How to Make Sense of What My 4-Year-Old Watches? Semiotic Mapping of Six Animated Children’s Series

What Happened?

It all started with my husband trying to distract our 4- and 2-year-olds from watching Lego’s Ninjago. Why? I wonder. We, as parents, have absolute faith in Lego as an educational brand. Our sons want to sleep in Lego pyjamas with their Duplo blocks. “I just don’t like it,” said my very “articulate” husband, to which I responded with eye-roll emoji 🙄.

Curious about his feelings, I turned to semiotics, a valuable tool for unpacking the gut feelings we often struggle to articulate. I picked six of my sons’ favourite shows to analyze their narratives and perceptions.

By definition, semiotics is the study of signs, symbols, and their meanings. In practical terms, it’s reading between the lines to see how meaning is created through various signs – be it visual, verbal, textual or anything you observed.

Six Children TV Programs

• Toddler’s best: Peppa Pig (UK) and Bluey (Australia) depict the everyday lives of their loving families of four. Peppa Pig showcases joyful moments, while Bluey offers deeply relatable stories that often provoke reflection—even for me as a parent.

• Boy’s Adventure: Paw Patrol (Canada) and Ninjago (Denmark) feature close-knit groups of friends saving their communities and combating evil. Ninjago focuses on grand missions like saving the world, while Paw Patrol tackles smaller, everyday challenges, like getting back stolen cakes.

• Asian Hits: Pokémon (Japan) celebrates the friendship between trainers and their pocket monsters. The adorable and friendly creatures typically align with the protagonists, while the spiky and intimidating ones follow the villains. The lesser-known (but highly recommended) Butt Detective (Japan) solves quirky cases using easy-to-follow clues. These mysteries might be committed by thieves or arose from misunderstandings.

Mapping

I selected two key sets of opposing signs that resonate most with me – the shows' moral framework and my sons' perceptions – then plotted these on a four-quadrant graph.

• X-axis: Consuming Contentment vs Engaging Challenges

The former describes feel-good stories that provide excitement or comfort without leading to any actionable outcomes. In contrast, the latter includes shows with interactive elements that encourage reflection and inspire real-life actions.

• Y-axis: Equal World vs Binary Morality

This explores whether all characters can make mistakes or if there are clear-cut characters for heroes and villains.

Results

The six series exhibit common traits but occupy distinct spaces.

• Harmonious Time = Equal World x Consuming Contentment

Peppa Pig promotes joy and comfort while acknowledging all characters' imperfections.

• Reflective Growth = Equal World x Engaging Challenges

Bluey encourages introspection and personal development through relatable experiences.

• Easy Conformity = Binary Morality x Consuming Contentment

Ninjago and Pokémon offer exciting stories with clear moral distinctions that might not always translate well into real-life scenarios. The little ones might merely be left with a simplistic impression of “fighting.”

• Empowered Choices = Binary Morality x Engaging Challenges

Paw Patrol and Butt Detective prompt audiences to think about how to be of help and act upon their own judgment in everyday life.

Takeaway

Semiotic mapping is fun! And effective. It gives insights into the underlying meanings of various media. This analysis provides only a glimpse into the learnings we can gather from a limited research scope. The technique is particularly powerful when applied to larger data samples, such as evaluating abstract concepts, understanding brand messaging, and dissecting cultural shifts.

Like all of us, my sons can virtually watch anything via online streaming platforms. These children’s series are just their foray into this world filled with signs and symbols that can subtly influence them. It reminds us to be more mindful of what our children are exposed to, so we can provide them with balanced perspectives.