I read that post on Facebook from a mum and wanted to share it as being aware of what children are watching is how the world will improve:

«  On Thursday, I received a contact us form from a journalist asking if I would like to express my opinion on the ‘Dark Side of Peppa Pig’.

I jumped at the chance.

I was in back to back meetings, I was delivering my first Sleep and Menopause workshop, and I was working in an oven at the top of the house, but I just had to find the time to share my views.

This topic around Peppa Pig and the poor role modeling of the entire family has been something I have been vocal about for years.

A truly awful Mothers Day book I was gifted from my mother-in-law was the last straw, and then led to me publishing an article on Mothers Day gifts in 2024. A list of the ‘what not to gift’ 

This book was basically Daddy Pig having an idea to do something nice, messing it up, Mummy Pig doing all the chores, (cough cough) nice things, Daddy Pig thought to do but kept failing, and as a gift, she got a half eaten chocolate bar, because, you know, he couldn’t give her the whole thing could he. And she accepted happily with a giggle.

I got so cross.

So when this opportunity came up, I had to grab it.

Here’s what I said, and I would love to hear your thoughts, and you can check the full article out in the comments.

We spoke to parent and sleep educator Nicole Ratcliffe, who told us: “My biggest concern with Peppa Pig isn’t just Peppa’s behaviour, although I don’t think she’s a particularly good role model. She can be rude, demanding and often gets her own way without much consequence. My bigger concern is the way the parents are portrayed.

“We’re working hard as a society to close the gender pay gap, improve paternity leave, encourage shared parenting and move away from the outdated idea that mums should carry the mental load while dads ‘help out’. Yet one of the UK’s most popular preschool programmes still repeatedly shows Daddy Pig as incompetent, while Mummy Pig ends up doing the planning, fixing, organising and rescuing.”

Nicole continued: “That isn’t just a joke. When children watch the same message over and over again, it starts to normalise it. It tells children that dads are expected to get things wrong, while mums are expected to pick up the pieces. I don’t think that’s fair on either parent. Fathers deserve to be shown as capable, involved parents, and mothers deserve to be seen as more than the person who carries the family every time something goes wrong.

“Children’s television has a brilliant opportunity to model healthy relationships. Imagine how much more powerful it would be if children saw two parents who shared responsibilities, solved problems together and respected each other’s strengths. That’s the message I’d love the next generation to grow up with.”

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Are you a fan of Peppa Pig, or should it be coming to an end?

I actually think the better idea is to use the platform it already has and start changing the message.

Hit me with your thoughts. »