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How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

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Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#231

Post by cruffle_duffle »

warner25 wrote: post #195
gambiting wrote: post #69

I feel like I'm the only parent on planet Earth that really doesn't like Bluey. Every time I watch it(which is often, my son likes it), it just seems to be promoting bad behaviour at the expense of the dad(like many other shows to be fair - looking at you Peppa Pig), including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut - and the dad just plays along with…

I have two data points for you: My wife and I banned Bluey in our house a couple years ago. We use TV as "quiet time" for our kids (currently ages 3 to 9) after lunch, replacing the time when they used to nap, and Bluey seems to make them go crazy . I haven't even watched any of the episodes, so I can't object specifically to any of the content; we just observed a consistent, counterproductive effect on their behavio…

> I'm wondering if I should actually try watching a couple of the episodes mentioned here.

Yes you absolutely should. One of the things I really like about the show is it promotes imaginative play. It addresses things like how to deal with being bored. Shows like paw patrol and stuff have zero imaginative anything. It's one of the things I love about Bluey.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#232

Post by Cyph0n »

gambiting wrote: post #69

I feel like I'm the only parent on planet Earth that really doesn't like Bluey. Every time I watch it(which is often, my son likes it), it just seems to be promoting bad behaviour at the expense of the dad(like many other shows to be fair - looking at you Peppa Pig), including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut - and the dad just plays along with…

I too do not get the hype. I definitely understand why parents would enjoy it - it’s realistic and relatable and tries to inspire parents to do more.

But for young children? It seems to enforce bad habits, encourage rampant consumerism (the infinite amount of toys for every occasion), implicitly “play along” with bad behavior while ignoring dealing with punishment (at least in the episodes I watched), and depict fairly unrealistic playtime scenarios.

For younger children at least, I think PBS content does a way better job. As mentioned elsewhere, for toddlers, you can’t go wrong with Daniel Tiger. For older children, I recommend checking out Rosie’s Rules and Alma’s Way.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#233

Post by cruffle_duffle »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #27
seized wrote: post #12

As a parent it's just a genuinely nice show to watch. There is so much complete crap out there now that Bluey is a breath of fresh air. A few others are good fun as well like Grizzy and The Lemmings. But Bluey reigns supreme. Although I wish the phone game didn't have in app purchases. At least the Bluey video game on Steam is good and without in app purchases or micro transaction nonsense.

> so much complete crap out there now that Bluey is a breath of fresh air Out of curiosity, as a non-parent, what makes it crap?

Watch about 5 minutes of Blippi and find out :-)

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#234

Post by longwave »

ashton314 wrote: post #203

Has anyone else noticed that “Camping” is basically the Star Trek TNG episode Darmok? Bluey meets a French dog named Jean-Luc . They construct some shelter together and have to hunt a monster. (I.e. Bandit pretending to be a wild boar.) They find a way to communicate despite speaking different languages. One leaves. Shaka, when the walls fell. In the end, Muffin, her scream echoing—Bluey and Jean-Luc, their tails wag…

I love it when kids shows do things like this. The BBC show Hey Duggee has an episode called The River Badge which is a homage to Apocalypse Now, recreating a number of similar scenes and pieces of dialogue. Other episodes have references to other movies that kids won't know but that are great fun for adults when they notice.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#235

Post by selimthegrim »

konschubert wrote: post #187
carols10cents wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish Bluey hadn't introduced the concept of a "bush wee" to my kid, I've had to explain that no, we can't pee in someone's yard in the middle of our busy neighborhood...

Aren’t there any trees or bushes that aren’t privately owned?

Sit down for this one - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_That_Owns_Itself

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#236

Post by cptcobalt »

warner25 wrote: post #195
gambiting wrote: post #69

I feel like I'm the only parent on planet Earth that really doesn't like Bluey. Every time I watch it(which is often, my son likes it), it just seems to be promoting bad behaviour at the expense of the dad(like many other shows to be fair - looking at you Peppa Pig), including physical violence(one episode the kids decide the dad now has a stomach ache, so they punch him in the gut - and the dad just plays along with…

I have two data points for you: My wife and I banned Bluey in our house a couple years ago. We use TV as "quiet time" for our kids (currently ages 3 to 9) after lunch, replacing the time when they used to nap, and Bluey seems to make them go crazy . I haven't even watched any of the episodes, so I can't object specifically to any of the content; we just observed a consistent, counterproductive effect on their behavio…

Yeah, one of the resonant things i've seen in the show (as a non-parent) is that it emphasizes good family play, it's not a very "chill" show in that sense.

I probably won't ever have kids, but having had a bit of a tough childhood, Bluey is actually pretty stellar viewing even as an adult.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#237

Post by test1235 »

laingc wrote: post #22

As the father of two young daughters, I adore Bluey. Quite apart from how good the episodes are for adults, I really enjoy the following aspects: 1. It portrays wholesome and positive family relationships, particularly between father and daughters. The girls are also good to one another, with occasional conflict kindly and realistically resolved. 2. It tells simple stories without pushing political messages. Unfortun…

>2. It tells simple stories without pushing political messages.

I did wonder if there'd be any outcry over the DIY episode which is about evolution. Certain cultures seem to have serious issues with that. It did also hint at afterlife, however.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#238

Post by lotsofpulp »

gambiting wrote: post #212
bglazer wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think it would make terribly compelling children’s television to just show the children misbehaving and the dad disciplining them.

Bluey is firmly in the category of shows for 2-4 year olds, they have to be educational at this point, I'm sorry but that's my firm stance as a parent. There will be plenty of time for pure entertainment where bad behaviour doesn't get corrected later - at this stage a 3 year old can't tell good from wrong, and the message the show sends categorically cannot be "let's punch dad in the stomach because it's funny". Loo…

Bluey and her sister are 6 and 4 years old at the start of the show, now 7 and 5. I don’t think the show is made with 2 year olds in mind. Maybe 3.5 and up, but a lot of the concepts are for the 5+ kids in my opinion.

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#239

Post by _justinfunk »

willismichael wrote: post #172
awilfox wrote: post #98

I'm going to be honest here: Bluey means a lot to me, as a 32-year-old childless woman, because this show has really touched me in ways that may not be obvious at first: I've felt more in touch with my own imagination since I started watching Bluey. I've actually been writing music and sketching in my spare time again, which is something I haven't done since before the pandemic. It's actually helped me piece together…

> Oh, and my cat now has a nickname: Muffin. Make of that what you will. My daughter sent me a meme with the punchline "When you think your child is Bluey but really your child is Muffin". Make of that what you will :)

Can you share?

Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment

#240

Post by karmajunkie »

lumb63 wrote: post #204
karmajunkie wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, acceptance of others is an overly political message to those of a certain political persuasion. can’t have kids running around thinking whatever they grow into might be ok if it doesn’t comport with mommy and daddy’s worldview.

Whatever kids grow up into is not okay with most parents. I’d imagine almost everyone would agree with that statement. There are probably traits you wouldn’t want your children to have. You probably wouldn’t be okay with them being gambling or drug addicts, racist, murderers, uneducated, etc. If parents were truly okay with their children growing up into whatever they happen to grow into, there would be no reason for…

> Why does the idea of a parent wanting to impart their vision of how the world ought to be offend you?

Probably because that vision of "how the world ought to be" is offensive.

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