‘Baby Shark’ takes bite into popular culture

Parents say it can help some kids

NEW YORK — In the wise words of James Corden, there comes along a song every so often that defines a generation. Doo doo doo doo doo doo. The late-night TV host, carpool karaoke king and father of three young children was referring specifically, and wryly, to “Baby Shark,” now the bloodthirstiest of earworms for some parents and meme lovers everywhere. Insert shark hands here. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ve been living inside a sea anemone since at least 2015. That’s when an educational content brand in South Korea, Pinkfong, released its first shark video, later breaking the internet with a version mixing animation and two adorable human kids dancing out the story of a shark family, K-pop style, earning more than 2 billion views on YouTube.

If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, you haven’t spent enough time at summer camp or around a campfire, where singalong versions of said story with said gestures, akin to an old nursery rhyme with the same theme, have rocked on for decades.

Now, thanks to the #babysharkchallenge that has us all singing, doing our shark hands and sharing on social media, “Baby Shark” is a full-on craze, for bite-size fans anyway.

“Our toddler’s shark video addiction is a huge issue in our household,” said Columbus, Ohio, mom Kitty French. “At first, it was a cute melody. Now, it’s an earworm that literally all of our parent friends understand.”

Not all grown-ups are weary. If they were, would they continue to upload themselves in mashups and mixes from R&B to Santa Claus? Can we do without the absolutely cutest home video of them all, the little girl begging Alexa to play her favorite shark jam, frustrated by the not-so-smart device’s inability to understand? What about the Texas family so enamored that they synchronized their blinking, blinding holiday yard lights to the snappy tune?

Some parents of special needs kids think “Baby Shark” has not only entertained, but also helped their young ones.

Holly Anderson is a Utah mother of four, including a 3-year-old son with autism and apraxia of speech. His autism therapist uses children’s songs on YouTube to motivate him to sit still and was the first to show him “Baby Shark.”

“He’s overstimulated visually and usually won’t watch any shows on TV or the iPad,” Anderson said. “He has a very difficult time staying still, even for a moment, and usually spends his time running around in therapy. I’m honestly not sick of it yet since it’s one of the only ways to get him calm after a meltdown.”

The one he likes the most is by Pinkfong, she said. The company has put up more than one version. Other parents said their kids prefer versions of baby, mama, papa, grandma and grandpa shark from a content provider called Super Simple.