Late to the game, but I loved this deep dive. I’ve loved bluey for a long time, and while I don’t have kids yet, I think it’s a great show for all to learn and analyze. I’m a nerd when it comes to child psychology, and the premise of the show hits in some major points when it comes to child development. Emotional intelligence/regulation, learning through play, direct communication, etc. I think my favorite thing is watching the children mock their parents in play or with coloring, they typically have a loving tone, and when applying discipline it’s from a stern yet calm perspective. It’s incredibly real to life and I’m always impressed by the amount of detail they have.
When it comes to biblical imagery, I know the show can’t push religion standards, but I do pick up on the examples the parents set. A big one being admitting when they are wrong and saying sorry. As humans, no matter what age we are to admit and ask for forgiveness.. even it’s from a child. I love the humility the show has and it’s not afraid to say the words “sorry” or “I love you”
Interesting reflections. In my reflections on this show, I feel like Bandit does in some ways the bare minimum. He gets “play” and “fun” right but he lacks in planning and execution in ways that leave his kids and family hanging. To be a truly good partner and dad, I think it’s important to do what Bandit does and quite a bit more.
Also—and sorry for a bit of a rant—why have we divided up human skills and called some of them masculine or feminine in the first place? It’s feminine to work together and masculine to go it alone? I contest the foundation of that dichotomy. Most human traits vary — slightly and on average — across gender lines. See the Hyde (1995) meta-analysis for a great summary. And if I’m a bit weaker myself on something, I’d argue that in areas where I should worker harder to build strength. I don’t skip exercising and die of poor health because it’s “not in my nature” to be athletic. Similarly, I don’t opt out of helping my kids build emotion skills, self-regulation, social savvy, etc. simply because my partner has more experience coaching that. Indeed, I get my butt in gear to catch up.
As far as the trouble with dividing activities or traits into "masculine" or "feminine", I agree for the most part: people exist on a spectrum. However, as you have noted, these differences are (at least "slightly and on average") reflected both in academic research and in personal experience and, for better or worse, are reflected in the cultural lexicon. (After all, "toxic masculinity" wouldn't mean anything if no one had any idea what traits to associate with "masculinity.")
That is not to say that males cannot or should not exhibit "feminine" traits or vice-versa; it's just that those traits themselves tend to be associated in the public imagination with a particular general. (As far as listing "artistic creativity" as a "feminine" trait, I'll admit I was mostly drawing off my own experience of parenthood: my girls will happily sit and color/paint for hours. My boy will immediately take the paints, start to throw them at his sisters, and then try to us the paintbrush to stab the dog.)
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Tom! I'll grant you that I wouldn't take Bandit Heeler as a template for "everything that it takes to be a good dad." That's mostly because that's beyond the scope of the show. It doesn't show him doing many of the nuts and bolts things that are necessary to be a good husband and father (like working his job, paying his taxes, or, for the most part, spending quality time with his wife), and if we take that omission to mean that he is not in fact doing those things, that would be a problem. However, since the focus of the show is on the playful interaction he has with his kids, that's the aspect of his fatherhood that I'm looking at (and, if I'm reading him correctly, that Jeremy Pryor was looking at too). To construe Bandit's commitment to being present with and for his kids at their level as the "bare minimum" seems to me to be setting an impossibly high standard for any human parent, because, at least speaking for myself, my energy and imagination wear down far before his do (and I spend more time playing with my kids than most other parents I know).
Just curious...when did Bandit leave his wife and kids hanging through his lack of planning and execution? I haven't seen all the episodes, but I'm not recalling this particular instance.
Late to the game, but I loved this deep dive. I’ve loved bluey for a long time, and while I don’t have kids yet, I think it’s a great show for all to learn and analyze. I’m a nerd when it comes to child psychology, and the premise of the show hits in some major points when it comes to child development. Emotional intelligence/regulation, learning through play, direct communication, etc. I think my favorite thing is watching the children mock their parents in play or with coloring, they typically have a loving tone, and when applying discipline it’s from a stern yet calm perspective. It’s incredibly real to life and I’m always impressed by the amount of detail they have.
When it comes to biblical imagery, I know the show can’t push religion standards, but I do pick up on the examples the parents set. A big one being admitting when they are wrong and saying sorry. As humans, no matter what age we are to admit and ask for forgiveness.. even it’s from a child. I love the humility the show has and it’s not afraid to say the words “sorry” or “I love you”
Interesting reflections. In my reflections on this show, I feel like Bandit does in some ways the bare minimum. He gets “play” and “fun” right but he lacks in planning and execution in ways that leave his kids and family hanging. To be a truly good partner and dad, I think it’s important to do what Bandit does and quite a bit more.
Also—and sorry for a bit of a rant—why have we divided up human skills and called some of them masculine or feminine in the first place? It’s feminine to work together and masculine to go it alone? I contest the foundation of that dichotomy. Most human traits vary — slightly and on average — across gender lines. See the Hyde (1995) meta-analysis for a great summary. And if I’m a bit weaker myself on something, I’d argue that in areas where I should worker harder to build strength. I don’t skip exercising and die of poor health because it’s “not in my nature” to be athletic. Similarly, I don’t opt out of helping my kids build emotion skills, self-regulation, social savvy, etc. simply because my partner has more experience coaching that. Indeed, I get my butt in gear to catch up.
Food for thought
As far as the trouble with dividing activities or traits into "masculine" or "feminine", I agree for the most part: people exist on a spectrum. However, as you have noted, these differences are (at least "slightly and on average") reflected both in academic research and in personal experience and, for better or worse, are reflected in the cultural lexicon. (After all, "toxic masculinity" wouldn't mean anything if no one had any idea what traits to associate with "masculinity.")
That is not to say that males cannot or should not exhibit "feminine" traits or vice-versa; it's just that those traits themselves tend to be associated in the public imagination with a particular general. (As far as listing "artistic creativity" as a "feminine" trait, I'll admit I was mostly drawing off my own experience of parenthood: my girls will happily sit and color/paint for hours. My boy will immediately take the paints, start to throw them at his sisters, and then try to us the paintbrush to stab the dog.)
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Tom! I'll grant you that I wouldn't take Bandit Heeler as a template for "everything that it takes to be a good dad." That's mostly because that's beyond the scope of the show. It doesn't show him doing many of the nuts and bolts things that are necessary to be a good husband and father (like working his job, paying his taxes, or, for the most part, spending quality time with his wife), and if we take that omission to mean that he is not in fact doing those things, that would be a problem. However, since the focus of the show is on the playful interaction he has with his kids, that's the aspect of his fatherhood that I'm looking at (and, if I'm reading him correctly, that Jeremy Pryor was looking at too). To construe Bandit's commitment to being present with and for his kids at their level as the "bare minimum" seems to me to be setting an impossibly high standard for any human parent, because, at least speaking for myself, my energy and imagination wear down far before his do (and I spend more time playing with my kids than most other parents I know).
Just curious...when did Bandit leave his wife and kids hanging through his lack of planning and execution? I haven't seen all the episodes, but I'm not recalling this particular instance.
FYI
https://variety.com/2024/film/global/bluey-movie-2027-theatrical-release-disney-bbc-studios-1236251457/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter