'Peppa Pig' in Hot Water Again: Mum Bans Show Over 'Fat-Shaming' Scene
This isn’t the first time Peppa’s been called out for bad behaviour.
What happens when your child’s favourite cartoon teaches them something you never would? For one mum, that question turned into a parenting plot twist — starring none other than Peppa Pig.
Kelly, a mother of two, shared her parenting dilemma on TikTok after her three-year-old son, Kia, started saying something that made her heart sink:
"You’re not my best friend." At first, it seemed like harmless toddler sass. But when Kia began saying it to others, it became a red flag. "Broke my heart every time I heard it," she told Kidspot.
@kellyarvan shook #mumsoftiktok #peppapig #toddlersoftiktok ♬ original sound - Kelly Arvan
At home, Kia is a gentle soul — empathetic and kind, the type of child others naturally warm to. So when he picked up a phrase that sounded intentionally hurtful, Kelly was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"Every time I heard him say it, I’d ask him, 'My son, where did you learn this?"' she recalled. "We don’t say that... it’s ok for someone to not be your best friend, but you don’t say it to hurt someone."
The source of the phrase didn’t take long to uncover. One day, Kelly caught a scene on screen — Peppa Pig herself uttering the exact same line.
"I was in awe," she said. "I immediately turned it off and explained to him why, and he understood and did say 'yes, Peppa didn’t make a good choice."'
From that moment on, Peppa Pig was banned in their household. Kelly explained to Kia that while Peppa is a popular character, "she’s not nice" and often acts like "a bully." The message landed: next time Kia spotted the show on Netflix, he pointed and said, "no more naughty Peppa," choosing something else entirely.
The shift wasn’t just linguistic. Kelly noticed that Kia’s mood changed depending on what he watched.
"If he’s watching something like Miss Rachael or Trash Truck, he is in a happy, positive mood. When he’s watching Peppa Pig, he can be a little more sassy," she noted.
While watching the show more closely, Kelly was struck by a moment where Peppa calls her dad fat and acts mean towards her brother. With her own sons, Kia and Kian, being so close, she worried about how such behaviour might influence them.
She knows kids pick things up quickly — even from light-hearted cartoons. And while she can’t control the outside world, she can choose what plays in her home. For Kelly, it’s not about banning Peppa Pig, but being mindful of the messages hiding behind the jokes.
Earlier, we wrote about how mums have complained about their kids’ behaviour after watching Peppa Pig episodes.
