Australian cartoon show Bluey has been branded "fatphobic" after its latest episode showed Bandit and Chilli, Bluey the dog's mum and dad, weighing themselves on the scales, with Bandit sighing and touching the excess skin around his middle.
The episode, titled 'Exercise', saw Bandit then working out in the backyard with his kids, before heading to the doctor at the end of the episode for a check-up.
However, the scene hasn't gone down well with Australian viewers, with a number of parents taking to social media to complain about how the show had been complicit in body shaming.
"Is it just me or did the scene in the bathroom at the start of the episode make anyone else feel uncomfortable? I was mortified to see this kind of behaviour on a kids' show," one said.
"With one in five children around the world showing signs of disordered eating, I really expected more," another parent complained.
"I was so disappointed with the episode this morning. We really don’t say stuff like that around our daughter and it was disappointing to see it replicated on television," another said.
But some parents felt the episode was teaching children about the health problems associated with obesity.
"I politely disagree. Scales are only a bad thing if you make them," one said.
"I love the message about being active with your kids, but this wasn't good watching at the start," another stated.
However, one claimed her children hadn't even registered that Bluey's parents were weighing themselves while watching the show.
"I think everyone is overreacting! My three-year-old is more focussed on what Bluey and Bingo are doing – going to work!
"She's been playing 'work' all day after watching it this morning. The message adults and kids take from the same situation is completely different."
