The Potty Dance -- Bad, Bad Idea Huggies!
Posted: Thursday, April 23, 2009
by Nila Smith
Fact and Fiction
"Put your left hand out,
Put your right on top,
Then let it drop and do the woo-de-woo"
As the grandmother of four little girls I find this crazy commercial disturbing in so many ways.
I am grateful that all four of my girls are finished with the potty training stage, but I can still see that because all four of them love music, they are going to find this catchy little tune attractive.
The fellow dressed in white instantly reminded me of a school cook, or perhaps a fast food worker.
In the background there is a fellow who is dressed like a police officer.
Both of these public style male figures are going through the motions of the dance, along with a third man in the background who is wearing a blue shirt and an adult size "Pull-up".
I realized long ago when my first two grandbabies where mere infants that I could if I wanted to literally worry myself to death over the bad things that could happen to them, so I try to have faith that they will grow up smart and attuned to the hazards of the world.
However, I feel like this commercial is inviting trouble.
How long will it be before some one dangerous uses this little lyric to gain the trust of an innocent child?
When some sick individual starts singing the song on a public playground, how many children will he or she attract?
I sincerely hope that Huggies never comes to regret this commercial, but I also more sincerely hope that parents will not encourage its use as a potty training tool.
In my research on this subject, I have found that most folks who are "blogging" about it find it cute and amusing; I am not one of them.
Perhaps if the song and dance were done in a different setting, such as in the family living room with "mommy and daddy" figures instead of police officers and adults wearing pull-ups, I'd feel more comfortable with it.
In addition to this, I feel like that teaching a child to "go through motions" in order to communicate rather than teaching them to speak is a bad, bad idea.
By the time a child is old enough to be potty training, they are old enough to relay what they are feeling, and to tell mom and dad with words, that they need to go potty.
And finally, the commercial is popular and obviously is not going to go away due to my opinion.
So, I would urge all parents to communicate to their children that the adult behavior in this commercial is not normal, and should they witness it first hand, they need to report it to their parents or their supervising adult.
This Article has been viewed 2,386 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsI haven't seen the commercial either but it does not sound good. In my opinion most of the commercials today are just awful . Thanks for sharing.If you google the potty dance, they have a web site set up that shows the entire video, plu they are having a potty dance contest, where that the grand prize is going to be a $5000. kids room make-over.In the video, it is more clear than on the television, the guy dressed in white is selling cotton candy. Also the guy in the blue shirt is not weating a pull-up, he's wearing white jogging shorts.There are more searches now, and it seems to me that many people are also distrubed by this as time goes on. Yesterday it was mostly people thinking it was cute. Today more seem to find it disturbing.
I'm glad I am not the only one that finds this diastasteful! Yuk! Fran LarsonThank-you for reading!
Great article. Well done.I apologise for living in a "cave" but I don't watch much TV so have not seen this advert. I should try Youtube.Anyway I agree with you adults acting like that are not normal and children should be told that.Thank-you for reading my article!If you go down and read the note that Dave P left, you'll see that he offers a different viewpoint which is always a good think!Every subject is up for debate, and he makes the point that there are adults acting "not normal" in many childrens programs.I'm not sure I agree with that kind of behavior either, but as I said, I havn't witnessed any of those "first hand".
Nila,I think I am blessed not to have seen this commercial! And, while I am not familiar with it, your review makes a lot of sense.NancyNancy, thanks so much for reading my article!
Well, I did my homework and watched the extended version of the video, but for the life of me I can't see what all the fuss is about. Is this any different than how adults act on the so-called children's educational television programming?Dave, thank-you for your comments.You make a good point. I don't see that many of the shows you are referring to. My girls like Phenias and Pherb, which I think is all right, Spongebob Square Pants, which I don't care for, but see nothing seriously wrong with, and "real people" shows like Suite Life of Zak and Cody, and Hannah Montana.My older two love the High School Musical movies, and I'll confess I haven't seen any of them to know what they are about.
Grammy, if I have seen the commercial, I don't remember. But I have to agree with you...someone wasn't thinking on this one.Thank-you for reading this!I appreciate all comments!
Nila,This is a great twist to the commercial. Because I, too worry about things of that nature, and the safety of our children. So, I applaud you, and I stand alongside of you in this quest for safety. Thanks for sharing this with us!Ronyae, thanks so much!As I said in the article, I could worry myself to death over all the bad things that could happen to my grand-girls!Add to that I also have a 16 year old nephew who is out on the road now, and I worry about peer pressure that might cause him to do something foolish.When everyday life holds so many dangers, I worry that one more "outside influence" just makes the world that much more dangerous for our children.But, the key to our children's safety is always going to be parental guidance. Parents need to stay aware, and teach their children what is socially acceptable.That is also difficult because while teaching them to be aware, we don't want to teach them to be afraid to extent that they can't enjoy childhood.I believe being a good parent is one of the most challenging careers an adult will ever have!All I can say Nila, is Pray! And trust that those children are a part of you, so they are smart enough to not go too far, but still I say: Pray!Stay Blessed
I haven't seen this commercial, but it doesn't sound too good to me either. There is another one that I find offensive and that is the new Sponge Bob commerical with the girls doing a dance. What is the entertainment world coming to??!!SandraI've got to agree with you on that one, Sandra. I just watched the Sponge Bob / Burger King commercial on YouTube and all I can say is that it is rather tacky. Our kids don't need to see that stuff.Yes, I have seen this commercial as well.I agree, it is not something I would want to see my little girls doing.And I have to tell you, that so called "king" freaks me out anyway!! I don't like the look of the character, somthing about him just makes me uncomfortable all of the time.Thanks for reading!!
I think you are thinking a little to much out of the box. This is actually a fantastic way to encourage kids to use the potty. It tried the M&M deal. My sone didnt realize he was being rewarded, he thougth it was time for candy. Scense we are using the word "potty" in the dance, it really helps them associate that what they have done it a good thing. My son loved it. And as far as being lured to a pedophile by a catchy toon we can say the same for the theme songs or "Calliu" "Kipper" and "Elmos World".Thank you for reading this article.All opinions are respected and appreciated.
This is crude and insulting. It fosters a continued acceptance of bodily functions as ok to express openly. Its as bad as a Robert Munsch book! It poses a different kind of danger-psycological. Toilet training is a personal thing and needs to be between the parents and the child. If a child is not there yet and his peers are doing "the dance" and patting themselves on the back, he may feel inadequate, adding more stress to be like the others which can set him back. Often there are physical development factors that play into the delay of "getting there" that the child won't understand, he'll just feel bad about himself. I despise this campaign and may become exclusively a pampers house.
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