I noticed today that Peppa Pig was trending on Twitter. I was curious, so I clicked and discovered what everyone was tweeting about – this article in the Daily Mail about parents claiming that Peppa Pig is a bad influence on toddlers.
We are big Peppa fans in our house. The first episode I ever saw was when Lilly was a baby. It was the one where they go on a picnic & Daddy Pig is scared by a wasp. It made me laugh & reminded me of our family… Not only because Hubby does tend to overreact at insects, but also because Peppa’s family are a nice, normal bunch, doing nice, normal, family type things. There is humour in basic everyday situations without the use of magic or anything complicated or scary to young kids. And I think Peppa Pig is something that reflects normal families and that children identify with.
Apparently though, the programme is really much more sinister. Did you know that Peppa Pig was the first one to give toddlers the ideas to:
- Splash in muddy puddles, rather than walk carefully round them, being sure not to get their nice shoes dirty
- Learn to say (and use) the word “No”
- Sometimes be cheeky & perhaps even not do what their parents ask them to do straight away & without complaint
And, most shockingly:
- Prefer chocolate cake to lettuce & cucumber!!!
My two girls are big Peppa fans, so imagine my guilt as I now realise I have let this evil, one dimensional, pink MONSTER get into their very souls & corrupt them, right there in my living room!!!!
God knows what would happen if children grew up watching cartoons like Tom & Jerry. I can only imagine the number of parents whose offspring would immediately leap up from the sofa & start hitting each with saucepans or using sticks of dynamite to blow up their parents. It’d be chaos!!
And what about Norman from Fireman Sam? If that kid doesn’t have an ASBO by the time he’s 15 I’ll be GOBSMACKED.
I must admit, however, that in the past a couple of real life mums have said to me that they think Peppa Pig is “spoilt”. But I don’t agree. I think she’s just lucky enough to come from a stable, happy family, and she’s loved. And anyway, look at the evidence, all she wanted for Christmas was a yoyo! And for her birthday she got one poxy piece of clothing – for her teddy!
In my opinion, if you want spoilt pigs, look no further than the ghastly Olivia, who has to always be the best & get all the attention, and her mum & dad find her oh-so adorable for doing so. Or that incredibly irritating Angelina Ballerina. Both a big pair of brats, if you ask me.
There are many more things on the TV that I prefer my little ones not to watch. Scooby Doo, for example, which has given my 4-year-old way too many nightmares and consequently given us way too many broken nights (cheers a bunch for letting all the kids watch it, nursery).
So, lay off the Pig, you crazy, hysterical people!
God good I despair! We LOVE Peppa Pig – long may she jump in muddy puddles (and what’s the problem anyway – she clearly states you must “always wear your boots!” ) so SOD OFF YOU PEPPA HATING FUN-LESS BUNCH OF CRETINS THAT OBVIOULSY HAVE NOTHING WORTH WHILE TO FRET OVER! Brilliant post by the way, couldn’t agree more about Olivia 🙂
Ha ha! This did make me laugh today. I can’t believe there are parents out there who are shocked when their small children want to jump in muddy puddles and eat lots of chocolate cake. And my first thought was actually what about Norman in Fireman Sam. If there was ever a naughty kid it’s him! And he always seems to get away with it too.
Hilarious! Another Daily Fail. Peppa is among the least annoying children’s characters around (not as subversively funny as Ben and Holly though…). Norman from Fireman Sam clearly has some ishoos, not least the possibility that he is Sam’s illegitimate son (the hair!!). I really don’t like my smalls watching old skool cartoons like Scooby Doo, personally, because they are just fast-moving slightly-scary wallpaper, with no redeeming features. And I CANNOT STAND that smug little cow Angelina Ballerina.
You already know my thoughts on this, I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous! I think there’s a hell of a lot more to worry about when it comes to influencing our kids than a cartoon pig! The behaviour they were describing is just typical toddler stuff and it’s been going on for generations! Sorry, far too many exclamation marks but really!
big peppa Pig fans here!
idiotic behaviour – what do people think toddlers do!
I might have a different perspective on this. I’m in the US, and Peppa Pig comes on in the afternoons on one of the kid’s channels… and my 17 month-old girl is TERRIFIED of the show. When it comes on, she cries and hides, according to my wife. I hadn’t seen it because of this, so I’m glad there are kids out there that watch and like it.
That said, since I hadn’t seen it, I did a quick Google Image Search to find out if it was the appearance of the show (it’s not, it’s the sounds they make) and I realized that they look like… they resemble genitalia.
Now that I’ve accidentally seen it, I can’t unsee it.
I dont think that the teachings of the actual pig are “evil,” but i did ponder about this issue myself… not so much for the reasons stated above but more-so because the pigs faces are shaped like 6’s and also their little tails are in the shapes of 6’s. 6’s are all over the place! i also watched a part of the episode just now and noticed that Peppa and his buddies were jumping on an inflatable jumper holding balloons that had the number 2 on each balloon; there were 9 balloons total and if you add them up in segments of 3 again you get the numbers 666. Ive only watched bits and small pieces of the show but from the small bits i did notice these things. i dont know if this is coincidence, i’m just stating my observations. Im here because im curious and want to be careful of what molds my daughter’s mind. 🙂