Baby Boom and Barney
By Bronwyn in 
The stereotypical, non committal male would have felt the premonition to run and hide if they had participated in the events I did this past Friday morning; I attended the Baby Expo in Cape Town. If you weren’t confronted with a baby belly, you were confronted with a pram or sometimes both. I’m sure the young males were not the only ones who would fear this sort of fare. Several of the husbands and soon to be fathers would have woken up with the fear that their bank accounts were going to be tampered with but felt hopeless because who’s fit enough to mess with a pregnant fairy?
I made two major observations at this fare. The first was the excitement on several “fairies” faces as they purchased goods for their oven buns. I observed this, with eyes that remember the feeling of wanting to purchase or acquire any product that was going to make my babe look cute, feel comfortable, become smart or make me look cute, feel comfortable or become a smart mommy- despite the pregnancy porridge brain. I also noted the moms pushing prams who had mastered the “no thank-you” nod as they were approached by sales people. They were there for business, come in, get the free stuff, get the cheap stuff, watch the Barney Show and then head on out.
That brings me to my next observation. (I said there were two) If babies and toddlers could vote, Barney the Purple Dinosaur would be president of the world. I have never experienced such baby hysteria. Hundreds and hundreds of kids shouting for Barney, cheering, clapping, singing for Barney. Of course my little one would not be one of these followers. He would not succumb to the catchy tunes and cheerful characters. He would be different.
Ok, ok. I admit. My son was no different. He clapped, head bobbed, danced and looked at me countless times as if to question me as to why I had been keeping this “Barney” away from him for so long. It was amazing to witness how thoroughly entertained these children were. More than this was the enjoyment that the parents got out of the Barney show too.
It seems like Barney is part of many a happy family!
Wonderful article, where do I cast my vote for Barney as the next president? Life would always be filled with “I love yous” and “raindrops as lemondrops”. Barney is a great part of our home with sayings like ” a seatbelt is a special hug that makes you feel safe” and “Brothers and sisters can like different things but be best friends too”. And he is a perfect choice to have for enteratinment at fare like that, he could probably compete with most expectant moms there!