One of the key words discussed by any parent is ‘Screentime’. Every parent is skeptical to let their kid get glued to a mobile/tablet/laptop or TV. One of the reasons is that the eye sight of the kid will be affected. So few parents feel that if at least the screen size is bigger then it will be better & there are parents who are completely against exposing their kids to any type of screen.

The next crucial worry point for every parent is ‘whether my kid is watching the right appropriate content’. There is a plethora of options available to choose from the online space. Disney, Cartoon Network channels, ChuChu TV, Cocomelon, Blippi, Pokemon, Doraemon, etc. are just a few of them which I have figured out in my 3 years of parenting. But in the last 6 months I have got addicted to Peppa Pig. Oh yes you read it right ‘I have got addicted’.

When you start watching or listening to the videos that your kid watches then you automatically develop a liking towards some of the characters or television series.

6 months ago, One fine day somehow my daughter and myself ended up finding ‘Peppa Pig’ on YouTube. I tend to watch along with my daughter at least one episode or for say 5-10 minutes, to make sure that it is the appropriate content. By the time we saw the first episode for 2-3 minutes, both of us unanimously decided to move on to some other channel. Who would like to watch a family of pigs running around and doing lot of stuffs ? At that moment I was thinking that someone would have been really crazy to come up with ‘this’ as the central character. By the time we were half way through to the nursery rhyme that we had switched on to , I wanted to go back & watch the Peppa pig episode once again. But you cannot just swap channels. You need to take permissions :). So I asked my daughter if she is interested in watching the Pig channel again. I was amazed by her response. She instantly replied to me ‘Peppa Pig..Yes Yes’ & followed that with replicating the snorting noise. I was surprised to see that she even recollected the noise made by Peppa. So we happily ‘swipped’ back to watch the pig in action and from then on ‘Peppa Pig and her family’ has been an integral part of our daily routines.

Peppa Pig , her brother George, Mummy Pig & Daddy Pig are the main characters and all the episodes revolve around them. In addition to the above characters there are lot of other animals as well who play a part in this ‘family kids entertainment’ television series.

One of the main reasons I like Peppa Pig is because there are many good habits which are enacted in the series which serves as examples to educate my daughter .

Vegetables / Salads are good for the tummy & Peppa pig loves eating carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. So my daughter never says No for a bowl of green salad. But there are couple of points which worry me as a dad & I hope it is just a matter of time before she understands those episodes. Peppa pushes her dad to do exercise and reduce weight. I am sure my days are getting counted & soon she will make me run around all the parks.

Peppa learns from her Dad some important things about life. While taking part in the school sports day competition, Peppa couldn’t manage to get any medals. Daddy Pig encourages her by saying that ‘It is all about the participation and not about winning or losing’. Most of the episodes have one or the other tip which kids should be learning while they grow up. So the affinity towards watching Peppa Pig series has helped in inculcating my daughter with some of the basic hygiene habits with ease.

But every good story has a villian. Though there are none in the series, the concern is the way in which Peppa pig has captured the shelves in supermarkets. So when you walk around supermarkets or toy shops or any big branded outlet , you will have Peppa waiting in some or the other form. It can be found in the form of a candy, chocolate, pasta, dresses, scooters, toys, soft toys, miniature Peppa characters, bath towels, balloons, etc. It is sometimes slightly difficult to divert the attention of my daughter from all these and come back from shopping without carrying a Peppa item. Again some brands have thought really well and have come out with Peppa pig branded raisins . So as a parent if you get a choice to pick between candy and raisin then I am sure the preference will be for the latter one.

Now you to get to buy Peppa Pig branded accessories. This may help some parents to easily make their kids wear the hair clips / bands.

Good news is that Peppa Pig cartoon books are now available. An option to move kids from being glued to Mobile/Tablets and start reading books.

Peppa has been around for 15 years now. It all started way back in May 2004.

Astley Baker Davies are the creators and producers of Peppa Pig. Entertainment One has picked up a majority share in this and that is the reason why you can see ABD/e One mentioned on all Peppa pig merchandise.

As per a report in April 2017 , Peppa Pig was valued at 1.4 billion USD. 50 million toys and 30 million books on Peppa got sold till that time period as well. In addition to this the mobile App of Peppa has also seen significant downloads. Now Peppa pig has launched her first music album called ‘My First Album’ in July 2019 & it is already capturing the headlines.

(Aug 22,2019 update : Hasbro Inc. is buying Entertainment One for $ 4 billion )

Peppa pig has captured the little hearts and shelve spaces of supermarkets in the last 15 years. ABD’s fortune has been on a growth trajectory after the creation of Peppa.

Parents will be happy to sit back relax and enjoy the Peppa episodes with their kids. The fan following has no age limit 🙂

Until next blog post, It is time to get the painting brushes out 😉