Everything I’ve learned about parenting I’ve learned from watching Bluey. Just kidding, sort of.
If you’re not familiar with the extremely popular animated series, Bluey, it’s an adorable story that follows the Heeler family on imaginative adventures set in Brisbane, Australia. It’s not just a bunch of cartoon dogs though. I mean, it is, but they do an excellent job of making it relatable for adults.
There are hilarious jokes, heartfelt moments, and they tackle serious subjects in a way that is relatable for kids. I’ve laughed, cried, and extracted some important parenting wisdom.
My Top 5 Parenting Lessons Taken From Bluey
5. Take the Good With the Bad
In the Helicopter episode (Season 2, Episode 25), Bluey finds herself disappointed when her day doesn’t go as planned. Thanks to some sage-like advice from Mum, she navigates her way through the day learning that sometimes we must pivot and be flexible.
As parents, we want to shield our kiddos from disappointment. I am 100% guilty of this. The intention is good-natured; however, disappointment is an important part of life and sets us up to handle challenging situations. We learn that even though it is uncomfortable, it is okay to feel disappointed.
4. Conflict Resolution
My son is two and has some gnarly tantrums when things don’t go his way — which is often. My husband and I don’t always agree on parenting tactics during said tantrums.
In the Faceytalk episode (Season 3, Episode 24), we find cousin Muffin in a hilarious conundrum where she has an epic meltdown when being disciplined by her dad. The episode takes you on a raucous ride through Muffin’s home as she attempts to defiantly hide from Dad and continues to draw her cowboy hat on a video call with her cousins. But what we see in the background, ingeniously, is her parents arguing about how to discipline her cheeky behavior until they come to an agreement together. Muffin ends up acquiescing to her parent’s request for a time-out as she finally acknowledges that her actions were not okay.
I wish conflict resolution was this easy in real life, but it reminds us that it is vitally important to work through our issues and come to a resolution, even if we must have a bit of a meltdown first. At least she got to finish her cowboy hat.
3. Grief Is a Process for Children Too
We’ve all experienced some type of loss in our lives. From losing a parent to losing a pet, grief is a natural part of the human experience. It is a messy process for adults, so how do we teach our children to grieve?
In the Copycat episode (Season 1, Episode 38), Bluey finds an injured bird on a walk with Dad, and unfortunately, the bird doesn’t make it. Bluey processes her grief the best way she can. Mum and Dad comfort Bluey, and Mum even tries to pretend that the Budgie lives. The key moment here is that Bluey doesn’t want the outcome to change. It’s her way of dealing with grief.
The takeaway for us parents is we need to let our children experience grief and help guide them through their own process.
2. Work/Play Balance
We don’t see Mum and Dad working a lot in the show. In fact, they poke fun in a couple of episodes how they never work. In our real lives, this is not the case. We are busy working and trying to keep our children alive. As a result of our hectic schedules, work/life balance is a challenge.
They tackle this topic in the Trampoline episode (Season 1, Episode 33). Bluey and Bingo do everything they can to make Dad play with them even though he must work. And he does a pretty good job of balancing both. To me, though, the most important part of the episode is the end where Mum stops what she’s doing to play on the trampoline with the girls.
This was a nice reminder to stop, be present, and join in the fun.
1. Don’t Get Caught up in the Comparison Trap
As parents, especially moms, we look to other moms for advice, camaraderie, commiseration, and recommendations. Social media can be an excellent learning tool, but the opportunity to compare ourselves to others is abundantly present.
In the Babyrace episode (Season 2, Episode 50), we find Mum caught up in a race of her own making to get Bluey to walk before the other babies in their mum-and-me class. You can painfully relate to how much guilt she feels at every turn. However, at the very end, another mom sees her struggling and says the five words every mom needs to hear: “You’re doing a great job.” After that, Mum stops comparing herself and baby Bluey to the others and simply enjoys the process of her child walking for the first time.
It’s a beautiful episode and my favorite. P.S. You will cry when you watch this.
I ALWAYS cry during Babyrace. Multiple episodes make me cry every time we watch them! 😆 But our whole family loves Bluey, and love the real-life lessons that apply to kids and parents, alike!