The 'unlikely' way The Wiggles' Simon and Lachy entertain their children

Put on "Hot Potato" and get on with your chores like the rest of us? Apparently not!

When it comes to entertaining our kids so we can get on with making dinner, answering emails, or whatever adult life has thrown at you at the most inconvenient time, we'd like to think we have it covered. 

How? You chuck on The Wiggles and get on with it! It's been a parenting hack that has lasted decades.

And it works. That is, unless you're actually a Wiggle!

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Simon's son doesn't  actually like watching The Wiggles

During a recent appearance on Kidspot's podcast Mum Club, Wiggles dads Simon Pryce and Lachy Gillespie, who have also launched a new podcast titled "Wiggle Talk", opened up about their own parenting wins and fails.

And despite many parents turning to their songs and shows to keep their children contained, the trick doesn't actually work on their own children. 

"Asher has no interest at all in watching The Wiggles... none!" Simon, dad to toddler Asher, laughs.

"I don't know. He just never really [got into it]. He loves going to the live shows. He really enjoys that, but he's actually never really wanted to watch it on TV that much."

Instead, Simon admits Fireman Sam and Paw Patrol are their go-to shows for keeping little Asher entertained. 

"All those very boy-heavy shows Asher is right into. And Spider-Man is just taking over! Now he's never watched Spider-Man but it must be daycare, now we've got the Spider-Man outfit, talks about Spidey and does his webs," he shares. 

The Wiggles' Simon and Lachy join Mum Club podcast. Image: Kidspot

But that doesn't mean Simon is completely off the hook. The children's entertainer in him comes out whether he likes it or not. 

"I have to dress up as Elsa," he laughs.

"I dress up as Elsa but the costume doesn't fit so it's just on the hanger on my shirt and hanging down and I've got the little tiara on and the earrings and the gloves on. 

"He goes and gets Green Goblin and Rhino with his webs and I have to freeze them with my wand."

Listen to Simon and Lachy from The Wiggles on Kidspot's podcast Mum Club (below). Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

For Lachy, dad to four-year-old twin daughters Lulu and Lottie and stepdad to wife Dana Stephensen's son Jasper, it's less about what they put on the TV and more about that one-on-one connection his little ones crave - especially with twins. 

"We're right in the moment now where you want to start spending, I think this about the age where you want to start spending one-on-one time with them and they've actually started asking for that," Lachy reveals. 

RELATED: ‘I never sing’: Blue Wiggle drops a bombshell

The Wiggles spend a lot of time on tour, away from their families. Image: Supplied

Getting vulnerable and sharing dad moments

Of course being a present dad doesn't come easy when you're a Wiggle who spends most of the year on tour around the globe, in the studio recording songs, a TV show, and now a podcast. 

It's a lot of time being around children, which is why the dads welcomed the idea of recording a parenting podcast - to show fans they're not just all about singing "Hot Potato" and wiggling those fingers to an audience or camera. 

"We're on the road so much that we don't actually get to interact with a lot of parents," Lachy says of their exciting new gig. "It's just really nice and it's actually a great way of actually talking to our audience."

Simon agrees, saying that it has been nice to show people who they truly are.

"We're just different extensions of ourselves. But we just wanted to give people an insight into our lives as parents and hopefully give some helpful advice - for ourselves as well as anyone who's going to listen." 

Originally published as The 'unlikely' way The Wiggles' Simon and Lachy entertain their children