We don't let our toddler watch Bluey. You can't show characters fighting verbally or physically and then later explain. You CAN NOT EXPLAIN to kids. If they see something being done, it can be done. So no Bluey for my kid.
How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
281–290 of 461 posts
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#282Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Good children's programming often presents characters somewhat older (in affect, if not truly in age, e.g. Big Bird) than the target audience, to act as role models. You don't want a typical 3-year-old to look to a typical 3-year-old as an example for what to aspire to, you want them to look at well-developing 4-, 5-, and 6-year olds. This works well anyway, since children often look up to older kids and are interested in what they get up to.
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#283Bluey is a godsend in our household. It's not annoying and the amount of classical and original music woven into each episode is wonderful. There's one particular episode - "Sleepytime" - which I cannot bring myself to watch anymore because I get so emotional. Every parent I talk to with young kids who has seen the episode agrees and knows what I mean. It's really that good, and despite being a fun little show there…
There's another episode, called rain, that you might enjoy if you haven't seen it (and some of the sibling commenters might too). There's no dialog, and it's a beautiful balance of the frustration and wonder that comes with parenting.
Rain one of my favorite episodes. The amount of story packed into 8 minutes with just music and animation is so good.
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#284There is a sizable consumer base that buys episodes specifically for their dog. It is one of the few shows my dog will lay down and watch, which I guess is attributed to their use of "dog friendly" colors.
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#285Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah I'll go further. - It doesn't display the dad as a bumbling idiot for a start, an unmistakably uncommon move in home set shows. - It doesn't synthetically force women to the center stage for the sake of scoring points with left leaning audiences. - It doesn't shoehorn in political messages that don't belong and largely harkens back to a time where childrens television didn't require scrutiny of the publisher jus…
> The show unashamedly depicts an intact household with two loving, heterosexual parents. It's "stunning and brave" in the current culture. Eh? I'm trying to think of peer shows of Bluey... Peppa Pig and Daniel Tiger come to mind (Trash Truck anyone? Charming little show), heterosexual parents are by far and away the norm. The idea that it's "brave" to show them feels like a conservative talking point that's out of s…
[flagged]
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#286tl;dr it's actually a really good show
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#287Our kids absolutely adore this show, and so do my wife and I. It is just about the only thing we'll let them watch.
As others have said: it's because the show isn't trying to force any ridiculous cultural progressivism on my children.
But also: it doesn't seem to be made by (am I joking?) the same people who would otherwise make slot machines. While other kids shows seem like an outright attack on my children's attention, this show is just happy, wholesome short stories about a family having fun together. We absolutely adore this show in my household.
As a sidenote: it's very hopeful to me that a show like this (utterly non-political, just shows a happy family) is as popular as it is. It's culturally dominant for kids. I hope this is a lesson for Disney et al. (Disney+ does carry this show in the US, but it is not produced by them.)
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#288We don't let our toddler watch Bluey. You can't show characters fighting verbally or physically and then later explain . You CAN NOT EXPLAIN to kids. If they see something being done, it can be done. So no Bluey for my kid.
Because your kid is never going to see humans fighting in real life? Kids don't fight other kids until they see other people fighting first?
Play fighting is normal human behavior. In the show they can see the characters resolve their differences and make up. Not so much with the lady in the checkout line screaming, or the dude fighting the other dude outside wal-mart for the last playstation 7.
Bluey is probably the last thing in the universe that's going to screw your kid up.
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The show unashamedly depicts an intact household with two loving, heterosexual parents. It's "stunning and brave" in the current culture. Eh? I'm trying to think of peer shows of Bluey... Peppa Pig and Daniel Tiger come to mind (Trash Truck anyone? Charming little show), heterosexual parents are by far and away the norm. The idea that it's "brave" to show them feels like a conservative talking point that's out of s…
[flagged]
[deleted]
Re: How Australia’s ‘Bluey’ conquered children’s entertainment
#290Bluey is great. For younger ones, Tumble Leaf (sadly now discontinued) is also wonderful - clay-mation, gentle with lovely music and promoting a sense of discovery.
I had almost forgotten about Tumbleleaf. Such a gem of a show. The submarine episodes really stand out.