Bo on the Go. Fail.

My daughter is four years old.  One of her favorite television programs is Bo on the Go, a show about a young girl with a pet dragon who lives in a playground of a castle and has friend who is a wizard who appears whenever needed.  She also has blue hair.  And the show is all about moving, physical activity, dancing, and being healthy.  So I thought it was great.  And was really excited about it.  Until this episode:

Wait for it...

The episode is called Bo and the Friendly Flowers, and it made my heart sink into my stomach.

During their adventures, Bo and her dragon friend wander into a field of "Friendly Flowers".  They are so friendly.  They love to hug!  And so... they hug Bo and her dragon friend.

So sweet!

But then Bo wants the flower to stop hugging her.  To put her down.  To allow her to continue her travels.

But...

This flower is SO friendly and loves to hug SO much, that it won't let go of Bo.

There is much lightness made of this.

Her dragon friend is in the same predicament.

The wizard appears and tells her that in order to get the flowers to stop hugging, they must wiggle like jellyfish.  And eventually...the flowers let go.  Bo and the dragon run forward to their next destination with the flowers waving their arm-like leaves after them - longing for more and more hugging.

It's horrifying.

I never EVER want my daughter to think that friendly people hug you and never let go, even when you ask them to stop.

I never want my daughter to think that she needs to put up with any BS like that.  Ever.  I don't want it to be shown in a positive light - that friendliness is akin to abuse and that's okay as long as you are making the "friendly flower" feel happy.

I don't want her to feel like she needs to smile and allow ANYONE to do ANYTHING to her that makes her uncomfortable.  Period.

And it is NOT friendly to hug someone until they scream and have to wriggle free.  And once they are free, it is certainly not friendly to reach after them, to chase them for more.

My daughter and I had a conversation after this episode where we talked about those flowers and how they were not really friendly.

I don't know what I think about Bo now.

I'm not sure where the producers got the idea that this might be cute for little girls to see.

Because it's not.

What do you think?