Orders dropped in February, and while a PCS is old hat for my husband and me, we knew for our oldest, our fifth move would feel like his first. When we left Italy, our son was 3, and now at nearly 7, Virginia Beach is his home. And just to ensure maximum mom guilt, Jack’s first reaction to the news was a sad, “But I’m supposed to go to first grade at St. John’s,” before bursting into tears.
We talked about the name of his future new school and showed him pictures of the beautiful Hawaiian beaches. We reassured him that we were all going together as a family of five and that we would be very happy there. I know that so much of our resilient military kid’s attitude depends on how parents frame it, and sadly, this will only get harder as our three kids continue to grow and put down roots with each relocation.
When I heard through the social media grapevine that Bluey’s family was moving, I actually made a note on my calendar to watch it with my crew. Children’s shows have helped us hurdle all kinds of challenges … “Daniel Tiger” got us through toilet training with the absolute banger, “There Are Potties Everywhere,” and an old episode of “Arthur” gets my kids absolutely hyped about owning a library card. So imagine my relief when our favorite dog family was also experiencing a move.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, “Bluey” is an Australian-animated TV show that follows the adventures of a lovable Blue Heeler puppy named Bluey, who navigates family life and everyday challenges with energy and imagination. Over the weekend, Disney+ dropped a 28-minute special feature called “The Sign.”
[Spoilers for those who haven’t seen it yet]
Bluey’s dad, Bandit, announces that he’s moving their family to another city, and poor Bluey expresses that she doesn’t want to go (relatable). Bluey takes her sadness to school, telling her teacher, Calypso, that she will never see her classmates again. At this point, my 6-year-old is furiously nodding along, and I hold my breath to see how the anthropomorphic blue merle of a teacher handles it. I blow out a breath of relief because, of course, this is Bluey … Bluey has my back. The students howl together in sadness at the idea of Bluey moving, but Calypso reads a story that basically says that while things may seem hard, unexpected challenges can turn out to be a blessing and reassures Bluey that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.
I should have known at that phrasing what was coming. Instead, blindly trusting, I injected a lot of “See, buddy! Change is going to be okay!” And Jack is starting to like being “just like the Heeler family!”
Later in the episode, even Bluey’s mom, Chili, shares that she doesn’t want to move, lamenting, “You took your first steps in that house!” For me and my son, that was three houses ago, but at that point, I thought, “I’ll allow it.”
The episode is showing the Heeler girls that change is hard but inevitable for grown-ups too, and we can admit that. Any preschool mom content creator has joked that Bluey is known to reduce parents to tears with their sentimental episodes (I can’t get through “The Baby Race” without my throat tightening just a little), so I took it as part of the arc.
The tear-jerking continues as they say goodbye to each room in their house. Our packout is in less than 50 days, and Bluey was holding no punches, reminding me that saying goodbye to the home that has sheltered us through the highs and lows of a high-tempo sea tour is coming up fast. But then, Bandit the Dog Dad does a complete 180 and rips out the “For Sale” sign from the yard, declaring that they’ll be staying and the family falls into a relieved pile together and then eats dinner on the floor of their soon-to-be unpacked and refilled home.
This ending was akin to the final pages of a book that concludes with “it was all a dream”—but magnified tenfold. Now, my children are asking if we can change our mind about Hawaii and have our own happy ending. Our 6-year-old has become a veritable sea lawyer, employing his kindergarten reasoning to advocate for staying put and why not? He’s just seen a perfect example of fussing enough that a dad changes his mind.
I got smacked in the face with what the biggest flaw of Bluey has been all along. It is a kid-led universe with ideal parents where the desires of the children consistently steer outcomes, complicating the understanding of more nuanced real-world dynamics. And while I understood that my parenting style was never going to be as perfect as an animated set of Australian Blue Heelers, Bandit really let down their off-screen military children with this one.
Since the episode’s release, I’ve seen adults filling the comment sections of Instagram with praise for the episode, “Finally, parents considering not just themselves and their priorities but their children’s feelings.” Some have even called the animated father selfish for even proposing the move in the first place and celebrating his change of heart, as if the dog is some sort of Scrooge at the end of “A Christmas Carol.”
What an absolute gut-punch for not just the military community, but any families out there who are facing great changes. In the United States alone, Bluey is the second most-streamed show with a cumulative 43.9 billion minutes on Disney+ last year alone. Within those billions of minutes are surely children whose relocation is necessitated by any number of personal circumstances, economic factors, or life shifts. In Bluey’s native Australia, a national housing crisis has many young families moving frequently in search of affordable accommodations. As rumors swirled of Bluey’s cancellation, perhaps this was the producers’ symbolic statement of changing their minds for the sake of the children, though I would argue this was the wrong issue to use for that communication. Moving is not the “sad ending” of a story.
Will our family remain Bluey superfans? Probably. But the helicopter mom in me is wishing she had pre-screened this particular episode, instead of serving my children on a platter an example we can’t follow. I’m happy for those families who are able to live in the kid-led universe but for those of us who understand they are orders, not suggestions, we’re going to have some conversations to undo Bluey’s most recent messaging. Change does not negate a happy ending, and we will find good things in our new duty station.
WEIGH IN: Have you seen the episode? What are your thoughts on how Bluey’s producers approached the topic of moving?
