The greatest paternal figure is Bandit Heeler – the cartoon dad from Bluey (Picture: ABC)

He really is the perfect dad.

He has boundless energy, will drop everything to play with his children, he’s never afraid to admit when he’s wrong – and he always brings a smile to my face.

Sadly, I’m not talking about my own husband and the father of my two children, Tom.

No, no, no, my perfect paternal figure is Bandit Heeler – the cartoon dad from Bluey, every parent’s favourite programme.

Ever since Bluey first aired in the UK, it has been a phenomenal hit with the whole family.

As well as the hysterical humour and outlandish games appealing to children, the storylines – often dealing with the more emotional side of being a parent – resonate with adults too.

But I’d argue that one of the reasons that Bluey is so popular is because of Bandit, the four-legged father. Unlike other cartoon dads – Daddy Pig and Homer Simpson are just two who immediately spring to mind – Bandit isn’t simply there to be the butt of the joke while Chilli, the mum, runs the show.

No, Bandit is fully signed up to his role in the family, right from the very first episode, The Magic Xylophone. In it, six-year-old Bluey and her four-year-old sister, Bingo, are pretending that their musical instrument can freeze Bandit – and, rather than making an excuse to get out of the game or sit in front of the television, he throws himself into it – even when his girls turn the hosepipe on him.

His capacity for game-playing is inexhaustible. He is the perfect patient in the episode Hospital, only allowing his frustration to show slightly when Bluey, the doctor, insists on giving him injections.

He transforms into Daddy Gorilla in Zoo, a stressed-out businessman who needs to get to the airport on time in Taxi and the legendary Bert Handsome in Hairdressers, who ends up having to endure some pretty harsh treatment to get rid of his nits!

One of Bluey’s friends, Chloe, even becomes jealous of Bluey’s dad in Octopus when her own father isn’t quite as silly when she is trying to teach him to play – until she realises that they can have fun in their own way.

The best thing about Bandit is that he is not perfect

It is amazing to see a dad so dedicated to his children, that he really devotes himself to the games that mean so much to them.

All too often, Tom and I – and I’d guess most other parents – are too busy trying to make tea or do the dishes or finish work, that when you do make time to do a jigsaw with them, or play endless rounds of Hungry Hippos, you can really see their faces light up. Not because of the game itself, but because they have your undivided attention. 

But Bandit is not only the perfect playmate for his children. He’s good at the practical part of parenting too.

He takes Bluey to the playground when she wakes up early on a weekend in Café, he shows Bluey, Bingo and their friend Mackenzie the beauty of nature in The Creek and he makes Bingo her birthday cake in Duck Cake.

Sarah, Tom and their kids (Picture: Sarah Whiteley)

If that wasn’t enough, he is also a good partner too – playing with the kids in Sheepdog to let Chilli have a well-earned rest and talking them out of calling her when she goes on a rare night out at a baby shower in Daddy Putdown.

Having a dad who is there for the whole family sets the best example of how a healthy relationship looks to your children – and teaches them what they should expect from a partner. 

Like last weekend, when I was too ill to get out of bed and our plans for the day were ruined, Tom immediately booked them into our local soft play and took them to the library, not just to make sure they had a good day, but to make sure I could get the uninterrupted sleep I needed. 

Yet, despite all of these things in which he excels, the best thing about Bandit is that he is not perfect.

In Yoga Ball, he plays too roughly with Bingo, forgetting that she isn’t as old as her sister. In The Weekend, he is too caught up in the game to hear Bingo call him over to see the walking leaf insect.

And in The Pool, after making fun of Chilli for always being overprepared, he forgets the suntan lotion, goggles and all of the other things they need to enjoy going for a swim on a sunny day.

The thing is, though, Bandit isn’t afraid to admit his mistakes. And he’s always willing to say sorry to his children when he has upset them.

It’s an issue that is addressed directly in Perfect when Bluey is trying to make her dad the ideal Father’s Day card, but Chilli points out all of the times Bandit hasn’t quite got it right.

Similarly, in The Dump, when Bluey discovers that her dad is recycling all of her old drawings, she questions whether he really is the best dad in the world.

And he’s not. He’s the first to admit that. But that doesn’t make him any less great!

And that’s what we all need reminding of, isn’t it? We – and I mean parents and children alike – don’t need role models who set unattainable levels of perfection that we’re never going to reach that will put us off even trying.

What we do need is role models who do their best, who throw themselves into parenting, who give their children their time and effort and who don’t take life too seriously. Role models who get it wrong and admit they got it wrong – and it’s not the end of the world.

And that is why, this Father’s Day, I will celebrating not just my own dad, Geoff, who been a pretty perfect parent to me from the word go, and the man I chose to make the father of my children, Tom, who is doing a sterling job with Theo, now five, and Immy, three – but also Bandit, the cartoon creation who is showing fathers everywhere what a great dad looks like.

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Bandit is not only the perfect playmate for his children. He’s good at the practical part of parenting too.