Memo to Bluey’s old man: We can’t keep up!

This Aussie show has set some new standards that Dan Van Der Meer is struggling to match.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED BY ABC
PHOTO: SUPPLIED BY ABC

Bloody Bluey!

Actually, let me rephrase that.

BLOODY BLUEY!

For the uninitiated Dads out there, let me fill you in. Bluey is a newish kids TV show produced right here in Australia, that’s going absolutely gangbusters at the moment.

There’s actually a lot to love about it as a parent.

  • It’s 100 per cent Australian and doesn’t shy away from that. Where else on kids TV can you hear the rubbish tip referred to as ‘the dump’, and that scratchy bum syndrome every parent has to deal with referred to as ‘bum worms’? Gold!
  • They’re so committed to the ‘Aussieness’ that the producers have reportedly refused to dub the existing voices to suit overseas markets.
  • It stars Dave McCormack, one time frontman of legendary Aussie indie rockers Custard.
  • It’s 100 per cent relatable. Mum and Dad work bloody hard at life and raising their kids the right way.
  • Did I mention it’s Aussie made… and going gangbusters?

However, the show has set some new standards in my house that, frankly, I’m finding a little tough to meet.

Firstly, Dave McCormack’s Dad character, Bandit Heeler, is literally a next level Dad. I watch Bluey the way we undoubtedly all watch these kids TV shows. That is, in the background as we’re cleaning/cooking/folding/washing/sweeping around the house.

In the 30 or so episodes I’ve managed to “ghost watch”, I’m yet to see him lose his temper. Not even a sigh of frustration. Not at his kids, not at his wife Chilli. Nothing.

It certainly makes me think a little bit more about life when I’m venting at one of the kids, literally about spilt milk.

It gets worse though. Bandit also has the patience of a saint, playing all sorts of imaginative games with his two kids. Pretty much every episode has the Heeler kids doing some sort of make-believe, and there’s Dad Bandit, front and centre, playing along.

I don’t know about you, but five minutes into yet another bout of “Tickle Monsters” and I’m ready for a cup of tea and a lie-down.

Finally, and this is all on the writers/producers… they’re engaging the kids so much that little in-jokes that you generally get in these kids shows are lighting that little curiosity fuse within your kids.

Already in this, the newest season of Bluey, I’ve had to field the questions “Dad, what exactly are bum worms?”, and the age-old classic, “Dad, how do babies get in Mummy’s tummy?”

Imagine that poser on a lazy Saturday arvo doing a little bit of gaming with your eldest daughter.

In all seriousness, ABC Kids is an absolute Godsend for us parents out there battling away each day.

Back when I was a kid, you only got kids’ programming for a couple of hours each day, so to have great TV shows for your kids (including Bluey every morning at 8am) running whenever is convenient is, well, bloody marvellous!

Just as long as Bandit Heeler learns to tone it down a little bit 😉

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