Parents are enraged by the 'body shaming' moment in Bluey. But it reflects reality.

The latest episode of the Aussie kids sensation Bluey has upset some parents.

In the opening scene of the episode 'Exercise' dad Bandit is getting ready for work, loading up his electric toothbrush before walking over the bathroom scales and hopping on. After a moment he sighs, the number reflected on those scales obviously not to his liking.

Unbeknownst to Bandit, 6-year-old daughter Bluey is playing hide and seek with her sister Bingo, and has chosen the bath to hide in. Look I’m not going to say that I wouldn’t notice my kid hiding in the bath if I entered the bathroom but it’s early morning, maybe he hasn’t got his contacts in yet.

So Bluey pops up and asks why he’s not happy and Bandit sighs again and says "I just need to do some exercise," as he looks critically at his body in the mirror.

Mum Chilli enters the bathroom with little Bingo and agrees with Bandit about her own level of fitness "tell me about it," she laments as Bandit grabs a hold of a roll of his tummy fat.

Chilli then jumps on the scale and she too is disappointed with the result.

Watch: The latest episode of Bluey talks about body weight and exercise. Post continues after video.

Fans of the show have taken to social media calling the episode fat phobic and using weight loss as the prime motivator for exercise.

"Most of this episode was great. If only the first couple of minutes had reinforced the idea that exercise is for pleasure and feeling good, rather than punishment for a number on the scale or what we see in the mirror. We have always loved how positive your show is, but we won’t be playing this episode again (wish we could block it on iView!)"

"And while we have an Australian of the year who is a body image activist working with kids! Really disappointed in this one."

"I felt really uncomfortable having my young daughter watch it. We are already soaking in diet culture and weight stigma as it is, we don’t need Bluey to emulate these negative messages about body shape and weight."

"I love Bluey so much, but this episode had such a disappointing beginning. We have worked so hard to undo all the self hate of our bodies that we learned from our parents' generation, let's not pass it on to the next one. We all deserve so much better."

Image: Official Facebook page of Bluey.

Some called for the episode to be taken down, others like paediatric dietician Dr Kyla Ringrose, posted on Instagram that the episode should be reedited to remove the first 30 seconds.

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A post shared by Dr Kyla Ringrose- Paediatric Dietitian (@dr_kyla)

Look, I am not saying that those first 30 seconds are perfect. I’m not saying they don’t employ body shaming or a stereotypical view of exercise as punishment for being too fat. But what I am saying is they are the reality for many of us.

I have been overweight for a long time. My BMI (I know, I know that number means nothing in the real world) tells me I’m morbidly obese.

My hip measurements, family history and age put me right in the type 2 diabetes target range and I am struggling with pain from a very dodgy knee.

When you add all those things up, there is an answer to some of those issues. Weight loss. But how do you bring up weight loss in 2023 without accusations of body shaming or ignoring that all bodies are good bodies?

How do we help a young person who might be struggling with weight gain without also scarring them and teaching them to hate their bodies?

I am supremely aware of not showing negative body image to my daughter but even if I am careful about using the right language, there are plenty of influences in her life who will not be so thoughtful.

School, other kids, kids YouTube, other family members, other kid’s parents, educators, they are all influencing my child.. as is Bluey.

Listen to This Glorious Mess where Taryn Brumfitt shares how to talk about your own body around your kids. Post continues below.

So, while I have been careful to speak about my body as something that requires strength and health, not necessarily weight loss around my 8-year-old, weight and body image does also need to be a part of the conversation. We can’t just ignore it, even if some experts say that even mentioning weight as part of your overall health is a big no-no.

My GP has clumsily brought the weight conversation up many times with me in very unhelpful ways, not trained well enough to broach the subject with me in the process of discussing my overall health.

I have walked away from those experiences with pain in my heart and nasty thoughts in my head and no help or support in becoming healthier.

I did finally find a doctor who has helped me, who asked me if anyone had ever tried to help me with my weight gain  –when I said not really, he gave me options. He told me he was confident that with some help I could achieve a healthy weight for my body.

But at the start of this process I was in denial about confronting weight. I didn't even want the doctor to share the numbers on the scale, scared they would psychologically scar me. I wanted to stay in the mindset that as long as I actually don’t HAVE type 2 diabetes, then this weight is fine for me.

But when I didn’t confront those things, it got worse.

From the moment I decided to take the hit and look at those numbers and start to really understand where my body was at this point in my life, that’s when it all started to happen. I saw a dietitian who helped me understand my food intake better and a physio who is teaching me to move my body in ways that won’t break my dodgy knee even further.

I can’t help but feel like we are, for some, ignoring a problem that does need to be addressed. That weight is not always a sign of health good or bad, but that it can impact it and that being overweight can contribute to some health issues.

So, what I am hoping comes from this episode of Bluey...

I hope it allows parents to have a conversation with their children about body image. 

I have already had to explain to my 8-year-old that she doesn't have big thighs, that the body type she picked out in a book that best represented her was nothing like her shape and that sometimes when we look at ourselves we do it with a very critical eye, one that sometimes tells us lies.

I hope it makes parents realise that taking care of yourself when you have tiny humans to also take care of, is really bloody hard.

Bandit does end up doing some exercise, and he incorporates the kids into the routine as play for them. It shows that you can get some time in for yourself, even if the little ones still need to be involved.

I hope it makes people realise that it’s ok to not be perfect and that we are the educators of our children, not a TV show.

Weight is not an indicator of a person’s health, but we’re not going to get healthy by ignoring those numbers either. 

At the end of the episode, Bandit visits the GP who checks his blood pressure and finds it is a spot on 120 over 80, asking if he’s been going to the 'jum' (that’s gym for those who haven’t watched the ep and recognised a certain adopted Aussie voicing the character, Hi Tim Finn, you legend). It shows he’s caring about himself and his health, not just doing it for weight loss.

Do those opening 30 seconds show kids that body image is a driver in the way we treat ourselves? Yes. Does it also show the frustration that many of us feel when we step on the scales? Yes. Does it continue the stereotyping of exercise only being something you consider when you want to lose weight? Also yes. 

But it’s also a reality for loads of us, for real life.

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Feature Image: Bluey.

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