Not-Netflix Natters Series 2 Episode 3

Why Children Need Characters Who Get Things Wrong

n Series Two of Not-Netflix Natters, I’m exploring how children’s media choices might be built more authentically.

This episode focuses on something deceptively simple: children need characters who make mistakes.

Not occasionally. Not neatly. But structurally.

Across children’s literature and television, the stories that endure are driven by misjudgement, embarrassment, exaggeration, and recovery. Think of the flawed protagonists in books by Roald Dahl, the outrageous comedy of David Walliams, or television series such as Bluey and The Creature Cases. In each case, growth emerges through process — not perfection.

When characters are emotionally flawless from the outset, stories lose tension. When mistakes are softened too quickly, children lose identification. Children do not learn resilience from watching competence; they learn it from watching repair.

Authentic storytelling is not chaotic or careless. It is confident enough to allow error.

Children don’t need perfect stories.They need honest ones.

Continue the Series

If you’re new to Series Two, you may want to begin with

Episode 1: What Do We Mean by Authentic? — where I define what authentic children’s storytelling really means.

You can also read

Episode 2: The Problem with Manufactured Perfection — exploring why carefully curated content often fails to endure.

Go to my Substack channel- janfalconer.substack.com

Channel for the longer article or my Youtube channel for the video.