Hot Diggity Dog

Before becoming a parent, I knew there was a world out there that existed that I was completely unfamiliar with. It has its own language, it’s own themes and characters, and of course songs. My God, the songs.  Back then, I didn’t care to become familiar with it. In fact, I was kind of grateful to be oblivious.  But now, I’m afraid we’ve delved head-first into the world that is… children’s television.

From tiny doctors to talking tools, to a team of underwater explorers led by a polar bear with a mustache, kids shows have come a long way from the Muppets and Mr. Rodgers I grew up with. There are British pigs and tiny fish-people. There are talking trains (not to be confused with Thomas the Tank Engine) and talking dinosaurs who ride trains that don’t talk.

I’ve learned a few universal laws of children from these shows so far. For one, kids love trains. They also love songs (or at least I’d hope so because everything just has to be sung. Everything.) And, I’ve learned that Mickey Mouse is universally appealing.

I don’t know what it is about that iconic cartoon mouse that has captured children’s attention and adoration since 1928. Every time he comes on TV to introduce Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Baby B drops what he’s doing and smiles. From what we can tell it is by far his favorite show, which makes me glad because most of the time I don’t really care about what the talking tools and trains have to say.

In each episode, Mickey Mouse and his friends (the familiar Goofy, Donald Duck, Minnie and Pluto) solve puzzles with the help of the invisible anticipated pre-school audience at home, and they always end with- you guessed it- a song.  The hot dog song. And if Baby B could tell you what his favorite song is, I’m sure he would reply, “Hot Diggity Dog!”

At 8 months, Baby B likes… Mickey Mouse, crawling, cruising, bath time, live music, puffs, playdates, FaceTime, dancing, and clapping.

Baby B dislikes… getting dressed, changing diapers, being on his back, and strangers.