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I’ve been part of The Wiggles for 14 years, making kids’ content. My son doesn’t watch videos on phones.

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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Simon Pryce, who will be touring the US and UK with “The Wiggles” later this year. It has been edited for length and clarity.

During the 14 years I’ve been performing as one of “The Wiggles,” I’ve watched thousands of kids sing along with us and do the movements that go with our songs. It was cute, but I didn’t fully understand the significance until I had my son Asher, who is now 5.

As a parent, when you see your child clap along with a song for the first time, that’s a major milestone. That’s why “The Wiggles” have been so popular for 35 years now: we’re connected with child development. The way that kids watch TV has changed, but the way they develop hasn’t. We’re able to tap into that with catchy tunes, helping parents and kids celebrate those developments, while having fun along the way.

My son doesn’t watch small screens, but he watches TV

My son just started school, but he’s never watched a video on a phone. My wife Lauren and I made that decision right from the beginning. We want him to see the phone as a device for communication and information gathering.

He only gets to watch the iPad if he’s on the plane or in the hospital (which he’s been in a few times). Sometimes that backfires — on a long-haul flight last year, the flight attendant told me Asher had been awake longer than anyone else on the plane, because he was so excited to watch the iPad. More recently, Asher had a minor cough and suggested I take him to the hospital, but I know he just wanted some screen time.


Red Wiggle headshot

Simon Pryce has been the Red Wiggle for 14 years. 

Courtesy of The Wiggles



Although we’re pretty strict with small screens, Asher watches a fair bit of TV. He’s not into “The Wiggles” though. Because I tour so much — about four months out of the year — I think he associates the Red Wiggle with me being away. He doesn’t get comfort from seeing me on the screen, but he does love coming to live shows.

We want our only child to have close relationships with his peers

My wife Lauren and I met through “The Wiggles.” The show was putting together a circus skit, and I was the ringmaster, while Lauren was a gymnast. She was also teaching gymnastics to the kids of other Wiggles.

We’ve been together nearly 16 years now, and married for nine. I think her father was surprised when I finally proposed. For a long time, Lauren and I spent up to nine months each year touring with the group. That delayed our plans to have a family, because I didn’t want Lauren to feel like a single mom.

We intended to have more than one child, but it hasn’t worked out that way. As the parents of an only child, you think all the way down the track: who will Asher have when we’re gone? We’ve been intentional about surrounding him with other children his age, including friends and cousins. That’s important developmentally, but we also hope it will cement lifelong bonds.

I believe success is having solid relationships

Becoming a dad has reminded me to bring more fun and playfulness into my work. Listening to Asher make up words and stories, I’m reminded of the beauty of a child’s imagination. The other day Asher was singing “It’s raining pajamas.” How silly and fun is that? As adults, we’re only limited by ourselves.

Today I’m 54. I can’t believe that when it comes out of my mouth. When you’re younger, you perceive what a certain age might be like, and it’s nothing like that when you arrive. But I’m happy, and that’s what matters most.

As adults, we automatically equate success with finances, but I want Asher to know that success comes in many different forms. My grandparents — who taught me to sing — only wanted me to be happy. I think success is seen in your relationships with your loved ones and your ability to try something new. If you can work through solutions in good times and in bad times, you can get through anything in life.




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Videos show how Ukrainian helicopter crews use machine guns to hunt Russia’s exploding Shahed drones

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Ukraine just gave us an extended look at one of its emerging tactics against Russia’s Shaheds: using helicopters to shoot the drones from above.

The Ukrainian navy published a two-minute montage of such operations on Thursday, saying that a helicopter crew had destroyed eight Shahed exploding drones and Gerbera decoy drones in a single day.

Cockpit and gun camera footage showed the Ukrainians engaging at least five delta-wing drones in flight, with another clip showing unidentified wreckage smoking on the ground.

Some clips indicate that at least one aerial engagement happened in the early morning or at night. Thermal footage from a gun camera showed the operator firing at a delta-wing drone, tracking its flight above open terrain before a screen flash indicates the drone was destroyed.

Other standard optical footage, filmed from a gun camera or the cockpit, appears to show several drones being destroyed high above the clouds or over water near a coastal settlement.

Additionally, an M134 minigun can be seen mounted from a helicopter’s side door, though the videos didn’t show the weapon itself in action.

The clips indicate some of the ideal conditions for downing a Shahed.

For one, the helicopter has to match the drone’s speed and trajectory and gain enough altitude to allow the minigun to fire downward at the Shahed. The chopper crew also needs to come within visual range of the drone to engage.

The footage comes several months after Ukraine said it would officially begin incorporating helicopter crews into its air defense network against Russia’s one-way attack drones, which Moscow uses in mass waves to pressure Ukrainian cities.

Because Russia mass-produces the Shahed and Gerbera, Kyiv has sought more inexpensive means, such as machine guns, instead of traditional antiaircraft missiles to counter them.

Ukraine’s commander in chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in October that helicopters could sometimes destroy up to 40% of Russian Shaheds and Gerberas in one area.

Thermal and infrared cameras, such as the one seen in the latest footage, were among the systems that Syrskyi said would be equipped on such helicopters to improve their effectiveness.

Ukraine also uses ground crews with interceptor drones or truck-mounted machine guns to destroy Shaheds, but a helicopter crew can reposition much faster to engage multiple threats or hunt down a Russian drone that changes its flight trajectory.

The latter scenario became increasingly common as Russia was found to be outfitting Shaheds with more advanced communications and guidance systems, and, in rare cases, artificial intelligence.

Helicopters also allow for engagements at higher altitudes. Russia often directs its Shaheds to approach their targets at above 6,500 feet before swooping down to attack, making it more difficult for ground-based crews to hit the drones.

Aside from helicopters, Ukrainian troops have also been seen using M134 miniguns on turboprop planes to shoot down Shaheds.

Meanwhile, Russia has since been reported to be attempting to counter the Ukrainian helicopters by equipping its Shaheds with R-60 air-to-air missiles.

In November, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense for innovation told Business Insider’s Jake Epstein that Moscow was also directly targeting patrolling helicopters and aircraft with Shaheds.




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