The joy of children's music - can we have it again please??

After a full on day at the office, I often used to have work thoughts going round in my mind as I tried to go to sleep. Now, after a full on day with the kids, I have Wiggles songs, or Hi-5. Surprisingly enough, they are just as effective at keeping me awake, and possibly more annoying.

We managed, somehow, for 4 years, not to have any children's CDs in the car. This was partly because our old car didn't have a CD player, partly because we haven't done any really long car trips and partly because we never let on to the children that it was actually an option. So, for 4 years or so, we were able to continue to listen to grown up music on car trips, and the youngest in particular will head bang with the best of them.

But somewhere along the line, the kids CDs have crept in. In one regrettable moment, I let them into the car, and we are now condemned to a lifetime of music not our own. Well, maybe not a lifetime, but long enough for these songs to be etched on our brains for life.

When Holly was born and the Wiggles first came onto our radar, I was positive that there was no chance of my children getting hooked. My first impression was that they were unsophisticated, and unappealing, that the songs were not particularly clever and the Wiggles books I'd seen were not well written. Three years later at our first Wiggles concert, I felt like I was seeing old friends on stage.

I'm still not entirely sure what makes these four grown men and their friends so completely appealing to a two or three year old, but it must be something to do with the simplicity of the words and the tunes, the repetition, the actions that they can copy and the bright colours. Personally, I prefer the later DVDs where they have used other people's songs to a large extent. I was also quite impressed with the Wiggly dancers at the last show we went to. The live performances seemed more polished and well performed, but when I looked at the kids, it wasn't the dancers they were most interested in, it was the Wiggles themselves and the old favourites; 'Rock a Bye Your Bear', 'Hot Potato' and 'Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist'.

I have to accept that what is appealing to a two year old, is not going to hold the same appeal for me; after all, it's not designed for grown ups. I'm just glad they have made the shows more sophisticated, so we adults who sacrifice our mental health to go to these concerts with the children, can appreciate some of the dance and acrobatics at the same time.

For Michael, the Wiggles are a big part of his love of music. He likes to dance and move to the beat, and luckily for Dad, he'll happily dance along to 'the Cure', 'Greenday' and 'Nirvana' as well. He gets the whole family 'playing music', handing out the guitar, keyboard, drums and maracas.

But it extends beyond that. Michael has, since 18 months, been able to put together a 20 piece Wiggles jigsaw on his own. Given that, I invested in more jigsaws, not realising that because they were generic pictures, and not the Wiggles, they wouldn't hold the same appeal or challenge.

When we went to the UK for 6 weeks and struggled with quiet time and sleeping, I could resort to putting Michael in front of the Wiggles for half and hour. As a baby, if he was unhappy after a sleep, or got cranky at the creche, the Wiggles were a guaranteed distraction. And as we move into toilet training, the Wiggles undies are the way to go.

For Holly, the addiction was not quite so intense or long lasting. She is currently a Hi-5 fan and there are specific songs (which I won't mention because then they'll be stuck in my brain all day), that she will listen to over and over again.

Last night I went to bed with 'Stuck in the Mud' in my head - 'He was lucky to get mucky and then he got stuck...'. I tried to concentrate on some yoga breathing to clear my brain, but I was never very good at that, so I had to accept I would go to sleep with this song, and probably wake up with it. But no, in the middle of the night, Michael hopped out of bed, switched on his music, and clear as a bell over the monitor came the 'Big Red Car'...