The increased time spent at home by our family during this pandemic has meant that among other things, we’re definitely watching more television than we usually do.
That sometimes means trying to discover family-friendly fare we haven’t already seen, or re-watching old favorites. However, there’s one particular instance where the kids wanted to show us something they’ve previously watched and when they did, we parents have found it so much of a delight we’re now often the ones asking to watch it!
And that something is a little blue dog named Bluey!
An Australian animated series for preschool kids, the show premiered in October 2018 on Australia’s ABC Kids, but made its premiere in the United States and the UK on Disney Junior and internationally on Disney+ with 52 seven-minute episodes.
Six-year-old Bluey and little sister Bingo do a LOT of pretending, and their parents often get into the act as well. It’s had a pleasant side effect of inspiring our own children to start pretending more. Whether it’s a doctor’s office, a zoo, a cafe or market, they’ve been empowered to use their imaginations more thanks to this TV lot and we couldn’t be more grateful.
The kids act like kids. The parents – they act and talk like real parents, but have no problem with and thoroughly enjoy getting in on the silliness. It serves as both an inspiration for us to be more involved in the kids’ play, while at the same time providing some wonderful interaction between mom and dad.
Bluey runs into the kitchen to let Dad (Bandit) and Mom (Chilli) know the Tooth Fairy left her five dollars.
Bandit spits out his coffee.
BANDIT: Five bucks?!
CHILLI: That’s what she left all of Bluey’s friends.
BANDIT: Well, that tooth fairy is doing well for herself, isn’t she?
That particular situation leads to the five bucks (marked by a tooth fairy sticker on the bill) burning a hole in Bluey’s pocket as she agonizes over what to spend it on at a public market. When she regrets her eventual choice of a candy apple, the story provides a valuable lesson in money:
BANDIT: Once you spend it…it’s gone.
Beyond some great moments in pretending and parenting, it’s also just plain funny. I don’t think there’s a better example of this than the episode “Grannies,” where Bluey and Bingo spend the bulk of the episode pretending to be little old ladies. Whether it’s driving their toy car over garden gnomes without a notice, falling asleep in the kitchen for a ‘Nana nap,’ or walking around with their toys as canes, their imaginary Grannies personas never cease to make us laugh no matter how often we watch, especially against the backdrop of a frustrated mum and dad trying to clean house, or Bingo’s desire to floss while big sister Bluey fights her on the ability of Grannies to floss in real life.
So give it a go. At a time when many of us are spending more time at home with family, it’s nice to find little silver linings (or blue ones, in this case), where we can.
A new season of Bluey premiered this past week in the U.S. on the Disney Channel, with some episodes set to appear for free on the Disney NOW app some time after.
I was in the grocery store grabbing a few things this past week (safely keeping my distance away from fellow shoppers and staff). Like any grocery store across the U.S. right now, it can be a madhouse.
Our son smiled as he watched from the window, a big honk honk coming from the garbage truck as they pulled away and waved. And the next day, atop a package was a note commending his art and appreciation for the sign.
We certainly live in strange times.
It felt a little surreal. They weren’t in another state. They weren’t on vacation. They were their usually 20+ minute drive away. It’s surreal and weird, and I’m sure it unnerved them as well to be talking to a son and grandchildren they see practically every day through now only a screen, but it’s to do our best and protect them. Or at least as best we can.
Sit down, kids, and I’ll tell you a story.
One particular Fall/Winter season, after a few of those vicious cycles, I decided it was time to pull back and focus on a new way and a new focus, namely myself. I didn’t go out. I’d come home to my apartment after work, get cozy, make some food, watch some television or read, maybe work on something creative, and call it a night.
But, we were becoming friends.
Can you tell me how to get…how to get to Sesame Street?
And the humans. Sigh. It just wouldn’t have been a Sesame Street anniversary without a check-in of the human cast members from days gone by. Maria, Gordon, Susan, Luis, Bob, even Linda were all back to join in the fun with a few lines and songs that would make even the most curmudgeonly viewers feel like a kid again. I beamed.
But what struck me the most throughout the years, no matter how old I got, was the episode that dealt with the death of actor Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper. The episode first aired in 1982, and my memory can’t distinguish if I had seen it then (I would have been 2 at the time) or as a rerun a year or so after that. But it’s the one that I’ll never forget. It was my first understanding of death, just like Big Bird, and an emotional impact that stays with me to this day.
The Dorky Daddy 