A child behaviour expert has claimed that TV shows like Peppa Pig, Bluey and PAW Patrol could be making your children naughtier.
Sophie Giles, parenting and behavioural consultant and founder of the Gentle Start Family Consultancy, has revealed what parents should look for and which programmes they may want to restrict or address with their children.
She advises: “Ideally watch an episode yourself, because you can’t always rely on what Netflix or whoever says because they’re invested in getting you to watch it.”
Continuing to chat to The Sun, Sophie added: “So if it’s a big series and you think your child might get hooked, then it’s a good idea to watch an episode yourself just to make sure that there are no messages that you really don’t want your child getting.”
(Image: Elevation Pictures)
Sophie, who has worked with children for more than 20 years, claims popular series Bluey, distributed by BBC Studios, sends some fairly negative messages about family structure and normalises tantrums in response to parents’ simple requests.
She also criticises the English version of hit show Peppa Pig, which airs on Channel 5, for its depiction of Daddy Pig.
She says it may encourage children to adopt the same condescending tone towards their parents.
(Image: BBC Studios)
Sophie says: “It is interesting how incredibly patronising [the way Daddy Pig is spoken to] can be in the English version, how the characters stress that dialogue and how the director allowed that to happen.
“It can really skew what your child comes away with – and you know, kids love it!”
With PAW Patrol, Sophie claims it also is guilty of gender skewing and stereotyping which can lead to poor role modelling.
Even long-running classic Fireman Sam got a word of warning from Sophie because “Norman seems to manage to set fire to something in every single episode.”
Daily Star has contacted the distributors of the TV show for comment.
Get all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter
