The TV Show Bluey Made Me Cry

Have you ever had a time when you were watching something with your kids and it made you cry? Well, my kids’ show made me cry. Yes that happened. Here’s the story.

In our house, my kids have a show that they all three of them love. I could probably go out on a limb and say that it’s their favorite. That show is Bluey.

Bluey is a show about a family of dogs, “The Heelers” and it follows the the family and the life of Mom, (Chili), Dad, (Bandit) and daughters, Bluey and Bingo. It is an Aussie cartoon with episodes that make our kids laugh — but also make us laugh as parents because it is so accurate and true to life. If you watch it, you will see what I mean. 

Very recently, Disney released the second season, a few episodes at a time, with new episodes on Fridays. It was a typical Friday at our house and the morning rush had begun. As our kids got up, they sat down to eat breakfast and had the TV on to watch the new episodes. I was in the kitchen getting our things ready for the day and helping with breakfast. I did not pay super close attention to what was happening in the episode the kids were watching.

Then, everyone had what they needed, so I sat down to eat my breakfast and began watching with the kids. The second episode was called “Baby Race.” If there was ever an episode that was so true to life as mom, this was it.

Tears were streaming down my face as I was eating my eggs. It begins with the mom sharing the story with her girls about Bluey’s journey to walking. Chili (Mom Heeler) was in a mom’s group. It was very realistic as the mothers were sitting around talking as the kids were playing. As the moms were talking, the topic of milestones came up. Chili notices that Bluey is not doing the same things as some of her peers. It shows her consulting the pediatrician who assures her that he is not concerned. As time goes on, and the babies get a little bit older, Bluey still is not meeting her milestones at the same rate as some of her peers. No matter how much the parents try to encourage crawling, rolling over, etc., Bluey is still not doing what the other pups are doing. She is doing it on her own time.There was one day when Chili was feeling so down about her daughter not being on par with her peers that she skipped her mother’s group. 

One mom in the group comes over to check on Chili to make sure she is okay. She then proceeds to show her a picture of her family. This mother has several other kids and Bluey’s peer is her youngest. She can tell Chili is sad and doubting herself as a mom. She looks her in the eye and tells her, “You’re doing great.” With tears in her eyes Chili hugs her and has the realization that she is okay and that her daughter is also okay. 

Cue the tears from this mom.

Knowing how true that episode was, my husband put his arm around me and gave me a hug because he knows I am that mom.

• How many times have I asked our pediatrician about their growth rate?
• How many times have I doubted when my kids were meeting their milestones?w
  
• How many times have I wondered if I was doing the right things for my kids?
• How many times have I wondered if I was doing enough for my kids?
• How many times have I wondered if I was doing too much for my kids?

Some days I worry that I am doing too much, and because of it, not teaching my kids to be responsible, independent and some day competent adults. Yes, my mind goes there. 

Regardless of where we are, this much is true: parenting is not for the weak. Parenting is hard. It would be so much easier if we just did not care so much. It would be so much easier if we did not love these kids so much. But that is not who we are as parents.

Each of our kids are fearfully and wonderfully made. They are going to grow and change at the rate they are supposed to. Just as our kids are growing and changing and learning, so are we as parents.

We learn that we cannot employ a “one-size fits all” mentality when it comes to raising our kids. What worked well for our oldest may not work well for our youngest. We learn there are things that are not worth worrying about and losing sleep over.

We learn that there will be days when we feel like complete failures.

There will be days when we knock it out of the park. We learn that each day is a new day to start fresh. We learn to give our kids grace when they make mistakes and hopefully they will extend that grace to us when we as parents make mistakes. We learn to say, “I am sorry” and “I forgive you” — because we all deserve that. We remember that even during those hard periods, that this too shall pass.

If you ever doubt yourself, don’t. Being a parent is the hardest job you will ever love. And like the characters from Bluey — I hope you have a friend, a spouse, a loved one who reminds you on occasion that you’ve got this and that you’re doing great.

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