The Wiggles announce surprising new career move: 'The most exciting thing ever'

Did you know that the average child has more than eight meltdowns on any given road trip? If you’re a parent, you are probably nodding your head and thinking "Thanks for the newsflash, Captain Obvious." For many mums and dads, just the prospect of the inevitable tears and tantrums can be more than enough to turn the car right around - or not leave the house, to begin with.

That's why beloved children’s music group The Wiggles has launched its first interactive road trip pack in an unprecedented move that promises to replace car tantrums with a fun journey for the whole family. Cue parents all around the country thanking the colourful band for their service.

The rollout of Backseat Bandmates is in collaboration with car rental operator Thrifty, which recently conducted a study revealing some concerning statistics about road-tripping with young children.

Thrifty’s research showed that kids posed the dreaded "are we there yet?" question nearly four times per hour in the car, or an average of 20 times per road trip.

It also revealed that one in ten parents have threatened to end a road trip and go home to avoid meltdowns, while the most popular methods for distracting children in the car included providing snacks, electronic devices, or making a pit stop.

According to the more than 1000 parents surveyed, boredom and sibling conflicts were the major factors contributing to tantrums on the road.

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What is Backseat Bandmates?

The new initiative will mean that anyone who hires a Thrifty car in Australia or New Zealand will receive their very own free Backseat Bandmates pack, complete with plenty of exclusive songs, audio games and an interactive activity book.

“As a family, you can go through the booklet while listening to the playlist and Caterina runs through the story with you,” Purple Wiggle Lachlan Gillespie explained to Yahoo Lifestyle Australia.

“It’s also very easily accessible,” Blue Wiggle Lucia Field added. “There’s a QR code that you scan and that takes you to the playlist.”

The new Wiggly packs include the activity booklet, dedicated playlist (via the QR code), and colouring pencils – all available to Thrifty customers until stock runs out, however you can still download the booklet online if hard copies are unavailable.

Red Wiggle Caterina Mete narrates the playlist, but you’ll also hear from the rest of the Wiggles gang – plus voice appearances from fan-favourite characters including Dorothy, Wags and Henry.

“We’ve performed across the country at arenas and festivals, but we’ve never created anything made solely for an in-car musical experience,” Mete said of the new venture.

“We love the idea of spreading joy to families on the go to make road trips even more fun and a little less stressful for everyone.”

“The activities keep it engaging so it’s not just listening to a playlist and listening to Wiggles songs over and over,” added Gillespie.

“Having young kids myself it’s really nice to know parents can engage with kids at the same time rather than just putting on a video or a CD.”

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Wiggly fun for the whole family

The father-of-two, who welcomed twin daughters Lottie and Lulu in 2020 with his partner Dana Stephenson, said he loved that the interactive packs involved the whole car, not just the kids.

“We tried the screens on longer trips and the kids love them but they just sit there and watch, there’s no talking,” he elaborated.

“I think this is great for the drivers as it keeps you alert without distracting you.

“I love when we sit in the car and actually talk as opposed to the silence of knowing your kids are watching something.

"With this, you’re listening, playing games together, thinking together and creating together.”

Field, 20, echoed this sentiment after reminiscing about listening to The Wiggles in the car as a child with her siblings and father, fellow Blue Wiggle and original group member Anthony Field.

“It gets (children’s) imagination going and gets the parents talking as well,” she said.

“I know when I was younger, hearing Dorothy, Wags and Henry was the most exciting thing ever. You go ‘wow, they’re really talking to me’.

“It’s funny because Dad didn’t play a lot of Wiggles but I would request it and Dorothy was my absolute favourite.

"Even now sometimes if a song comes on (in the car) that we’ve been rehearsing, I start singing along.”

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