By Gavin Boyle
A new study revealed that resilience is the most common lesson taught throughout BLUEY as nearly half of the episodes touch on the topic in some way.
“For each episode, we looked closely at the storyline, characters and themes, identifying moments where a character faced a challenge and showed a resilient response,” explained study co-author Dr. Bradley P. Smith.
“We found BLUEY touches on almost all of the core elements of resilience: trusting relationships, emotional communication, problem-solving, self-regulation, empathy and more,” he added later in the study.
Related: BLUEY’s ‘The Sign’ is Most-Watched Episode on Disney+
These findings should encourage parents as it means that watching the show teaches their kids how to live with resilience, along with the other themes at the episodes touch on. Previous research found that the lessons kids learn from the media they consume can stick with them decades later and profoundly impact their lives.
PBS Kids’ show DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, for example, focused on social-emotional themes. First airing in 2012, many of the kids who grew up with the show are now teenagers, and they still rely on lessons they learned from the show to regulate their emotions.
“Hearing how teens really valued and had an affection for Daniel Tiger and his family and friends shows how children’s media can really matter to young children,” Ellen Doherty, chief creative officer at Fred Rogers Productions, the studio behind the show, told Parents. “Children learn from the media they consume, whether it is designed for learning or not. Thinking about how kids might internalize the messages they learn from media is one of the guiding forces for how we create our series.”
Because shows like DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and BLUEY include positive themes in their stories, many parents lean towards putting these shows on for their kids in place of overstimulating shows from YouTube that feel like they have little to no substance.
“This shift towards old school TV demonstrates that slowed-down, more deliberate storytelling helps with emotional regulation,” Caitlin Slavens, a psychologist at MamaPsychologists, said. “It’s also a reminder that screen time isn’t just [about] what kids watch but how it affects them.”
Experts, however, remind parents that while educational shows are good supplemental tools for their kids, nothing replaces the learning children get from interacting with adults and other kids face to face.
As the world moves towards a more digital life, parents need to remember that their kids need physical interaction in order to properly grow and develop. Nonetheless, it is encouraging that BLUEY teaches kids about resilience.
Read Next: The Important Life Lessons BLUEY Can Teach Kids — And Parents!
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