A MOTHER has urged fellow parents to stop letting their kids watch Peppa Pig after she noticed her tot mimicking the animated character’s ”bad behaviour”.
Kelly Arvan, from Victoria, Australia, said her three-year-old son Kia had started impulsively saying ”You’re not my best friend” to everyone around him.
Kelly Arvan has called on parents to stop letting their kids watch Peppa Pig after noticing her toddler son mimicking the TV character’s ‘bad behaviour’[/caption]
Some parents and teachers suggested their kids had picked up the phrase from childcare and school[/caption]
At first, the mum was baffled because she didn’t know where he had picked up the phrase – but she asked him to stop repeating it, and he did.
A few weeks later, Kia was watching Peppa Pig when the main character suddenly blurted out: ”You’re not my best friend anymore”.
”It’s insane. I have watched back episodes myself… and Peppa isn’t a good influence at all. I’m shocked,” Kelly told Daily Mail Australia.
The mother-of-two said she has since banned her son Kia from watching the show because she doesn’t agree with the way Peppa treats her little brother George.
”It worries me because Peppa is really mean to her little brother.
”My three-year-old son Kia has a seven-month-old brother Kian and he treats him so kindly and loving so I would never want Kia to get a bad influence from Peppa,” Kelly shared.
”It’s a great warning for other parents who are totally oblivious like I was.”
The catchphrase ”You’re not my best friend” appears in numerous episodes of the cult favourite children’s TV show, including one where Peppa accuses her best friend Suzy of cheating during a card game of snap.
”I don’t want to play with you anymore,” Peppa exclaimed, as Suzy, replied: ”I don’t want to play with you anymore.”
”I am not talking to her,” Peppa said as she pointed her finger at Suzy.
Peppa’s mum nervously laughed it off, before telling Suzy’s mum: ”I’m sure they’ll make it up… They are best friends.”
However, Peppa disagreed, snapping back: ”It’s not funny,’ prompting Suzy to storm off, saying ‘We are not best friends anymore.”
In the next scene, Suzy called Peppa and said: ”We can be friends again… if you say ‘Sorry’.”
Peppa responded: ”I’m sorry I said you cheated, even though you did cheat.”
The conversation quickly fell apart, ending with Suzy saying: ”I’m sorry you were ever my best friend.”
Peppa Pig legacy
PEPPA Pig first aired in 2004 and has since been broadcast in 180 territories and translated into 40 languages.
Now it’s spawned books, toys and even two theme parks, with the global Peppa empire now worth over £1billion.
Creators Neville Astley and Mark Baker admitted they were initially worried the idea would never get off the ground, and that people at first, were bored of the idea.
Astley explained: “People in the pub would ask us, ‘What are you drawing?’ We’d say, ‘A pig, called Peppa, it’s going to be big’.
“They’d lose interest and wander off.”
Kelly was shocked when she realised her tot had picked up the phrase from the show, prompting her to make a video warning other parents.
”Warning to all parents who let their children, specifically toddlers, watch Peppa Pig,” she said.
The mum said other parents had previously warned her that Peppa Pig came across as ”rude”, but she never thought twice about letting her little one watch the popular show.
”About a month ago, he started going around to everyone, saying: ‘You’re not my best friend… You’re not my best friend’,” Kelly recalled.
”And he was saying it quite often and I kept saying to him, ‘Where are you learning this? That’s not nice to say to someone. You’re not allowed to say that anymore’. And he stopped saying it.”
Over the weekend, the family was enjoying some quiet time on the couch while Kia was watching Peppa Pig when Kelly suddenly heard the phrase.
”I hear Peppa Pig saying, ‘You’re not my best friend anymore’. I look at the TV and I look at Kia and I’ve just turned off Peppa Pig. I’m like, ‘You’re not allowed to watch Peppa Pig anymore’,” she said.
‘Peppa Pig is a brat’
Her video, posted under the username @kellyarvan, has been viewed more than 400,000 times in just one day – with many parents agreeing with her, some even confirming their kids no longer watch Peppa Pig.
”Peppa Pig is a brat, I banned my kids when I noticed their energy shifting,” one said.
”Oh yes it’s bad as. She fat shames her dad and everything. We stopped watching Peppa in our house years ago,” another shared.
”I couldn’t stand Peppa Pig. My niece would always say, ‘I can’t do it’ and she’d never try to do things and yep… it was from that annoying pig,” one shared.
”Could not agree more! Peppa Pig is a Bully! My kids are banned from watching,” another chimed in.
Some parents and teachers suggested their kids had picked up the phrase from childcare and school.
”My daughter doesn’t watch Peppa Pig and 100 per cent got this from childcare and kindergarten,” one shared.
”Unfortunately I work in childcare and the ‘You’re not my best friend’ comment is age appropriate especially through that three-six age group. I see it year in and year out constantly.
”Peppa Pig or not – it’s a phase they all go through,” another said.
