It's the news that no parent really wants to hear during a pandemic, where restrictions on freedom, and enforced homeschooling, mean that very little time is being spent outside of the house. The folk at Pinkfong, who were responsible for the jingle to get stuck in a nation's head called "Baby Shark," (as if anyone forgot,) have re-imagined the catchy tune, and put new words to the same song. It has the simple title of "Wash Your Hands."
To be fair to the song, it is very informative. The sea creatures all gather together to teach children how to wash their hands correctly. They all sing and dance the instructions in all of their animated glory, while a real pair of hands is seen in the corner, doing the real hand washing. The catchy instructions begin with grabbing some soap, while the faceless person in the corner builds up a good lather.
We are then rubbing our hands, where the real life hands do an excellent job of the hand washing taught as being the optimal way to rid them of bacteria effectively; PinkFong have been doing their research. If you have a reluctant hand washer at home, this is the perfect time to start engaging them with best practice for cleaning their hands.
After a thorough rinsing and drying of our hands, there is an unexpected twist when a song entitled "Wash Your Hands," moves on to other health advice. The sea creatures gather for a resounding "what else can we do?" and as the music speeds up (in the true form of the original,) and the nautical ensemble frantically sing about covering sneezes, and coughing into elbows; which is all of course, sound advice.
It's the ending of the song that might break you. The creatures are now happily swimming around, in all their healthy glory, telling everyone that they are "safe at last." Honestly, with not actually knowing whether we will all be safe at last, and this being compounded by the sheer lack of freedom everyone is experiencing, the urge to reach out and hug the sassy swimmers, and feel hope that they are telling us we will all be safe, is overwhelming.
The tune might be annoying, but the messages conveyed are excellent for little minds. If the children are encouraged to wash their hands to an acceptable standard (singing this instead of the directed "happy birthday" twice, that some schools touted,) then it's worth having this version stuck in your head for the remainder of your quarantine.