The Siwa Sensation: One Mom’s Tale of Preteen Fad Obsession

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The sparkles. The bows. The lyrics that mean next to nothing. The gotta have it merchandise. The never-ending songs on replay booming out of your Alexa while your daughter sings and dances wildly across the living room, stopping only to scream when her favorite star flashes across the television set. This, moms, is what I call the preteen fad obsession, and in my house it is in full swing. 

In my house, it’s all Jojo Siwa all the time. We have the poster, the doll, the music downloaded, the videos favorited on YouTube, the outfit, the t-shirt, and the bows. So many bows.

Now, I don’t know if boys go through the same thing, but if you have a girl older than 6 or 7, you undoubtedly have experienced a fad of your own. Come to think of it, our parents did too. For me, it was NKOTB. I had the water bottle and fanny pack, and would dance around and replay the video on my VCR over and over again. 

For those younger, it was Backstreet Boys, Justin Beiber, Cheetah Girls, you name it. I knew it could happen at any time, but I’m not sure I was completely ready for the head-over-heels gaga craziness that would ensue once my daughter became a Jojo Siwa super fan. Oh excuse me, a Siwa-nator. 

Let me complete the picture for you. Every day the sparkliest outfit we can find comes out of the closet. The hair goes into a high side pony, and gets held in place with a bow that cost more than my manicure. The Jojo luchbox and pencil case go into the sparkle backpack and off to school we go, listening to Jojo songs on repeat until I want to scream. For the record, no, I am not feeling like “a kid in a candy store,” so Jojo stop talking about it. At school, all the girls get together and squeal about the bows in a pitch that makes the dogs cower in fear.  

Let’s Kick It Up A Notch

This is all something as a seasoned girl mom I could handle. Then one bright summer day, I was relaxing with my guard down when the words came spilling out of my daughter’s mouth so fast I wasn’t properly prepared for the insanity that would follow. JOJO SIWA DANCE CAMP. That’s right. The brilliant business minds at our local dance studio figured out the most evil genius money maker of all time. I mean, on their end it is absolutely perfect. Teach the screaming third graders that come to dance class already full of sparkles, how to do the Jojo choreography while dancing to Jojo songs for an hour. After the 32nd consecutive time please, the money was flying out of my wallet and into their pockets before I could even contemplate whether feeding into her already insane Jojo obsession was a good idea or not. Minutes later, friends were involved, next came the carpool. That’s when the insanity really hit home for me. 

Imagine it, a twenty minute car ride with three girls in the back seat, pumping the Jojo jams over and over while discussing which bow they should put in their hair for the dance they were going to perform this week. Get there, sit in the waiting room, listening to the Jojo songs, then another 20 minute drive home to talk more Jojo.   

The Concert

Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any more Jojo-fied, the DREAM tour came to town. Of course my daughter had to go and of course being the sucker good mom I am, I bought tickets. You have not really lived a sparkle-filled nightmare until you pull up to the only decent restaurant within walking distance of the arena to see not a few, not dozens, but literally over 100 little girls, all dressed head to toe in sequins and tule, with huge bow adorned pony tails, and all hopped up on adrenaline and soft drinks. I’m pretty sure every adult in the restaurant was in shock, confusion, or ready to order a strong drink.

Then, we enter the arena, where the amount of screaming children triples as cotton candy, sprinkle donuts, and more soft drinks go flying off the shelves as fast as the thirty dollar t-shirts and bows. Yes, that’s right, more bows. Only this time, a little plastic Jojo face is glued to the center of each bow. Once we were seated, and the opening act finished, the most insane phenomenon occurred. As the curtain lowered, to reveal a back drop of bows, the girls in the audience, all of them, stopped what they were doing to scream. It was like the crew was revealing a check for a million dollars with their names on it. Each inch that the curtain lowered caused the frenzy and hysteria to grow, until the whole stage set up was revealed, in all its pink, sparkle glory.   

Then the show began and Jojo screamed, and the girls screamed. Jojo danced, and her fans danced. The energy in the arena was palpable. Crazy, happy, joyous energy. Then Jojo got her fans really quiet and had them promise her to be kind. To do the right thing because even if you were the only one, being kind was always right, and that was always cool. She implored them to believe in themselves. To find that kid in the cafeteria that looks lonely or looks different, and to befriend them and be kind. That’s when the tears came. It was that moment when I became a Jojo Siwa fan.  

I get it. I mean, I’m not gonna wear a bow or anything. But I get it.  

Fangirl on, girls.  

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Kristen
Kristen is the proud mom of two wonderful, smart and sassy daughters (born in 2007 and 2011). Raising her kids as a single mom is a challenge and an adventure and she loves every minute of it. Kristen loves bringing up her girls in the same area of Westchester that she grew up in, having only moved a few miles from her childhood home. A long time passion for working with children led Kristen to pursue a career in education and she has been an elementary school teacher in the Bronx for over a decade. Her teaching career has taught her that every day is a new experience and to "expect the unexpected." If she can find any spare time between teaching and motherhood, Kristen likes to read, binge watch horrible romantic comedies on TV, bake, and go on road trips with her girls.