PSA: Parents of Era, go and watch Bluey

[Jeff Albertson]

So my daughter is currently binge watching Bluey on Disney +

It's a cartoon, 7 minutes or so an episode, that was made in Australia and follows Bluey, her little sister Bingo and Mum and Dad:

All the episodes are hilarious but there's a running theme about the imagination of children and parenthood throughout it that will touch anyone.

Most of the episodes have a lesson that is rarely ham fisted but some stand out more than others.

What prompted me to make this thread is an episode called Sleepytime, honestly it's a masterpiece. It's about Bingo and her journey to sleeping in her own bed, her mum reads her a bedtime story and she dreams about a cosmic adventure. Somehow in 7 minutes it crams in comedy, emotion and apprehension from the perspective of kids and parents and stunning music

Honestly, try and check it out if you can

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

My wife and I just ordered a bed for our 2.5 year old, that we intend to get her used to before her baby brother arrives in a couple months. Which episode was this sleepytime one? I'll watch it this week.

 

[Marjorine]

Great, great show. My kid loves it. The dad on that show makes me look like the worst parent of all time, but still, enjoy the show.

 

[peppermints]

Great, great show. My kid loves it. The dad on that show makes me look like the worst parent of all time, but still, enjoy the show.

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I know, right? Any time I have to pass on playing something with my kids for one reason or another, I think about that.

The show is so good at representing childhood wonder and play. Also makes you realize how fleeting these moments are.

 

[LegendofJoe]

This is my daughter's favorite show. As others have said my only complaint is the Dad makes me look bad for not playing with my kids as much, lol.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

My wife and I just ordered a bed for our 2.5 year old, that we intend to get her used to before her baby brother arrives in a couple months. Which episode was this sleepytime one? I'll watch it this week.

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Sleepytime

Sleepytime is the twenty-sixth episode of the second season of Bluey. Inside Bingo's dream, Bingo and Floppy have an intergalactic adventure, while the rest of her sleep-deprived family try to navigate Bingo's non-stop night-time bedhopping.

blueypedia.fandom.com

That's the one

 

[Chucker]

Can not recommend this show enough. Haven't seen a bad episode yet and during each episode there is at least one moment where my wife and I give each other a look because we've 100% been where they are.

We've got the house, the 4 wheeler and most of the little figures they've released and our two younger girls play with them daily.

Edit: If you like Sleepytime be sure to check out Flat Pack. Wanna see simultaneous evolution and life cycle, that's for you.

 

[Arkeband]

It's pretty great - as a new parent it captures something most children's shows don't have, which is a deeply entwined parent-child relationship.

Most other shows focus solely on kids and their friends, or a family unit working as a whole, but Bluey will have an entire episode of the kids playing with their dad.

Other great episodes are "Takeaway", where he takes them out to get Chinese food and it becomes so chaotic you'd think the Safdie Bros wrote it, and Copycat, where they find an injured bird and have to learn to cope with its death.

Anyway, my wife and I both love the show, and my daughter likes the theme song but is too young to really pay attention the whole way through (a few months shy of 2). Definitely more for the 3-4 year crowd.

 

[Chucker]

Other great episodes are "Takeaway", where he takes them out to get Chinese food and it becomes so chaotic you'd think the Safdie Bros wrote it

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It's a bush wee!

 

[Soapbox Killer]

I just listened to the theme song for 5 mins straight.

 

[ignata]

I guess I'm not with it but this is the one show that I tried for my kids and I just don't get what it's trying to accomplish. Like on an episode the kids on the show were goofing off and ended up causing everyone to be late for something and there was no lesson on not doing that it was just what happened and everyone was okay with it and I thought that was strange to not even explain why that was wrong. We stick with older Sesame Street on HBO Max and they're a lot more into older stuff like that than current shows.

 

[Mr Paptimus]

My nephews are really into this show. I watched a few episodes with him and it seems really fun. There was an entire episode about playing with a balloon that was just so wholesome. The art styles simple and colorful, Seem perfect to grab kids attention. If I had kids I would definitely watch it it's them.

 

[LDNStateOfMind]

I've seen most of season 1, season 2 just came on Disney+ a few weeks back. Watch a bit of it, I have to say I thinks it's one of the greatest kids TV shows of all time. My youngest (4) loves it my oldest(7) always complains when we put it on but by the end he loves it, happens every episode lol. The last episode we watch(pretend bus trip) I think me and the wife laughed more than the kids!

 

[BearPawB]

It is a very charming show

 

[Okabe]

The Dad is the best in the show.

 

[Astro Cat]

My nephew turned this on a couple weeks ago and I was definitely impressed. It's a lot better than Henry Danger and Paw Patrol which are his other favorites. The episode where they're learning to share in the supermarket was pretty charming.

 

[Jakenbakin]

Sleepytime is such a good fucking episode. The music is sooooo gooood.



(Not the version used in the episode, just a great song though)

I like Bluey far more than my 2 year old lol. My mom made him his own Bluey and Bingo dolls that he sleeps with though.

 

[Abaddon]

Our daughter absolutely loves it, it's a fantastic show and Sleepytime makes me cry everytime (partly due to music being important to me). Takeaway is also the episode I point everyone to because it encapsulates the chaos of parenthood in 7 mins.

Something I hadn't realised is how much my daughter is absorbing the music as she recognises the classical songs used outside of it (our current favourite being Hall of the Mountain King/Featherwand).

The only shame is there is absolutely no merchandise in the UK yet, as we'd fill our house with it.

 

[doof_warrior]

backed
bluey rules

 

[Clear]

I really enjoy "Camping" episode.

Great series.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

I've seen most of season 1, season 2 just came on Disney+ a few weeks back. Watch a bit of it, I have to say I thinks it's one of the greatest kids TV shows of all time. My youngest (4) loves it my oldest(7) always complains when we put it on but by the end he loves it, happens every episode lol. The last episode we watch(pretend bus trip) I think me and the wife laughed more than the kids!

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HERE COME THE GRANNIES!

 

[ThirdROB]

Dad & Mom are the parents I wish we could be. So good.

 

[CGriffiths86]

My daughter has watched all the episodes a ton since it was put on Disney Plus. It's legitimately funny and I feel like the Dad is me in cartoon form.

 

[disillusion386]

Would my 2.5 year old enjoy this or is she too young?

 

[Kyrios]

Show is funny as hell and that Sleepytime episode got me a bit lol

Would my 2.5 year old enjoy this or is she too young?

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Yeah she would like it. And you'll laugh at parts too, especially the way the dad is. It's really cute and genuinely funny for a preschool show honestly.

 

[Darknight]

Our whole family loves this show, especially the kids. They watch it so much. I'd say out of all the kids shows they've ever watched, this is probably the best kids show I've ever seen. They fit so much into such a short time. It's hilarious, it's heart warming, and it often teaches something at the same time and can be enjoyable for people of all ages.

One nice thing is how our family has similar personalities with a similar family dynamic. I won't say we're anywhere as good, but there is a certain familiarity that hits close to home while watching the show. While I haven't seen all the episodes like they have, I am quite familiar with plenty of them and sometimes it would surprise me with games they're playing around the house or songs they're singing is just lifted straight out of the show. We've played several of the make believe scenarios and I didn't realize they were coming from the show.

Just an absolute fantastic show that everyone should check out. I can't recommend it enough and we all can't wait for more episodes.

Would my 2.5 year old enjoy this or is she too young?

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They won't understand everything but visually with what goes on in the show and how they animate it, I think a 2.5 year old can enjoy it.

 

[disillusion386]

Yeah she would like it. And you'll laugh at parts too, especially the way the dad is. It's really cute and genuinely funny for a preschool show honestly.

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Awesome! We'll check it out.

 

[Rizific]

My 2 and 4 year old love it. It's on Disney+ as well

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Yeah this show gets recommended all the time and it absolutely should be, it's great. My only complaint is that no one in real life can live up to the parents in this show.

 

[StylesTrip]

Absolutely love this show. Magic Claw and Daddy Robot are the favorites to play with my 6 and 4 year-old.

 

[Kommodore]

Bluey is Paddington-level genius. It made me feel bad about how pale in comparison I handle play and parenting compared to Bluey's dad and made me man the fuck up and have more fun with my kids.

 

[FinKL]

Takeaway is the best, yall kids can't keep still for 5 minutes?!?!?!?!?!
The racquetball one is pretty good too

 

[Septimus Prime]

Tried it, but my kids don't really like it.

 

[Marvo Pandoras]

My son loves Bluey. I believe we have watched all episodes on disney plus.

 

[Darknight]

FYI, they released a soundtrack like a month ago and it's available on pretty much all the music streaming services. My kids got a kick out of hearing what songs were on it. They would light up with instant recognition and point out what episode each song was from.

 

[Studge]

We watched this when my daughter was younger, great show all around. I really like the character design and the fact that they don't use any of the "this character is a girl" tropes like being pink, having a bow, or long eyelashes for the kids.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

I feel like the Dad is me in cartoon form.

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[Camwi]

Thanks for the recommendation. My six-year-old is going to have her own room soon.

 

[fulltimepanda]

I watch this a bit when visiting my nephews/nieces, they love it and it's a good show. I took them for a drive and walk through Paddington/Red Hill not long ago and they had a blast trying to find Bluey's house.

 

[AceStrimmer]

My two boys are both way too old for this but on the strength of your recommendation, I put on the takeaway episode while making dinner.

Curse these onions!

 

[Swiggins]

Australian Propaganda, all of it!

(My nephew loves the show, seems pretty good for a kids show tbh)

 

[Chucker]

Dance Mode really hit a chord in our house. My oldest and my middle act like Bluey and Bingo a lot. The middle is often influenced by what our oldest wants which we try to nip in the bud asap but sometimes you can't tell her no when she says that she really wants something even if you know it's the older one.

 

[Trouble]

My GF's sister has a 6 year old and watches Bluey even when her daughter isn't around.

She made us watch an episode where the kids absolutely abuse the shit out of the dad, was pretty funny.

 

[Darknight]

My only complaint is that no one in real life can live up to the parents in this show.

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I find this perspective interesting given that the dad is shown not to be perfect. He's frequently trying to distract his kids so that he can do his own thing. It backfires on him too.

 

[Jeronimo]

I agree with highlighting that episode, OP. I saw enough of it once a few weeks ago to be really impressed. I didn't catch the episode number or catch the whole thing, but meant to try to find it.

My daughter is not old enough to play like this yet, but the parents really encourage the kids' imaginations. There are also some pretty funny moments, so I like the writing.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Awesome show. My 2 year old loves it. We were pretty happy to see it tends to avoid a lot of gender stereotypes and norms. And the theme song is catchy as hell

 

[TalonJH]

Bluey's Dad is honestly an parenting inspiration for me. I was just tweeting about this last week.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

I find this perspective interesting given that the dad is shown not to be perfect. He's frequently trying to distract his kids so that he can do his own thing. It backfires on him too.

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I'd say sometimes he's slacking off or very very occasionally trying to deal with other responsibilities (he mentions a job in like maybe 2 episodes?) but those times are vastly outweighed by the episodes where he is throwing himself 500% into playing with his kids. It's inspirational and admirable and yeah provokes lots of jealousy and feelings of inadequacy personally.

 

[Darknight]

I'd say sometimes he's slacking off or very very occasionally trying to deal with other responsibilities (he mentions a job in like maybe 2 episodes?) but those times are vastly outweighed by the episodes where he is throwing himself 500% into playing with his kids. It's inspirational and admirable and yeah provokes lots of jealousy and feelings of inadequacy personally.

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I view the portrayal differently. I like that he doesn't come off as the perfect dad and that sometimes he just wants a break to do his own thing. Takeout mentioned in this thread is a perfect example of this where he just wants to sit and read the paper and you can see he's slightly frustrated about being interrupted with doing so and in that episode he's the one learning the lesson.

Another one is The Quiet Game where he makes up a game so that they can be quiet so he can do his own thing. I'm not saying he's doing it all the time, but he's not always sitting there giving it his all and it just strikes as being more normal and relatable rather than up on an unreachable pedestal. There are other episodes out there that also come off way more relatable as a dad than trying to portray him as a super dad or an ideal father.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

Yeah they don't try and pretend Dads perfect but he fully throws himself into the fun side.

Watched an episode earlier where he takes them all to Hammerbarn because he has to buy a pizza oven because next door got one, in there he knows the kids are kicking off but downplays it's and let's the mum deal with it.

It's all just very relatable as a parent but at times makes me feel awful as I look down distracted by my phone