Why I love Peppa Pig

Retelling stories to calm my toddler

Phoenix loves Peppa Pig. Mommy loves Peppa Pig. We all love Peppa Pig.

Peppa Pig, a gift from Auntie Lisa

Several months ago if you asked what the number on viewed video on a tablet for Phoenix was there would have been no hesitation in my answer, it would have been Dora and Diego. She was in love with them. However, then she was introduced to Peppa Pig. I love Peppa Pig. For one, Peppa Pig doesn’t spend the entire episode yelling instead of talking. The second reason is that Peppa Pig is a sassy little pig, and entertaining for me as well as Phoenix. Recently I have started using Phoenix’s love for Peppa in my favor, especially her favorite episode: “Thunderstorm”.

Case in point: Last night.

Winters in Hawaii are much more mild than winters is most of the other 50 states, especially compared to, let’s say, Alaska. However, our house gets down to a cool 55 at night, and without central heating, that is cold. In particular, it is cold for Phoenix. During the warmer summer nights when she wakes up cold at night she covers herself up and goes back to sleep. The problem with the winter is that we use much heavier blankets and it is harder for her to cover herself back up. Last night she had a break down because she couldn’t get the blankets back onto herself and her arms and legs were too cold for her to sleep.

This left me with a cold, tired, mostly asleep 2-year-old. Not a great combo. She doesn’t do well when woken up from her naps, so waking her in the middle of the night is torture. By the time I got her untangled and changed her crying had gotten to a point that I would consider her distraught and inconsolable. No amount of sooth speaking or cuddling calmed her, and so I launched into a whispered story telling of Peppa Pig and the Thunderstorm.

Me: “One day Peppa Pig and her little brother George went to the garden to have a picnic. After a little while Mommy Pig called them to the house because it was going to rain. When Peppa got to the house Mommy asked if they remembered their toys. Oh, no! Who did Peppa forget?” Heavy crying instantly stops, and becomes whimpers and sniffles.

Phoenix (In the tiniest of whispers): “Teddy”

Me: “That’s right, Peppa forgot Teddy in the garden. Who will go get Teddy?”

Phoenix (Still barely a whisper, but with no tears): “Daddy Pig get Teddy.”

Me: “That’s right, Daddy Pig went to get Teddy. What happened when Daddy Pig got Teddy?”

Phoenix (A little louder): “Daddy Pig all wet!”

Me: “That’s right, Daddy Pig got all wet because it started raining. When he got inside what did 

Mommy and Peppa do?”

Phoenix: “Use towels, dry them off.”

And so it continued till we got to the end of the story:

Me: “And then the rain stopped and what did Peppa do?”

Phoenix (in her regular voice): “Jump in muddy puddles!”

What came next was most important to me. She was able to tell me why she had been so upset. In a very loud voice she said “It’s dark!” To which I responded: “Yes, it is dark, because it is still sleeping time.” She readily accepted this answer and rolled over and went to back sleep.

Sleeping in Mommy's bed is the best.

The storytelling took less than five minutes, and for Phoenix, it is the best method of calming her down. Other methods I have used sometimes take more than twenty minutes! Now it is a little after 9 a.m., and she is finally waking up. Today we will be talking about Peppa Pig and The Museum.