Edwina Bartholomew: Why I want to be like Bluey’s parents

When parenting gets too much for me at home, episodes of Bluey are my go-to solution, says Edwina Bartholomew.

I’m counting down to the most anticipated TV event of the year. No, not Adele spilling her heart out to Oprah and then singing her heart out at LA’s Griffith Observatory, not the salacious goings-on of the Roy family from Succession or even the moody mountain landscapes of Yellowstone.

On Monday, new episodes of Bluey drop. If you have missed the show and the merchandise (pyjamas, board games, books, T-shirts, socks, you name it, they’ve made it), it’s a simple program about the adventures of a Brisbane-based blue heeler, Bluey, her sister, Bingo and Mum and Dad.

It is by far the most entertaining of the kids’ shows, even for adults. While Paw Patrol fictionalised a team of superhero pups and Cocomelon, well, I still have no idea what that’s about, the genius of Bluey is it’s basic.

The 2015 pilot episode was only a minute long. The plot? Dad, Bandit, pushes Bluey on the swings. Distracted by his mobile, he pushes too hard. Bluey swings all the way around, spinning around the whole swing set.

Edwina Bartholomew on her farm with the family’s Blue Heeler. Picture: Instagram

Who hasn’t been there? A parent bored by yet another trip to the park and distracted on their device. Originally, programmers were a bit confused. Is it a show for kids? Is it for adults? Who will think it’s funny? The answer? Everyone. The entire world has gone bananas for Bluey and we are all in awe of her parents, Bandit and Chilli.

They are the kind of engaged playful parents we all hope to be. The great irony is that when parenting gets too much for me at home, episodes of Bluey are my go-to solution. They only run for seven minutes but it’s just enough time to complete a task, put a load of washing on, make a cup of tea. I inevitably give in to the pleas for “one more, one more, one more” from my daughter before a half an hour has passed and we can reset the day.

We are such Bluey enthusiasts we are planning a Bluey party at home for my daughter’s 2nd birthday. It just so happens we have a blue heeler as a pet so the kids’ entertainment is already taken care of. It’s exactly the kind of make-believe and make-do parenting I think Bandit and Chilli would applaud.

Our dog can’t talk but we can pretend, he is not as well-behaved as Bluey and Bingo but we’ll ignore that for a day and when he does a poo in the middle of the party, well, he won’t be the only one. He’ll join us on the couch on Monday when we all binge Bluey under the pretence of good parenting. See you there.

Originally published as Edwina Bartholomew: Why I want to be like Bluey’s parents