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love . This Australian animated show 鈥� hugely as well 鈥� focuses on a family of blue heeler dogs living in Brisbane. The seven-minute episodes feature 6-year-old Bluey; her 4-year-old sister, Bingo; her mom, Chilli; and her dad, Bandit. They depict the beauty of childhood and portray the realities of being a parent in our current age.

As and , we sort of adore Bluey too.

The show exemplifies what years of child psychology research have made clear: that . Bluey illustrates a variety of age-appropriate caregiving practices that parents and caregivers can use in the everyday life of a child. Below we highlight five lessons depicted in select episodes and explain how certain scenes can provide inspiration for playful learning opportunities for all families.

1. Support children鈥檚 creativity

In the 鈥溾�� episode, Chilli and Bluey get caught in a downpour. While Mom runs inside, Bluey is thrilled to be out in the rain and begins to build a dam against the water on a walkway. When her hands can鈥檛 contain the water, she tries a variety of household objects 鈥� blocks, an umbrella, a dollhouse 鈥� to do the job. Importantly, Bluey does not give up and continues to find creative solutions to reach her goal.

Researchers and leaders in a variety of industries point to as a top skill that children will need to be successful in of the 21st century.

Instead of stopping Bluey, Chilli recognizes how driven her daughter is to meet her goal, so she braves the rain and helps her to successfully build the dam. Chilli represents how by asking open-ended questions and allowing children to explore various ways of solving a problem.

2. Use everyday materials for play

In 鈥�,鈥� after returning from the ready-to-assemble furniture store, Chilli and Bandit toss extra packaging from their new porch swing into the backyard. Bluey and Bingo use these items to construct a fantasy world. The girls let their imaginations take them on a journey from swimming like fish in a foam pond to hopping like frogs on a cardboard island.

Play experts use the term 鈥溾�� for items without a defined play purpose that can be used in many ways and encourage children鈥檚 creativity. This episode shows Bluey and Bingo engaged in with such objects and portrays how deeply children can play even if they don鈥檛 have conventional toys or guidance from a caregiver.

3. Help kids process emotions through play

Play is a natural way that children a variety of difficult experiences. Childhood experts emphasize that to work through their fears and feelings.

In 鈥�,鈥� Bluey and Bandit find an injured parakeet on a morning walk and take it to the vet. We then see Bluey engaged in a play scene in which she casts Bingo in the role of the parakeet and reenacts the morning. When Chilli, playing the vet, tells Bluey that Bingo is all better, Bluey protests: 鈥淣o, you have to pretend it鈥檚 bad news, that the [parakeet] is dead.鈥� Chilli seems wary to proceed but, importantly, follows her daughter鈥檚 lead in the play.

Similarly, in the episode 鈥�,鈥� Bluey鈥檚 friend Indy uses play to work through a difficult life experience: having a younger sibling in a neonatal intensive care unit. In their classroom, Indy and her friends play 鈥渆arly baby鈥� where they have to wash their hands before holding the baby doll and keep her in 鈥渁 fish tank with holes in it鈥� 鈥� an incubator.

4. Promote multigenerational relationships

These episodes explore the relationship between the girls and their grandparents. In 鈥�,鈥� Bluey and Bingo are dressed up as grannies in search of a can of beans. After raiding the cabinets, Bluey scolds a dancing Bingo because 鈥済rannies can鈥檛 floss!鈥� The girls argue and settle the debate by video chatting with Nana, learning she indeed cannot do the . When Bingo gets upset, Bluey helps Nana learn to floss by guiding her through the dance moves over video chat.

In 鈥�,鈥� the girls teach Grandad about growing up in a digital world by creating fake smartphones with cardboard and crayons. They show Grandad how to navigate various apps to order food. Armed with his own crayon and a stuffed crocodile, Grandad sneaks the croc into Bingo鈥檚 basket and creates a 鈥淐roc Catcher鈥� app for the girls to call for his assistance.

Research shows that strong relationships . Grandparents teach children about their family鈥檚 history while children bring grandparents up to speed with the modern world. A recent study of grandparents found that , and the 鈥淧hones鈥� episode shows this when Nana learns how to fit herself in the video chat frame and do a new dance. While Grandad is initially baffled by using apps for everything, the girls help him navigate this modern convenience through play.

5. Foster self-regulation

The episode 鈥溾�� shows a common parenting scenario. Bandit encounters a friend in public and begins chatting with the friend, moving his attention away from Bluey. Bluey cannot wait any longer and interrupts her dad. Soon after, Bandit works with his daughter to establish a way she can control her impulse to interrupt him while also feeling acknowledged by her father: Whenever Bluey wants to get her dad鈥檚 attention, she can place her hand on his arm, and he鈥檒l place his hand over hers to acknowledge that he knows she鈥檚 waiting.

Helping a child develop like the ability to wait patiently is important, as such skills predict many . Higher levels of self-regulation ability are often tied to and . Bandit exemplifies how caregivers can help build their child鈥檚 self-regulation ability by .

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