Peppa Pig is being called out by parents for being rude and insensitive

If you are a parent or have a toddler at home, you have heard of Peppa Pig. The popular British cartoon series is loved and followed all over the world by children. But American parents are now accusing the show for teaching unkind lessons to the kids.Some households have prohibited their children from watching the show completely and replaced it with more 'educational' alternatives.

The long-running show features Peppa’s parents, her brother, George, and the other animals who live in the town along with Peppa. The show has been running since 2004 and attempts to depict experiences and emotions that children could be typically facing themselves.

Several parents are now hitting back at the series alleging that it has a bad influence on their children. Speaking to The Times, a 33-year-old mother of two from Houston, Texas, Kayla Tychsen, claimed that Peppa isn’t an accurate representation of how children should behave.

“Some argue that Peppa is just like any other four-year-old. I think that’s probably true. Four-year-olds can be rude and demanding and whiny,” she said. “But, for me, the issue is that I don’t want to be modeling that behaviour for my children.”

Tyschsen says she doesn't want to expose her children to the show because of the way Peppa acts. "Peppa is bossing people around, or telling her parents what to do… or making comments about people’s weight," said the mother of two.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, mother Armita Asgari, discussed how her child’s reactions to food have changed ever since she exposed him to Peppa Pig.

Peppa and George frequently say “yuck”, with British accents, indifferent situations.Asgari states her son Lucas too now says, "Ew! Yuck,” when presented with new foods.

Asgari also pointed out how her son's behaviour changed for his neighbour's kid. “He said, ‘Look, David’s got a big tummy! That was when I realised he had picked up all these behaviours from Peppa Pig,’” she said while calling Peppa Pig “a brat”.

In the show, Peppa is often seen poking fun at her father Daddy Pig’s weight. In a 2017 episode that faced immense backlash, Peppa’s password for her treehouse was, “Daddy’s big tummy”. After everyone laughs at him, Peppa then tells her father that he cannot enter the treehouse because “his tummy is too big”.

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Parents are now urging the makers to change the format and make the series more sensitive. Parents have pointed out that Peppa is never reprimanded for her behaviour which should not be the case.

“Peppa acts the way any child might act but she isn’t taught that it’s unkind,” another parent pointed out to WSJ. “The mom should jump in and say, ‘Now hang on, it’s rude to hang up on your friend.’”

Almost 400 episodes of Peppa Pig have been released across seven seasons since it first aired on Channel Five in the UK in 2004. The makers are yet to react to the backlash.