‘Peppa is a brat’: Parents turn off the cheeky preschooler pig
As a new generation focuses on more gentle and respectful child rearing techniques, more parents are pushing back against Peppa, concerned the pink porcine protagonist is actually a bad influence.
Armita Asgari noticed some new and alarming behaviors from her 5-year-old son Luca a few months ago.
When presented with new foods, he’d respond: “Ew! Yuck!” When annoyed, he’d snap, “You’re not my friend anymore!” One day, while they were playing in their community garden, Luca commented on a neighbor.
“He said, ‘Look, David’s got a big tummy!’ recalls Asgari, a 41-year-old personal shopper in London. “That was when I realized he had picked up all these behaviors from ‘Peppa Pig.’” Asgari was drawn to the British animated series for its five-minute episodes and simple plotlines. She thought it would help Luca with language development. But after watching several episodes, she has decided she doesn’t like its pink porcine protagonist.
“Peppa is a brat,” says Asgari.
“Peppa Pig” is a wildly popular English cartoon about the adventures of a cheeky preschooler pig who lives with her mummy, daddy and brother. It’s such a U.S. hit that American children are acting British, including talking of petrol stations and calling cookies “biscuits.” The franchise -- an empire that includes toys, pajamas and theme parks -- made US$1.7 billion in retail sales in 2022. Peppa was the fourth most in-demand children series worldwide in 2023 (after “Masha and the Bear,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “PAW Patrol”) according to Parrot Analytics, an entertainment consulting firm. Peppa was first released in 2004.
But as a new generation focuses on more gentle and respectful child rearing techniques, more parents are pushing back against Peppa, concerned she’s a bad influence.
“Peppa is rude and impatient, and the show teaches kids that this is who she is and that it’s OK,” says Kayla Tychsen, a 33-year-old parenting coach in Houston. She referenced episodes where Peppa groans when her father has to stop the car for an errand, or when Peppa demands he give her his spot on the couch.
Peppa isn’t known for her social graces. When her little brother, George, cried lawn-sprinkler tears when he couldn’t remember where he had left his beloved toy dinosaur, Peppa told him, “Oh, well. Mr. Dinosaur is lost forever then.” Peppa direct barbs at her father’s ample belly girth -- “But Daddy, you’re too big to go down the slide” -- as if Daddy Pig wasn’t, you know, a full-grown pig.
BuzzFeed once published a listicle: “17 Times Peppa Pig Was Just an Absolute Savage.” Years ago, parents sang Peppa’s praises on Common Sense Media, a nonprofit website offering reviews on television and movies. In recent months, negative comments have rolled in, such as, “They disrespect the dad every episode” or “The show teaches kids that Crying, being Mean and Bossy, and even Fat-Shaming is okay.” Ayesha Khaliq, a 36-year-old content creator and mom in Yorkshire, believes “Peppa Pig” hasn’t kept pace with the times, especially for millennial parents trying to raise socially sensitive kids.
“Peppa acts the way any child might act but she isn’t taught that it’s unkind,” says Khaliq. “The mom should jump in and say, ‘Now hang on, it’s rude to hang up on your friend.’” Many are still Team Peppa. Lauren Betensky, a 44-year-old teacher in Long Island, says her 3-year-old daughter Klara loves watching it and even requested a Peppa cake for her birthday party.
“She’s a little piggy that knows what she wants,” Betensky says. “That’s a good quality for a little girl.” Taylor Ellsworth, a 32-year-old business assistant in Apache Junction, Ariz., says he enjoys watching Peppa with his five children.
“The show likes to illustrate people displaying innate human reactions to things,” he says, “and I think that’s very valuable for kids.” Nikole Feliciano, a 35-year-old assistant dean at Hunter College, says her 4-year-old son John finds the show hilarious.
“Peppa Pig isn’t someone I want to battle over,” she adds.
Charlotte Morais, a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom in Provo, Utah, stopped playing the show for her two toddlers because of Peppa’s fights with her best friend, Suzy Sheep. “I want to teach my kids how to be kind, and how to give friends second chances,” she says. “Peppa doesn’t seem to be very good at that.” Melissa McIntosh, a 41-year-old makeup artist and mother of two in Ontario, Canada, turned off Peppa over her treatment of her little brother. “We don’t need her nasty behaviors in our house.” It’s the “daddy shaming” that bothers Alicia Savory, a 33-year-old preschool teacher in Surrey, England.
“The show sends a message that Mommy Pig is the key parent and Daddy Pig is the fun and silly one,” she says. “Young families are trying to move away from the idea that daddies are just there for play.” Hasbro, the American toy giant that owns the Peppa empire, is aware of the backlash. Esra Cafer, Hasbro’s senior vice president of the franchise, says the show has evolved over its 20-year run, noting Daddy Pig has grown into a “fantastic father” who cooks meals and reads to his piglets.
What hasn’t changed, and unapologetically so, is Peppa, she says. “Peppa has natural, authentic reactions to the world, and has the ability to express how she feels,” says Cafer. “Some parents may see it as too direct or rude. We see it as self-assertive and self-confident.” Cafer said the company plans to keep young fans enthralled with a film in theaters, a new Lego set, and a Crocs collaboration. A Peppa podcast is coming later in 2024, and the little piggy is ubiquitous on streaming platforms, from Netflix to Amazon Prime.
Peppa is hardly the first kid’s TV character to annoy parents, said Polly Conway, head of TV and streaming at Common Sense Media. Elmo saw haters when he joined “Sesame Street.” SpongeBob had critics after his 1999 debut.
“Peppa is a little spicy,” says Conway. “She can be bratty and not treat her brother with kindness. But she is indicative of what a 4-year-old is like. They sometimes say terrible things to their grandparents.”
The Wall Street Journal
