What a hoot

CLOCKWISE FROM BELOW: Jimmy Rees with wife Tori and children Lenny, Vinny and Mack; the bubbly Jimmy; the days of Giggle and Hoot.

FORMER CHILD ENTERTAINER JIMMY REES MAY HAVE HUNG UP HIS PYJAMAS AFTER A DECADE ON THE ABC’S GIGGLE AND HOOT BUT MAKING THINGS FUN IS STILL HIS MAIN ROLE

Still a hoot

It’s 6am, and Jimmy Rees’ eldest son is asking for pizza for breakfast — a scene most parents know all too well.

But Jimmy deftly serves up some cereal with plenty of laughs to Lenny, 6, and twins Mack and Vinny, 2.

The video uploaded to Jimmy’s Instagram and TikTok accounts — where he now has almost 700,000 followers combined — is just one of the delightful examples of Jimmy’s parenting philosophy: always keep it fun.

“I grew up with heaps of humour and laughter,” he says.

“My dad and mum were dags, and they put everything into us as kids.

“I’ve got two brothers, and we were always watching Monty Python or playing outside — just being silly and having fun.”

The 34-year-old is adopting the same approach when it comes to raising his own brood.

“I always fi nd that if we’re all laughing at home and we can all see the fun in just about everything, then we’ll get through any hard times,” he says. Scrolling through his social media, it looks like Jimmy has the parenting caper fi gured out. But he’s the fi rst to admit that behind the scenes he has stressful moments just like any mum and dad.

“I get frustrated, I get annoyed, and I raise my voice sometimes,” Jimmy says.

“But I take a step back and go, ‘hey, these kids are growing up, they’re learning. It’s a monkey see, monkey do kind of thing’, so I’ve got to be a role model; otherwise, if I go crazy, then they’re going to go crazy. You’ve got to keep that front of mind.”

Looking back, Jimmy says he and his wife, Tori, used laughter a lot in the early days of raising their twin boys. The pair were

dealing with sleep deprivation and endless nappy changes.

During that time, the couple also almost lost their then seven-week-old son Mack after a complication during a routine tongue tie procedure.

A main blood vessel was accidentally cut and Mack then had to be resuscitated on the operating table.

“I was in Dancing with the Stars at the time, and for the fi rst time my dancing was going really good; it was one of those weeks where everything clicked.

“Then suddenly, we were in some sort of crazy nightmare.

“It just opens your eyes to the preciousness of life,” Jimmy says.

“All those little worries, those things that you think are huge, they just go away. He could have been gone, and that would have changed our lives forever.”

Mack made a full recovery, but then several months later, the Covid-19 pandemic hit — proving you just can’t tell where life will lead, Jimmy says.

“Everyone was stuck at home ... online on their phones a lot more, and I kind of just hit the sweet spot.”

It was during this time Jimmy picked up his iPhone and started making observational comedy videos.

The relatable skits struck a chord, and he has become a social media star.

“I’ve always wanted to do my own content, but I couldn’t really do that as a children’s entertainer,” Jimmy says.

“I guess the pandemic just gave me a bit of a push.

“I started videoing on my iPhone. It was so surprising to see how people resonated with a couple of the parenting videos I put out fi rst.

“I think timing has got a lot to do with it. Everyone was stuck at home. Everyone was online on their phones a lot more, and I kind of just hit the sweet spot. It was something for people to have a laugh at through that crappy time.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The world according to Jimmy Rees; Meanwhile in Australia impressions; Dancing with the Stars with dance partner Alexandra Vladimirov.

Posts including a fi ve-minute clip of him saying yes to his son for a day, and his genius Meanwhile in Australia pandemic videos are among those to go viral.

On TikTok the catalogue has now amassed 10 million views, and Jimmy is building on the success with a live tour next year.

It will include skits, audience participation and an appearance of The Guy Who Decides and his poor underling, Jason.

“It’s early days but, hopefully, it’ll make some people laugh,” he says.