Key Points
- The opening scene in a new episode of Bluey has drawn criticism online from concerned parents.
- Some say the scene, which shows Bluey's parents weighing themselves, sends a damaging message to children.
- Others say it's simply a reflection of reality, and that parents should be allowed to worry about their weight.
It's an Australian children's TV show beloved by many.
But the opening scene in a new episode of Bluey has drawn criticism online for what some say is the harmful message it sends to children.
The episode, titled Exercise, begins with Bluey's father Bandit and mother Chilli weighing themselves in the bathroom and expressing dissatisfaction at the numbers they see on the scale, in full view of their children.
As he looks at his body in the mirror and grabs his stomach, Bandit tells his children he needs to do some exercise, seemingly correlating his weight and physical appearance with his overall health and wellbeing.
Parents were divided over the episode on social media, with some saying it simply reflected reality, while others asserted it had the potential to do real damage to children's body image.
Paediatric dietitian Kyla Ringrose was among those to express disappointment at the scene.
"Huge Bluey fan, but watching Bandit and Chilli weigh themselves and openly hate on their bodies in front of their kids was really uncomfortable," she wrote on Instagram.
"Bluey specialises in being relatable to parents, and I love that. But they're equally progressive and aware of current social issues and this episode is really out of step.
"Kids do not need to be watching parents hate on their bodies or exercise to get thinner. They missed a big opportunity here."
While many shared Ms Ringrose's concerns, others disagreed, saying parents should be allowed to worry about their weight if they want to, and that they too struggled to fit exercise in around their work and caring responsibilities — an issue addressed in the episode.
According to the Butterfly Foundation, a charity for those impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, children start forming a sense of their body image around the age of four. At around six years old, they can start to develop a negative perception of their body.
"That's an age where those foundations for their body image are really starting to form and can set them on a path for the rest of their life in terms of the way they think about their body," Stephanie Damiano, expert body image researcher and manager of said.
"We know that parents, families and any role model for a child can have an influence, we know that media can also have a big influence, and their peers."
Feminist content creator Lauren Beckman said that as someone with a history of disordered eating, seeing scales and weight loss used "as a motivator for exercise" in an episode of a children's TV show was "triggering" for her.
"We can do better for our kids and break the negative associations of exercise with weight loss and how we look rather than how we feel," she wrote on Instagram.
"There are so many other reasons to exercise. It shouldn't be linked to a number on a scale and a 'need' to exercise as a result of what that number says.
"I don't want my daughter exposed to this kind of relationship with weight and exercise. Let's not pass on weight stigma and to our kids. We owe them that."
Ms Damiano said although watching one "problematic" episode of Bluey was unlikely cause a child to develop an eating disorder, a culmination of negative messaging from TV, film, books, social media, home, and school, could.
"Anywhere where the behaviours and attitudes that we know are problematic are normalised, can have a negative impact on a child's relationship with their body, exercise, and food," she said.
"Body checking and needing to exercise because we're not happy with our body are actually disordered ways of thinking and behaving, so we don't want to reinforce that thinking and normalise that thinking for children.
"Really anything that equates weight with self-worth is a problem, as is any content where a child might learn that exercise should be used to change their body shape or size or that they should exercise to compensate for food that they've eaten, for example."
While she "loved" the episode's message about parents being active with their children, Ms Ringrose said that it could have been told with a different opening scene.
"Exercise does have benefits and is great for our health, I agree. But exercising to look differently isn't the message I want my kids to receive," she wrote.
"If the episode was re-made so the first 30 seconds were about Bandit not having energy or Chilli feeling a bit flat, and they decided to get some movement in to feel well — I'd be all for it."
How can parents support positive body image?
Ms Damiano said there are three main things adults can do to promote positive body image among the children in their lives.
Firstly, she recommends adults role model positive body image — that is, being conscious about the way they talk about and behave in their own bodies.
"So not speaking negatively about their body or putting their body down, you know, talking about going to the gym for their heart health or to stretch out their muscles, as opposed to 'I'm going to the gym to lose weight'," she said.
"It's that sort of role modelling around language and behaviours."
They should also avoid making comments about a child's body or the food that they're eating.
"A big thing we want to avoid is teasing about appearance, and we know this happens a lot in families where it's often meant with love and affection, ad as children's bodies are changing, it tends to be a time where it happens most," Ms Damiano said.
"You want to avoid things like saying 'You're going to get fat if you eat that', or ever encouraging a child that they need to lose weight or go on a diet — we never want to encourage that because that can be really harmful."
Adults should help a child appreciate that they are more than their body and how it looks, as well.
"Help them to celebrate who they are, what their interests are, what their strengths are, what makes them unique, but also help them to develop an appreciation for what their body allows them to do," Ms Damiano said.
"One of my favourite go-tos with this, particularly with younger children, is at the end of the day saying, 'What was your favourite thing that you did with your body today or that your body allowed you to do today?'
"It's helping them to appreciate that their body is so much more than what it looks like, and that bodies of all abilities can do something amazing."
SBS News has contacted Ludo Studio, Bluey's production company, for comment.
Readers seeking support for body image concerns and eating disorders can contact Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 4673. More information is available at
