If you’re interested in the Bluey Baby Race episode, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gone ahead and broken down the episode bit by bit for our readers.
I know we talk quite a bit about Bluey on this website. It’s a favorite show of parents who limit screen time for their kids, though.
Bluey’s writers have a unique way of reaching out to parents with virtual hugs and parenting lessons, while also modeling social-emotional skills for kids.
There’s one Bluey episode in particular that I’ve avoided writing about simply because it stirs up so many feelings inside of me – Baby Race.
There are few cartoon episodes on TV that help new parents, mothers in particular, feel more understood than Baby Race does.
Baby Race is an episode that speaks to a special kind of challenge new parents face. It’s one of the sweetest (and most emotional) episodes.
Let’s talk about it.
Which episode of Bluey is Baby Race?
Baby Race is the 50th episode in season 2 of Bluey. It first aired on November 17th of 2020.
Years later, Baby Race is still a fan favorite.
What happens in the Bluey Baby Race episode?
Introduction – “Run your own race”
Baby Race starts out with Bluey doing the monkey bars and asking her mother, Chili, if she’s better at them than Bingo.
Chili reminds Bluey that she’s 2 years older than Bingo.
Bluey then asked Chili if she’s better than Judo at the monkey bars.
Chili tells Bluey that they are at about the same level, but Bluey argues and tells her mom that she’s able to skip bars and Judo isn’t.
Chili, discouraging Bluey from comparing herself to others, assures Bluey that Judo will, too, be able to do that someday.
Chili tells Bluey, “Run your own race”, and Bluey asks her what she means by that.
Bluey as a baby
Chili invites Bingo and Bluey to listen to a story about when Bluey took her first steps.
The show flashes back to a scene from when Bluey was a baby and Bandit and Chili were new parents.
Chili narrates the scene wherein Bluey learned how to roll over and remarks on how early Bluey learned this skill.
Chili cheered in excitement and referenced her baby development book in this flashback scene.
Chili brags
Bluey asks her mother if she was proud of her for rolling over so early.
Chili admits that she was “a little too proud”.
A flashback scene of Chili sitting and talking to Nana about how special Bluey is plays at this point, followed by a scene from Moms Group.
During Moms Group, Chili continues to brag, this time to Coco’s mother, Bella, about how early Bluey rolled over for the first time.
Coco’s mother is supportive and praises Bluey as “clever”.
No longer winning the baby race
Across the room from Chili and Bella, Wendy, Judo’s mom begins to cheer for Judo, who has just sat on her own for the first time.
Wendy comments to another mother in Moms Group, “It’s not a race”, after her moment of bragging.
At this point in Chili’s story, Bluey interrupts that it really was a race – “a baby race”.
Chili tries to push Bluey’s development
Chili returns to the story and says that she was determined to get Bluey walking before Judo.
When she says this, she slips up and says, “before Judo”s mom”, cluing in the viewers as to who the “baby race” was really about.
Chili encourages Bluey to sit on her own, but, of course, it happens in its own time.
When Bluey finally does sit on her own, it happens during the same Moms Group session wherein Judo crawls for the first time.
Chili seemed disappointed that Judo is once again a step ahead of Bluey in their development.
Chili tries to get Bluey to walk, but Bluey would rather roll across the floor as a mode of getting around.
Chili checks with the pediatrician, who tells her that Bluey’s development is normal.
This doesn’t stop Chili from worrying, though. So, she reads more baby development books for tips on how to get Bluey to crawl.
Instead of crawling, though, Bluey begins to scoot around on her bottom.
Another scene from the Moms Group, shows Bluey “bum shuffling” around the room as Judo pulls herself up on furniture.
Again, Chili checks with Bluey’s pediatrician to make sure her development is normal, which the doctor confirms.
At this point, Chili finds tips on the internet that are supposed to help Bluey crawl.
Instead of crawling forwards, though, Bluey starts crawling backward.
Again, Chili checks with the pediatrician and he says there’s no need to worry.
Judo wins the baby race
At the next Moms Group, Judo can be seen walking while Bluey crawls backward.
Bluey interrupts Chili’s story to ask her mom if she was upset with her for not winning the baby race and Chili assures her that she wasn’t.
In another flashback scene, Chili is feeling sad and doesn’t want to go to the Moms Group.
Coco’s mother, Bella, notices that Chili isn’t there and goes to her house to check on her, where she finds her sitting on her steps looking sad.
Bella shows Chili a picture of her family and it turns out that Bella has many kids. Chili had assumed that Coco was her first.
Chili remarks that Bella must have learned a lot through mothering all of her children.
Bella replies, “I have, and there’s something you need to know”.
“You’re doing great”.
Chili’s eyes fill with tears (as do the eyes of every mother watching the show) and the 2 mothers hug.
Chili quits the race
The rest of the episode features Chili narrating how she changed the way she parented Bluey after the conversation with Coco’s mother.
She started worrying less and having more fun with Bluey.
She was able to feel happy about Judo’s accomplishments and even offer Judo praise for them.
Bluey learns to walk
Bingo asks Chili if Bluey ever learned to walk and Chili tells her that Bluey took her first steps in the kitchen.
In the flashback scene, Chili is standing at the sink while Bluey takes her first steps, walking toward Chili, whose back is toward her.
Bluey asks, “Why did I decide to walk in the kitchen?”.
Chili responds that she doesn’t know.
Bingo says, “Maybe you just saw something you wanted”. As Bingo says this, Chili can be seen in the flashback turning around to greet Bluey with her arms open.
What is Baby Race about?
Baby Race is about how new mothers often doubt themselves and get caught up in the idea that child development is a “race”.
Often, new mothers lose themselves in their new role and find their self-worth in their parenting ability.
A new mother’s parenting ability, though, can’t be measured in any tangible way.
So, quite often, we feel that if our child’s development is slower than another child’s, we are failing in our role.
This prompts new parents to compete with other parents, brag, and feel superior or inferior to other parents at various points in time.
Bluey can be seen reaching for her mother in several scenes throughout the episode, which Chili doesn’t notice.
The writers of the show seem to be implying that while Chili is caught up in the “baby race”, the true measure of a parent’s success – the love and attachment of their child – has already been achieved.
Baby Race showcases Chili’s journey to accepting her own child’s development and understanding that parenting is not a race.
This is probably one of the most beloved Bluey episodes ever made.
I can’t watch this episode without crying and I certainly couldn’t write about it without crying.
How do you feel about the Baby Race episode?
Or, should I ask, how many times and how hard did you cry?
Leave a comment below and share your feelings!