Shake your "groove thang" with Hip Hop Harry!

Who is Hip Hop Harry? Hip Hop Harry is a golden-colored bear with lots of bling and a thing for dancing. And he's encouraging children all over the nation to get off the couch and "bust some moves."

I'd never heard of Harry until Parent Bloggers Network offered up a chance to review the dvd, "Move those Feet". We are all about getting off our butts and shaking our booties to silly songs. So we plugged in the dvd an hour and a half before his afternoon kindergarten session. (It was raining and I'd hoped "the boy" would burn some energy and be better able to focus as a result.)

But Seth just sat there. He wasn't feeling Hip Hop Harry. (Course that could very well be due to the fact that the hubby saw the first five minutes of the dvd then loudly declared his negative opinion. "The boy" has a serious case of hero worship when it comes to his papa. Methinks he was vastly influenced by this incident.)

But I have to admit that the first episode of Hip Hop Harry left me feeling "meh". Harry and the rest of the cast remind me of Barney. There were lessons on hydration, competition, and on the importance of warming up before exercise. There didn't seem to be that much dancing. To me, that's too many lessons. I felt the writers were trying too hard to be all things in this episode.

But by the third episode, I felt like Hip Hop Harry was beginning to find his stride. By that point, there was more of a focus on dance moves. There was also a lesson about being open to trying new things.

After some cajoling during that third episode, my son did get off his butt and try some of the moves with me. I'm sure anyone who would've happened upon us would have had a good laugh --two lily white people (one of which is a mom WAY past "clubbing age") with no rhythm awkwardly trying to (unsuccessfully) copy the initial moves. But who cares, right?

When Seth finally gave it a try? He had fun. We BOTH had fun.

As a parent, I do appreciate Harry's positive character. I think most kids would really respond to his energy and his "I love to learn" attitude. Also, toward the end of each episode there's a quick recap and the kids discuss what they've learned.

So if you've got some little dancers (or wannabes at your house) with lots of energy to burn, you might want to give this dvd a try. This could save a caregiver's sanity when those little "wild things" are trapped indoors due to April showers, the extreme heat of summer, or icy winter weather. The dvd costs $12.99 on Amazon's site.

This review was written on behalf of the Parent Bloggers Network.