How Old Are Bluey & Bingo? The Sisters’ Play Style Reveals Major Clues

In a pretty short period, American parents have collectively seemed to move from telling one another “Do your kids watch Bluey? It’s kind of cute.” to asking “Have you ever thought about the symbolism in the “Flat Pack” episode of Bluey? But, like, really thought about it?” We’re not gonna lie: we get it! It’s a fantastic show, and has prompted fans of all ages to wonder more about the characters. Like, where is Bandit’s dad? Where does Bluey live? Or how old are Bluey and Bingo?

We may not know all the answers (#WhereIsBobHeeler?!) but we can help you with that last bit.

Bluey is 7 years old.

This is according to the official Bluey website, though it’s worth pointing out that she’s 6 throughout most of the series and only turns 7 in Season 3 (most of which is on Disney+ but we’re still waiting on 13 episodes as of press time).

“Endlessly curious,” Bluey “likes to laugh and have fun but more than anything else she loves to play games with her family,” especially games that let her role play as an adult. Indeed, the show often depicts Bluey pretending to be things like a doctor, a queen (or a butler) and, of course, a kind granny named Janet.

Bingo is 5 years old.

Again, we’re going off the official site, here! Bingo, who is 4 at the start of the series and turns 5 in Season 2, (the episode “Handstand” takes place at her birthday party) is described as a little ball of energy. Curious and empathetic, she loves nothing more than playing make-believe with Bluey. But she’s also a bit more prone to daydreaming than her sister, and is often “captivated by the small wonders of the world, like a blooming flower or a tiny insect making its way across a leaf.”

The Heeler sisters’ ages are significant to the core of the show.

It may seem as though the ages of the two pups are chosen at random. After all, it’s a show about talking dogs for kids in pre-school and early elementary school. It makes sense to just make the main characters the same age as the viewers, right? Well, sure, but even if it’s a show about talking dogs, fans understand that it’s very thoughtful and true to life in regard to how the characters act and interact.

In a 2019, executive producers Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson told Romper:

"At the core of every Bluey story is a game, which is at least inspired by the everyday experiences of bringing up and playing with our kids. The thing young kids love to do best is play. To them it's as natural as breathing — it's how they explore and understand their world. We've tried to capture that and recreate those extended games, which can make vivid, surreal, and often very funny stories, especially when adults are dragged into the mix."

And it just so happens that, between the ages of 4 and 6, kids begin to play differently than they had before, and it’s the kind of imaginative, cooperative, communicative play we see represented in every episode of the show.

Bluey and Bingo’s play style represents the final developmental stage of play.

American sociologist Mildred Parten Newhall was the first to designate developmental stages of childhood play, all of which come in their own time and are crucial to body and brain development according to pediatricians. They are Unoccupied Play (0-3 months); Independent/Solitary Play (0-2 years); Onlooker Play (2 years); Parallel Play (2+ years); Associate Play (3-4 years); and, finally, Cooperative Play, which begins starting around age 4. At this stage, children work together, not only because they are interested in a common goal, but they have an increased appreciation for the people they are playing with. This is a stage in which communication, compromise, problem-solving, and imagination are of the utmost importance.

In other words: Keepy Uppy is fun, but it’s also the kind of game they girls could only really play at the precise ages they were written to be.

So there you have it: Bluey and Bingo are 7 and 5 years old! (At least as of the latest episodes.) And, because the show is as thoughtful as it is, it’s something we could have guessed the whole time via developmental psychology!