My son is obsessed with “The Wiggles” – the Australian children’s group. He would listen to or watch “The Wiggles” every waking moment if we let him. Within seconds of getting into the car he says, “Wiggles Please” or more accurately “Googles Pease”.

His favorite Wiggle is Jeff. Jeff is not Korean, but he is Asian (Chinese, I think). I can’t tell you if my son chose Jeff because of the way he looks or if it’s because Jeff wears purple, which is currently my son’s favorite color. I suspect that it’s the latter, but you never know.

I’m just enjoying the fact that my son has a favorite group that happens to feature an Asian man. At two it really doesn’t matter, but it brings up the important question…when will it matter? In an early post (see link), I wrote that being different really hit home when I was about six or seven, but when did I start making the connection with other Asian faces? When did I start looking at Asian people and realize that they looked like me? I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have the connection so I was probably fairly young.

So, now I wonder if my son is making the connection already – even on a subconscious level. When he giggles and yells “Wake up Jeff” to the ever-napping Jeff Wiggle, is he making a connection? Is it just that he likes to yell at the television?

I don’t think that my son had the connection when he first arrived from Korea. At six months old, they don’t even have an established self-image. He liked when I held him, but he liked when anyone held him – he was an equal opportunity cuddler. Even now, he doesn't seem to show a remarkably different response to an Asian vs. Caucasion person - though it's possible that this is because I'm Asian and his father is Caucasion.

I’m not sure how long this Wiggles craze is going to last. Though some days the mention of “The Wiggles” makes me shudder uncontrollably, I will miss them when it’s time to move on. I like knowing that my son is watching an Asian actor on television and enjoying himself. Even when there are times that I’ve heard the same song so many times I find myself humming the tune at work, I will still miss them. Who knows what he’ll replace them with? I'll just sit here and wish that the world was like a cartoon - it would be nice if I could see the little lightbulb go off over his head when he's made a new discovery.