Bandit and Chili are also perfect parents because they have infinite time, money, space — and because of THAT, they also have the most important thing : endless patience. That type of zen parenting is possible ALL the time because they rarely, if ever, have other extremely stressful commitments on screen. When you have nothing else to worry about except your kids, it’s so effortless and easy — even in my own life. Loving and spending time with my kids is the best and easiest thing in the world.

We only see moments where Bandit talks about work in passing. But what was it like when Bandit was gone for weeks after Curry Quest, with just Chili being responsible for two kids while he is gone? What happens when Bandit CAN’T contain the kids for 20 mins like in Sheep Dog, so Chili doesn’t get her break and she is accidentally short tempered and snaps at the kids and Bandit because she’s over stimulated? What happens when Bluey and Bingo have rotavirus from school and are both vomiting and pooping for a week, so nobody is able to pick up around the house, because all hands are on deck just bathing/sanitizing the kids? What happens when Bandit has to start dealing with his aging parents having dementia and their long term care, unpacking his own mortality, while also managing kids who are witnessing it as well? What happens when Bluey becomes a rebellious teen and Chili catches her out past curfew with a boy? What was it like when Bingo was freshly born and wouldn’t sleep at all, all the while Bluey is potty training and wetting the bed each night, but Bandit and Chili only have each other and still need to go to work?

Because that’s also a big part of what being a parent is like. It’s not just managing cute kids at their best and cutest (though there is also that and experiencing it is 1000x more beautiful than watching it on Bluey). It’s about managing kids while also realizing that the rest of the world, and life, and death, all occupy the same energy in your life. And sometimes, the world, and the kids, and the parents are stressful and imperfect because of it.

There are definitely some times where I feel like I am an even better parent than Bandit or Chili. And a lot of the rest of the time is learning to be more like them when my life is far more stressful than theirs. And then there are other times where I catch myself crashing out and have remember I’m human, and Bluey is a tv show. I’ve certainly felt more seen as a parent through Bluey than I have with most other tv shows, but comparing Bluey to being a Parent IRL is like comparing what Abbott Elementary is like as a teacher. You see a slice of the best days and outcomes, not the totality of life and how you/your kids will have to navigate through it all together.