Surviving the Baby Shark Attack

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Our son Junior, is a Baby Shark fan. It is a really popular song among the toddler set. Junior will sing his punk/metal version of Baby Shark at home, at church, anywhere, and at the top of his lungs. When he’s not singing Baby Shark, he’s asking for Baby Shark videos. This could drive a parent crazy, but we are surviving the Baby Shark attack and embracing his love for the song in a few ways.

What is Baby Shark?

First, what is Baby Shark? Thankfully, someone else has written a long and in-depth history of the song. Basically, it began as a camp song and in the last decade has exploded into popularity. Like another camp song, Baby Bumble Bee, it comes with hand and arms movements. Though there are different versions, here are the basic Baby Shark hand motions that go with sections of the song.

  • Bring index finger and thumb together, and repeat for Baby Shark.
  • Make clapping mouth motion with hands for Mama Shark.
  • Make wide arm clapping motion for Daddy Shark
  • Similar to Mommy shark motion but with fingers curled in for Grandma Shark.
  • Similar to Daddy shark but with fingers curled in for the Grandpa.

After everyone’s introduction, there are several versions of the song. Junior will ask for specific versions. For example, the Pinkfong Baby Shark Dance video, which has about 4.7 billion (yes, billion with a B) views on YouTube, starts with “Let’s go hunt doo doo, doo doo doo doo,” then “Run away doo doo, doo doo doo doo,” “Safe at last doo doo, doo doo doo doo,” and “It’s the end doo doo, doo doo doo doo.” Currently, Cocomelon’s Baby Shark Submarine is Junior’s favorite and it only has 48 million views. The Cocomelon version has “Let’s go play do do, do do do do,” “Run away do do, do do do do,” “Hungry sharks do do, do do do do,” “Feed the sharks do do, do do do do,” and “Wave goodbye do do, do do do do.”

Using the Sharks for Good

Since our son is a huge fan of the song, we have discovered we can use his love of Baby Shark for good. We use it as a reward for good behavior. When we are negotiating, and I really want him to do something he does not want to do, I will offer Baby Shark in exchange for what I want.

Right now we are working on potty training and we use Baby Shark as a reward. For example, depending on the time of day, he might get Baby Shark songs (there is a whole Pinkfong Baby Shark album on Amazon music) or a video. However, we know this won’t last forever. For instance, he doesn’t always ask for Baby Shark as a reward, and we’re moving in the direction where he’ll ask to use the potty on his own.

Sharks on Repeat

There is a one hour version of Pinkfong’s Baby Shark on YouTube, where it is the dance version on repeat. After a while, it just becomes background noise for me. Even Junior can’t deal with a whole hour and will request a change. However, he’s two, so it comes out as “Baby Shark, no” and a furrowed brow.

Parents before us had to deal with Barney the Dinosaur’s I Love You, You Love Me. This too will pass. How are you surviving the Baby Shark attack with your toddler? Share your thoughts in the comments below.