Hey Duggee – 5 Reasons Why It’s Amazing For Your Kids

Wondering what kids TV programmes are good for your kids such as Hey Duggee?

Which ones teach good life skills and values?

I know, I was wondering that too…

You really don’t want them to watch any old rubbish. You may want to restrict TV time too, so choosing the right programme to watch for them is important.

After all, you can get anything at any time nowadays on the internet.

So many children’s TV programmes just drive you insane. I have to wonder what some of the creators and designers were on when they came up with some of them.

As N is only eight months old we’ve not watched many kids TV programmes (I have nieces and nephews so have seen some before) but of the ones I have seen most are just bizarre!

For example, the Teletubbies have kids…

How did they get pregnant? That’s not something I really want to think about but I’ve got it in your head now!! Don’t get me started on In The Night Garden.

Who had the mind to come up with that?!

In many ways Hey Duggee (here) is bizarre too, yet I’m saying it’s good for kids…!

Let me explain.

Hey Duggee is amazing for kids!
Hey Duggee is amazing for kids!*

Once you get past the fact that a dog runs a daycare centre but is unable to speak, and the fact that Duggee always seems to have only four badges but one of them always relates to the situation of the day, and so many other issues (there’s a teeny tiny crocodile (that will eat many attendees when he’s older!) that goes to a nursery led by a dog who can’t speak…bizarre!). But once you get past this and look at it objectively and what benefits there are for your child, I think you’ll agree it’s good for them.

I wonder how many of these you spotted…

1. Hey Duggee – Male Nursery Lead

I am all for breaking down gender stereotypes.

When N grows up I want him to be able to do whatever job he wishes. Shouldn’t we wish that for all children?

Of course we should.

How many roles are typecast to a specific gender? There are so many you can think of right now I’m sure. But the world is changing, and so should attitudes towards gender specific roles.

As such, seeing a male dog called Duggee doing what is traditionally perceived to be a female role is fantastic. The next generation should be able to grow up and do whatever they want to, and at an early impressionable age TV shows contribute a lot (in my opinion) to forming early opinions of genders and what men and women can do.

Therefore a male nursery lead is fantastic! What an example to set!

2. Hey Duggee – Badges

What if there was a way you could encourage children to do certain things?

Wouldn’t that be great?

N is too young to do this with now but I like the idea of actually developing a series of badges and seeing if he can earn them. Why not have a charity badge to do some charity work?

A friends badge when he makes friends?

A cleaning badge when he cleans his room (I like this idea!)?

I personally think it’s a great engaging way to educate your child and a good reward mechanism.

You could even have a bunch of badges (or phrases) in a jar and your child picks one out for the day, and you do an activity to earn that badge. It’s quite flexible but will mean there is variety in your activities and yet directed play.

3. Hey Duggee – Happy

“What’s ‘Happy’ exactly?” I hear you ask (or maybe not if you’ve seen Hey Duggee!)?

Hey Duggee is great for kids
Here’s Happy with his adopted parent*

Happy is the little crocodile attending nursery.

Why have I picked this character out in particular?

Because he is adopted.

You’ll notice when the parents come to pick up the kids Happy is collected by an elephant.

As I say, this is because he’s adopted.

This is a fantastic example of family diversity. A great way to teach kids that families come in all shapes and sizes.

In fact, when he is old enough I’ll explain exactly that to N so it’s a learning point for him, and make sure he observes this. However, the show doesn’t make a point of this at all, it just is. This makes it doubly great in my eyes, showing adoption is just the norm because of course it is, but at a young age children haven’t learned this yet. Picking up on it from shows like Hey Duggee is the perfect mechanism to learn about different family units.

I’ve not yet come across any other TV programme doing this.

4. Hey Duggee – Making Friends Badge

In this particular episode the Squirrels go and meet another play group to make some friends.

“So what?” I hear you cry. Well…

Firstly the focus on making friends is a great one for anyone going to nursery. It can be a daunting time and a big change, so learning this is a great skill.

Hey Duggee is great for kids
Here’s the amazing Rochelle*

Secondly in this episode there is a character called Rochelle. She is in a wheelchair.

Why is that important?

What’s fantastic is that they don’t focus at all on the fact she is in a wheelchair. It’s normalised, which is great for kids watching at home. Not all children will know someone in a wheelchair, or have seen them very much, so seeing that this is normal is another great example.

Rochelle just goes out and plays with everyone else as normal, which is exactly the education that young children should get around those with a disability.

5. Hey Duggee – It’s Not All Digital

What do I mean by this?

Let me explain.

Kids don’t go out and play enough nowadays if you ask me. It’s all about video game, mobile phones and TV.

Yet if Hey Duggee was always just about playing a different computer game each week nobody would watch it.

The fact of the matter is that it’s largely about getting out and doing things, or arts, or cooking etc, lots of life skills. What great things to teach kids! Go out and play to get a badge, be rewarded…great message!

Cook.

Make friends.

Bake.

Do these things and you’ll get rewarded with a badge, but also in life skills and education.

Another excellent example set by Hey Duggee.

Hey Duggee – It’s Great!

There you have it, there are my five reasons why I think Hey Duggee is a great show for little kids.

I think it sets them up with a great understanding for life. It doesn’t point out differences where not needed, it gives parents the opportunity to explain some life facts in an engaging way and I love the badge system!

What do you think to Hey Duggee? Have you ever seen it? Any other reasons it’s good for kids?

*I’d like to give my thanks to Studio AKA who provided the images used in this post.

 

9 comments

  1. I really like the sound of this program. Like you have said it normalises the idea of adoption and someone who is wheelchair bound which is fantastic because they are normal things! It seems like there is some real great intent behind the show beyond kids enjoyment.

    I particularly like the idea of all the different badges and earning them so I may use that one myself when the time comes. This was a fun read and was really thoughtful, thank you!

  2. Thank you! I like kids programmes that have a great theme or idea behind them to help kids learn rather than just random nothingness of some of them.

  3. I love this post. And Hey Duggee. We have always liked the fact that the squirrels get out and about, and that it has such a lovely message of being kind to each other. All the squirrels have their own recognisable characters too, which children can relate to. #ThatFridayLinky

    1. Thanks Jo! You’re so right with their own little characters. I look forward to seeing which one my son is like when he is older!!

    1. I know, it’s one of those you don’t mind watching yourself! There are so many that I can’t stand to watch so avoid them like the plague but this one’s good to watch!

  4. Yes Hey Duggee is a fav in our home interesting post about it all some really good points made. Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week

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