Featured Image Credit: Hasbro
Topics: TV And Film, Entertainment, Parenting, News
Lucy Devine
If you've got toddler-aged children, there's a good chance they've watched Peppa Pig, and an even bigger chance that they're absolutely obsessed with it.
The cartoon kids' show originally started back in 2004, but has since gone on to become a global phenomenon, branching into toys, games, books, and even a theme park: Peppa Pig World.
Kids are so obsessed with Peppa that when Mummy Pig announced her 'pregnancy' earlier this year, the internet lost the plot.
Yep, Mummy Pig announced she was expecting her third piglet on 31 March, the same day as Mother's Day in the UK.
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The animal family then revealed they'd be having a baby girl with a glossy Grazia magazine shoot, and on 20 May, it was announced that Mummy Pig had given birth to a daughter named Evie.
Incredibly, she gave birth in the exact same spot as Kate Middleton - in the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, London.
"I'm feeling fantastic," Mummy Pig told PEOPLE.
"I'm so thrilled Evie is finally here, happy and healthy! I won't say it was an easy birth, because I'm not sure such a thing exists — oink!
"But it was all worth it once she was snug and safe in my arms, and the family got to meet her properly."
On 30 May, an hour-long episode called 'Peppa Meets The Baby' will be released in cinemas to mark Evie's arrival.
But despite the hype around the cartoon, a child psychologist has issued a warning to parents who let their kids watch Peppa.
Dr Martina Paglia explained that the unusual tones in the characters' voices are 'hypnotic'.
"Children’s hearing tends to be much more effective than adults and they have a sensitivity to both high and low-frequency sounds," Dr Martina told Metro.co.uk.
"George and Peppa have very high voices, Daddy Pig has a very low voice. A contrast between the two is therefore bound to attract and maintain a child’s attention over a short period of time.
"Similarly, the light, bright and catchy theme tune is also high in pitch. It is simple and easily recognisable – a theme carried throughout the content of the whole programme."
Dr Martina explained that there's also a reason why kids return to the show, wanting to watch it over and over again.
"A child entranced by the music and content of the programme is likely to have an efficient recall," she said.
"[They] will remember the ‘P’ repetition of Peppa Pig. Although they are unlikely to pronounce all the words accurately, they will be encouraged to attempt the Peppa – like Papa – at an early stage of development."
Meanwhile, parenting and behavioural consultant Sophie Giles, told Fabulous that the show could encourage negative behaviour.
"It is interesting how incredibly patronising [the way Daddy Pig is spoken to] can be in the English version, how the characters stress that dialogue and how the director allowed that to happen," she said.
"It can really skew what your child comes away with – and you know, kids love it!"
Tyla has reached out to Hasbro for comment.