Bluey Episode Sparks Debate About Whether You Should Prep Your Child For Disappointment

A new episode of Bluey has sparked a big debate amongst parents about whether you should prepare your child for the reality of disappointment.

The new instalment of the beloved Aussie kids programme showed the classic birthday game of pass the parcel.

For the uninitiated, the game starts with a massively wrapped Russian doll of gifts that gets passed around the circle while music plays.

When the music stops, the person with the parcel gets to unwrap one layer of paper. Sometimes there is a gift and other times there's nothing.

Because there are so many layers, there's usually a huge variety of things that you might unwrap.

However, in the Bluey episode, Lucky's dad Pat is shocked to find out that the game the kids are playing has a gift in every layer because then every child gets a reward.

"We're raising a nation of squibs," he remarked in the episode. When he was told the children would be upset if there weren't more gifts Pat said they need to learn how to 'suck it up'.

He argued that back in his day only one child would win a gift. When it came time for Lucky have a birthday party, Pat made sure the pass the parcel game was done his way, however the kids ended up getting disappointed.

Despite the initial backlash, other parents in the show eventually go with Lucky's rules and it sparked a big debate amongst viewers.

Some people argued that children should get a small gift on each layer so that they're all equal; whereas others echoed the dog's sentiment that not everyone can win in life.

It's even been reviewed by a psychologist, who said this episode has captured a unique insight into the ways parenting styles have evolved over a few decades.

Jocelyn Brewer is writing a thesis that dives into that topic and she wrote: "The new 'pass-the-parcel' episode of #Bluey is possibly the most complex observation of socio-cultural influences on parenting and growth mindset I have seen squished into 7 minutes."

She added to The West Australian that the episode captured how parents were often faced with the challenge of sticking to old methods or updating to newer ones.

The psychologist said 'games played at children's parties' can show 'the subtle changes in how we interact and connect'.

Bluey has been praised for touching on loads of different approaches to parenting, with mums and dads getting just as much as a kick out of the show as their kids.

Featured Image Credit: ABC

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie