages.
In summary?
Both Dorothy the Dinosaur and Let’s Go Play impressed me greatly and not only are they both educational, fun and easy listening ways of keeping your child entertained, they both come with full lyrics enclosed so everyone can sing along.
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