Someone comes to this blog searching for “why is Caillou bald” every single day. Apparently, it is a matter of great concern to a lot of people. I am more concerned about the lack of adult supervision for Max, Ruby, Dora and Diego. At least Caillou has adults who take care of him. Everyone worried about Caillou needs to relax. His name MEANS “bald head” or “smooth stone” in French. Maybe he gave himself a haircut and his mother had to repair the damage. Maybe his parents hate hippies. Maybe his town has a lice problem. He’s cute with that smooth little head. He’s bald because the artist likes him that way.
55 thoughts on “Why is Caillou bald?”
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Darn it. Now I have to go and google “why is Caillou bald” just to see what comes up.
I was going to say he was related to Charlie Brown, but then I remembered even ol’ Chuck has a couple of hairs.
Maybe they’re teaching kids tolerance to cancer patients.
Maybe people Google it because their kids want to know if they will be bald when they are four years old.
Not me, though. I Googled it b/c my 2 year old and I were watching it and I had a WHAT THE HELL? moment.
As for the others (Max, Ruby, Dora, Diego) we don’t watch them b/c we have basic cable. 😉
I don’t have a problem with him being bald so much as I do with the fact that there is no discipline in his life, he whines constantly, I want to kill the damn narrator, and really doesn’t teach the children anything but how to be a brat!
I agree with Jesus´s comments. Cancer patients indeed.
`o
My 2 yr. old daughter loves the show, but I was always confused at the fact that a 4 yr. old was bald. I thought it maybe had something to do with cancer, but nothing was ever mentioned in an episode so I wasnt sure. Maybe just the illustrators idea…
I think the shows creators should be aware that it makes my child and maybe others compare actual cancer patients out in public to the main charecter and I am always stummped/embarrassed. Just my thoughts on the issue
I heard that Caillou is was based off a childrens book about a baby and when they decided to make the book into a show they needed to give a caillou a little more deminsion so he would be more interesting to the viewers so they made his head look the same as his baby self from the books and just added a pre schoolers body.
And i agree! where are doras parents and why are they allowing her to go on the adventures all through out the rainforest with a little monkey friend with no adult supervision.
Futhermore, Swiper the fox seems to constantley be stalking her.
My son, who is 4, loves this show because he has alopecia, which is a skin disease that caused all of the hair on his head to fall out. So I’m actually very happy that Caillou is bald because my son feels that he can relate to him.
I think everyone needs to quit searching for the answer to the question. Caillou is bald because it makes children happy.
I am just glad to see that I’m not the only person who has wondered about this. I honestly didn’t think anything would come up when I Googled this question.
I watch Calliou on Sprout TV when I am watching my little angel and have always wondered. I always wondered why he was bald, and now I know. I always asked my angel’s Mom why, and she did not know and now I can fill her in.
I always thought it was cancer related also, which is a not a bad thing for kids to learn about. I am relieved to know now and can sleep easy tonight. Then the next time I babysit, I can enjoy the program a bit more.
So I Googled “why is Caillou bald” This is the answer I found! Caillou stands for all children. He doesn’t have curly blond hair, a carrot-top, brown hair, glasses, or ethnic features, because he represents all children. We wanted to make Caillou universal so every child could identify with him. And they do! Caillou’s baldness may make him different, but we hope it’s helping children understand that being different isn’t just okay, it’s normal.
Yeah I googled the question and ended up here. I guess there’s not a hidden story. My 2yo loves this show too and hasn’t asked yet. It was my question!
In French, caillou usually means “pebble” or “stone”, but it can also mean “bald head”, which was most likely the writer’s intention. The official Caillou website answers the common question “Why is Caillou bald?” by explaining that the original storybook character of Caillou was much younger than the television character, and like many very young children, had no hair.
HES a gangster…a pelon..lol EL GALLO…haha
I think Dora is not watched by a parent because it is really a representation of her imagination no kid go’s on an adventure by themselves in 30 minutes and Diego rescues animals which is once again what children do imagine I do however have a problem with the fact that max does not obey ruby and is a bit disrespectful to her but all these shows are really great for preschoolers and some kids I mean I’m 12 and I don’t mind watching cailluo
-Tori age 12
I’m a French-Canadian and “Caillou” doesn’t mean “bald head”. It means “pebble”.
I have a bald little boy (due to a medical condition) and he will be bald forever. I was asking the question because I am so happy Caillou IS bald. My son loves Caillo because it shows him you can be bald and still be just a normal boy.
my 2yr old son loves Caillou we watch him over and over and over again. It is hard to get him to watch anything else. I wanted to know why he was bald but my son could care less.
He’s a Gray. He was the sole survivor when his spaceship crashed to Earth in mid 1947. He’s been slowly gathering enough parts to build a spacecraft to go back to his home planet in the Baldhead Nebula. The only part he’s missing now is the Ion Thruster. Since cold fusion has yet to be invented on this planet, it’s not certain if he will manage to get back home anytime soon. Poor little guy just wants to go back and get laid (exchange nucleotides with a willing mate).
My husband and I were trying to figure this out as well. The combination of the fact that he’s bald with the fuzzy “memory” bubble around the screen made us a little concerned that Calliou was…ehem…dead. But as it turns out, he’s just meant to be a representation of all children – and is drawn so all kids could relate to him. However, last time I checked, not all kids were white, but meh, can’t win them all.
Our four year old doesn’t even think about it, I don’t think.
My husband and I really can’t stand the show, but it’s our four year old that matters. I have also wondered at least about Max and Ruby…where are their parents? You at least hear about and Dora and Diego’s parents once in a while; Max and Ruby don’t even seem to have any!
My 2-year LOVES Caillou. I don’t think he’s a brat ,I think he’s a kid with very pateint parents and adoring grandparents. My husband is bald and my daughter has a thing for bald guys-especiallly daddy and her Uncle Vern. I think it’s great Caillou represents all kids and I think it’s great that he’s bald! I love Rosie and Rexy and the whole family! Thanks to Grace-we’ve all become BIG Caillou fans!
His name also means pebble in french. Which I guess his parents gave to him knowing he’d be as dumb as a rock.
I arrived here wanting to know why Calliou is bald, but since you addressed other kids’ shows issues, I’d like to say that I am a grandparent with custody of a 4 year old. So many shows are focused on “rescues” that return baby animals to their mommies, that I have limited our viewing of them. I noticed that Ava was understandably saddened by this recurrent theme. Don’t TV writers consider the feelings of kids who don’t live with their parents?
Is caillou,s dad a hippy? Perhaps the drugs of the 1960,s contribute to his sons lack of hair? Thoughts?
My little brothers and sister watch caillou, but it always pisses me off, why the hell is this kid bald? Is the show just trying to show different kids and their ethnicities? Also he getrs away with so much crap, if the kids I babysit did have the crap he did theyd be in time out,
the real life lessons are slim to none. Caillou gets away with to much crap and his parents need to be a little more strict.
My son loves caillou it was driving me and my wife crazy why he was bald. The producers of the show say its so all children can relate to him so no hair color and no ethnic features.
But not all children are bald. And he is obviously white.
I agree with the previous post, I can understand the illustrators wanting Caillou’s to be universal, with his head being bald and not having a specific hair color, HOWEVER, how can he represent every child if he is white?!?! I could understand their point better if he was maybe a blue, green or orange bald kid. Regardless, my daughter loves the show and she is black.
I wondered this question simply on a whim. I don’t quite understand how he can be universal being white and bald. My kids love it of course even though they aren’t bald.
As for other shows, I have a bigger beef with the fact that out of all the things he should have learned from a Dora show, he spouts out “Swiper no swiping!” instead. Yea, that was the end of that show for us.
yeah why is dora so nice to swiper? he keeps trying to rob her….yeah great idea teach kids to be nice to robbers why dont we just tell them to get in the car with strangers too .
Caillou stands for all children. He doesn’t have curly blond hair, a carrot-top, brown hair, glasses, or ethnic features, because he represents all children. We wanted to make Caillou universal so every child could identify with him. And they do! Caillou’s baldness may make him different, but we hope it’s helping children understand that being different isn’t just okay, it’s normal.
http://www.chouette-publishing.com/about-caillou/frequently-asked-questions/why-caillou-bald
Thank you, Ms. Carr!
but he NEVER grows hair? and everyone else has hair!
Caillou stands for all children. He doesn’t have curly blond hair, a carrot-top, brown hair, glasses, or ethnic features, because he represents all children. We wanted to make Caillou universal so every child could identify with him. And they do! Caillou’s baldness may make him different, but we hope it’s helping children understand that being different isn’t just okay, it’s normal.
Caillou stands for all children. He doesn’t have curly blond hair, a carrot-top, brown hair, glasses, or ethnic features, because he represents all children. We wanted to make Caillou universal so every child could identify with him. And they do! Caillou’s baldness may make him different, but we hope it’s helping children understand that being different isn’t just okay, it’s normal.
http://www.chouette-publishing.com/about-caillou/frequently-asked-questions/why-caillou-bald
I saw somewhere that someone said that Caillou IS a cancer patient and that the reason why every episode looks like a fuzzy memory is because he’s dying or something like that. It was just a theory though, but I guess Caillou is just a normal, healthy toddler.
Caillou means ‘pebble’ in French… I don’t think it’s a matter of great concern. It seems to be more a matter of curiousity. It is, after all, uncommon for a 4 year old to be completely bald.
Caillou means ‘pebble’ in French, not ‘bald head’… The name Caillou for the show stems from the work of French psychoanalyst Dr. Françoise Dolto, whose solutions all revolve around a single fundamental premise: respect for the child as a person. Also, given the fact that it is pretty uncommon for a 4 year old to be completely bald it is understandable that people would be curious about it. I think the writer mistakes concern for curiousity.
ilove this show. my son started losing his hair when he was 3months old. he was completely bald before he turned 1yo and has been bald ever since. dermatologists diagnosed him with alopecia ariata is now in first grade, taking jiu-jitsu class and loves to dance like The late MJ. 🙂
he gets bullied in school. but he is very confident of his bald head and tries his best not to be affected by bullies.
if you want to know more about alopeciA, please visit the website attached on this comment.
thank you for having an open mind towards kids who lost their hair.
I don’t know why people are so upset that people want to know why Caillou is bald. I looked it up because my child asked me if Caillou has cancer and I would like to be able to answer her. We love the program, she was just concerned for the character.
As the mother of a child with cancer, I love that Caillou is bald 🙂
HERE ARE THE POSSIBILITIES:
1. HE IS A CANCER PATIENT
2. HE HAS HAD LICE PROBLEMS IN THE PAST
3. HE USED TO BE A GINGER
4. HE GOT CARRIED AWAY WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS (VERY CARRIED AWAY)
5. HE’S A REBEL
Bald or not…Caillou is a whiny brat. His parents let him get away with being a whiny brat and I think it teaches kids to be whiny too.
And yes…Caillou is clearly caucasian. There are better programs out there for kids.
Maybe Caillou is a Buddhist monk-wanna-be?
i want to know the reason caillou is bald? i heard he has cancer.
Here it is straight from the horse’s mouth (Caillou publisher)
Caillou stands for all children. He doesn’t have curly blond hair, a carrot-top, brown hair, glasses, or ethnic features, because he represents all children. We wanted to make Caillou universal so every child could identify with him. And they do! Caillou’s baldness may make him different, but we hope it’s helping children understand that being different isn’t just okay, it’s normal.
And seriously what 4 yearold doesn’t have “whiny” moments? The grownups always show how Caillou how he can deal with his feelings in different situations.