All You Need Is Love & Wah-Wah-Wah-Wah: 10 Parenting Lessons From The Peanuts

Entertainment Who better to learn from than kids who have been kids for 71 years...? by Jamie Kenney November 22, 2021

ABC It’s Peanuts Season! It’s the Great Pumpkin, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving , and Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown are the specials that make this time of year... well, special! But it's not just holiday nostalgia: there's a lot parents can learn from the Peanuts...

#1. Having a pet builds character

Of course, it helps when you have a pet like Snoopy with personas like a WWI pilot & Joe Cool. But even without alter-egos, Snoopy is a great dog who makes Charlie Brown’s childhood more whimsical. Snoopy/YouTube

#2. Sometimes, dinner is popcorn and jellybeans

Apple TV ... or Goldfish crackers and apple slices, or yogurt and Cheerios, or whatever your child has narrowly defined as acceptable. Because just like at Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving dinner, that’s all you can manage, and that’s OK! Apple TV

#3. You’re never too old for a blanket

Not only is Linus’ blanket cuddly and calming: it’s useful! He uses his it to open out-of-reach items like mailboxes, throw, catch, and play, proving that you don’t grow out of comfort objects, you grow to find new uses for them! Snoopy/YouTube

#4. Sometimes, the only way to win is not to play...

Peanuts Online/YouTube Whether it’s participating in The Mommy Wars, trying to talk your toddler out of a tantrum, or playing football with Lucy, you just have to know when to take a breath and say “Not today, Satan, not today.”

#5. Your mental health is important

(Though we do recommend going to an actual therapist and not a child with a lemonade stand-style “office.”)

#6. When life hands you a rock, just keep trick-or-treating

It’s a great metaphor for the parent who has had “one of those days” for about a week (or more). Don’t let rock after rock stop you from hoping for better next time! Daniel and Lucy/YouTube

#7. Sometimes your kids just hear a trumpet with a toilet plunger at the end

Shatner Method/YouTube Fun fact: that’s how they make the sound of adults talking in the cartoons! Sad fact: it’s true that half the time our kids just hear “wah wah wah wah wah wah.”

#8. Never lose faith

Parenting is hard, so it’s important to hold on to that which gives you hope and happiness: find your own Great Pumpkin! Peanuts Online/YouTube

#9. Let your kids express gender however they want

Just like Peppermint Patty, if your brassy daughter wants to be called “sir,” let them go for it! Though you should probably insist they wear actual shoes in the cold months instead of flip-flips. Snoopy/YouTube

#10. Love is enough to help little things flourish

Sometimes it may seem impossible, but a little love can go a long way in building up a tiny tree or a small child. Merry Christmas/YouTube