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Musings

07th Sep 2021

Parent confession: The hour-long version of Baby Shark buys me some peace

Melissa Carton

The viral hit kids' song Baby Shark is at the centre of a sexism row

Sometimes you just have to.

As much as I try to avoid screen time with my kids, sometimes it’s just not possible to avoid it.

Whether I’m trying to work from home, getting some stuff done around the house or even travelling, screen time can be necessary just so I can get a few minutes of peace.

At the moment, our toddler is completely swept up in the whole Baby Shark craze and often holds my phone hostage while I play it for her on repeat.

Recently though, I came across an hour long version of Baby Shark. Yes, 60 minutes of it repeating itself…

While that might sound like a nightmare, it’s actually a life-saver.

I know it sounds like lazy parenting and maybe it is, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do as a parent, to get a little me-time.

Recent studies have found that parents only get an estimated 32 minutes of me time per day and, to be honest, we need a little more.

We’re solely responsible for keeping tiny people alive and that’s stressful. A little rest and relaxion is definitely required from time to time and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Most nights I stay up way past my bedtime, just to catch up on Netflix shows or have a long shower, but it often leaves me overtired the next day. It would be much better to just get a little time to myself during the waking hours, rather than the dead of night.

Let’s face it someone made the hour long version of Baby Shark for a reason. They knew kids would watch it, and they knew parents would let them.

Not because we want to overdo screen time, and not because we’re lazy parents.

Because sometimes it’s nice to drink your tea while it’s still hot.