Toddlers don't need Peppa Pig to go astray

Step aside, Dennis the Menace. The worst kiddie role model of the modern age is that infamous miscreant Peppa Pig. It would appear Peppa and her brother George have been inciting small children to jump in puddles, reject vegetables, splatter cake-mix and – deep breath – to mock their parents. I am startled by this on various levels. Firstly, it seems there are adults who can watch Peppa Pig without reaching for Strychnine. It also means that parents exist who are so blessed with free time they loll about watching cartoons with their offspring, rather than using the TV as a nanny and sedative.
Strangest of all, however, is the knowledge they believe their infant’s misbehaviour is derived from cartoon characters. If that were the case, I would have spent my entire childhood dropping anvils on my siblings’ heads, in the manner of Tom and Jerry. Indeed, levels of cheek and violence in children’s cartoons seem vastly reduced since the days of Bugs Bunny and co.