Inappropriate toys
by KATE HUNTER
Just what every family needs – an ATM for the rumpus room.
I was shocked and felt a twinge of outrage when I realised these existed.
‘Do our kids really need to be worrying about cashing up before kindy?’
But then I thought about it – I had a toy cash register when I was five and loved it. We played shops, and I mimicked the lady who served Mum at the shops (it was always a lady). Kids are still mimicking their parents and a trip to the shops these days often involves swinging by the ATM. Toys are tools for playing pretend.
So I guess it’s not that bad – as long as the kid doesn’t say, ‘Holy f*#ck. WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO?’ when she looks at the receipt. If that happens, we may have a problem.
What toys do you think are inappropriate for kids? Are any toys banned at your place? Did your parents have a, ‘No toy guns’ policy, or zero tolerance for Barbie?
The Punisher
.jpg "Lego concentration camp2 (Not actual toys, featured in an art exhibition)"){kind=small}
Comments
128 Comments so far
The toy std bacteria are actually part of a much larger range of plush microbes, and I’m pretty sure those toys aren’t actually aimed at little kids but rather the science nerds. The chickenpox one is pretty cute.
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I am horrified by the Hitler one. It is beyond offensive. Not funny, not inappropriate…OFFENSIVE.
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My parents had a “no barbie” rule – I still wanted barbies and would save for them and beg grandparents for them. That being said, I will also have rules for my child(ren). I remember understanding WHY my parents had a “no barbie” rule and the lessons around that point remain with me today…they also had a no gun rule which wasn’t a big deal to us (my sister and myself)..but again, I remember the WHY and that sticks with me as well.
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what were the reasons behind ‘no Barbie’?
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body image for a young girl – focus on clothes and appearance – basically that
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Some of those were horrendous.
It’s funny. I used to go to my brother’s room (he’s 4 yrs older) to play with him when we were younger, and I would dress my Barbie up in my brother’s Action Man doll clothes and tried to fit the guns in their hands but their hands were not made to hold them, unlike the hands on Action Man dolls. My aunt is from a country with compulsory military service so it seemed normal to me, so Barbie was simply doing “aunt’s job” in my young mind.
I think it’s a shame how gendered toys are, even in this day and age. I’ve heard homophobic comments from parents when their children played with toys that are marketed towards the child’s opposite biological gender – kids being called f*g, p**f etc. simply for wearing a pink hat or playing with a toy that was “not made for boys”.
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I think all toys are pretty naf. My kids are so happy drawing or colouring in we hardly ever get the toys out.
Re boys becoming girls – I don’t like the wording or concept, but there is some truth in the sediment. We need to teach boys to be boys. I am teaching my son to use a drill and screw driver. Way more fun than guns.
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Bloody predictive text – sentiment
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What about Lego?! That’s not naff… god I loved Lego as a kid and now my own kids love it so I get to play with it all the time!
Our house is a lot like yours with the craft though… my 5 year old starts crafty things at around 7am and would happily do that all day till bed time. I think that’s why she likes things like Lego though, its very creative.
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GAHHHH!!! Please, please, please fix the galleries!!!!!!!!
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Mne worked for a while today but stopped again?
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Agree. This has been commented on a lot, but no reply? Do you hear us????
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Will never buy my son guns or allow him to keep any that are gifted to him. I have no issue if he uses his imagination but by allowing him to own guns implies that I support this type of play.
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My almost 11 year old still loves her Barbies. She’s moving onto those freaky looking Monster High dolls but the Barbies still have a special place in her heart. These Barbies have a great life, they have every accessory known to man- a cruise ship, plane, palace, 4 story town house, campervan and pool. I have absolutely no problems with my kids playing with Barbie – She’s one ambitious chick who can do anything she sets her mind to! Who wouldn’t like barbie’s life? Or boobs for that matter (yes- I’m joking!)
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Monster High dolls. Why?
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cos they like em….Same reason they like Barbie.
My 8 year old got a couple of Coles/Myers cards last year and got some. At least they don’t look like small hookers like bratz dolls.
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My sister had one of those ‘growing up’ Skipper dolls, move her arms one way and hey presto, boobs! Looking at that pic now makes me realise how creepy it was!
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speechless
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OMG, that gallery was hilarious! and quite horrifying at the same time. you do have to wonder if the designers are really so stupid or naive to design a childs toy that resembles a phallic symbol. At first i did not think the pole dancing pole was such a bad thing, it looked targeted at an older (teenage) audience and it is a form of excersize. But then I saw the garter strap and the toy money that was to be put in there. by whom I wonder?
The cleaning kit not so bad, maybe because it is targeted at girls being pink? my son had a red and blue one from target and it is still one of his favourite toys, kids love to mimic, and cleaning is just another “mummy thing” to do.
The only yhings we had banned at our house were books or music my parents deemed unsuitable. my dad didn’t like Roald Dahl’s revolting rhymes and had it banned from our small school library. Spoil sport.
Me I’m not a fan of guns. never have been, never will so I don’t buy them or games that use them for my children. But kids will find things to shoot with, my 2 year old was playing with his older brothers hand held magnifying wand for searching bugs and was going ‘bang bang’ shoot shoot around the house.
The punisher in the pic above looks like it belongs in an adult shop!!!! and i don’t even want to know what the sexually transmitted disease toys and the wee and poo fluffies were meant to do.
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‘Roald Dahl’s revolting rhymes’ Oh no! That book is hilarious!
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Revolting Rhymes is awesome and I loved it as a kid but I was surprised when I was reading it to my kids and Prince Charming calls Cinderella a “c*nt” while he is cutting everyone’s head off.
They used to read them out to the entire infants school when I was a kid, and we all used to squeal when they said knickers. Times do change
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I was adamant that when I had my first child – a daughter, she would not be dressed up as a fairy or princess when she was really small. I used to look at tiny toddlers sitting in supermarket trolleys with fairy wings on and roll my eyes and tut-tutting that it was just the mother who wanted their daughter to look like that. Back of course, when I wasn’t a parent and I most definitely knew everything about parenting!
But then my daughter turned 2 and was given a fairy dress by a friend and she never wanted to take it off her back. A few months later, her sister was born. And when said little sister was all of 11 months old and toddling about, she would bring me her big sisters fair wings or tiara or other such items and demand to have them put on her. And she did it everyday and she would have a barney if I tried to take them off her before a trip to the shops.
So there I was, a mother with an 11 month old sitting up in the supermarket trolley with her fairy wings and tiara on. She just wanted to be like her big sister.
I wonder how many other people then looked at us and rolled their eyes?!
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I probably did, because it would have been a few days before my girl got her first tutu and fairy wings
But let’s continue to blame everyone else for bringing awareness of these items to our girls in the first place, haha
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Oh god, it’s inevitable almost with a girl isn’t it?! We have more outfits made of tulle that I could have ever imagined!
But you know what? I’ve made my peace with it all. It’s all gentle, harmless fun. They love it. They play for hours and hours and make up games, use their imagination and I think that’s really important. As Einstein said ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’….
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My son is still dressing up as spiderman to go out, and he’s nearly 5!!!! I’m not fussed, kids grow up waaaay too fast these days. He always gets lots of attention in it haha
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Wait till he’s 11 and still dressing up (and going out in public) as Batman!
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That’s funny girls
I picked up my 5 year old from a birthday party at a boys house a while ago and when I got there she was in a lycra Superman costume. It was hilarious seeing her in that, and she loved it.
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Be thankful they are wearing clothes out. I seen a little boy in the supermarket wearing an apron….only an apron – his bare little bottom sticking out the back. Was a bit cute and everyone was having a little giggle at him. But surely his dad could have put some jocks on him first :S
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I wasn’t really adamant but I didn’t think to buy my daughter a doll – just didn’t really cross my mind. I went to kindy one day and they told me she was obsessed with dolls. Then I remembered dear ol Sammy my first doll and my imaginary mum world. I would never deprive her of those fun places. So ‘molly’ joined the family.
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The past few days I haven’t been able to view the slide show using my iPad, is anybody else having the same issue?
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Just read further down and seen its not just me who can’t view the galleries
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Thanks Simone! We are working on it (and driving our tech people crazy
) x
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My no gun policy and no violent movies has played off. My son tells kids off if they play with guns and he is 4.
he was flicking through a catalogue from the Kmart Toy sale and looked all serious point out toys that were “too Gunnish”. His own term.
My other pet hate is them singing about being sexy. I have been to a three year old party where the had a d.j who kept playing ” I am sexy and I know it” and similar songs were played at my daughters kinder disco last week( along with sexy video clips). I have nagged them so much about not singing sexy songs they blocker their ears at the disco.
Moxy dolls- hate them. Always get a few for Christmas that mysterious end up in the bin. Not even the op shop as I wouldn’t want other girls with sexy pouty dolls.
My daughter did tell my mother in law I binned a Moxy bag because the girl was ” scanky”. I have sinc been more careful she does to here my descriptions of her presents and just vanish them when she is not looking.
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I didn’t buy my son any guns and one day found him using his fingers as a gun. We didn’t watch violent movies either (no vide/pay tv etc), so not sure where it came from. Not sure how thrilled I’d be if I heard another kid telling off my kid for having a toy gun though.
I personally thought moxie dolls are a lot less sexy than bratz dolls and more realistically shaped than barbie dolls, but each to their own.
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Poor mans bratz dolls the moxy’s. No bratz have entered out life yet.
My son has tried the play stick guns fingers etc but I was so serious with him about it he has never again.
Killing is or cool at all. but then my son like to wear sparkles and pretend he is a rock star so maybe he is not wired that way?
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Fair enough, we’ll have to agree to disagree. I still wouldn’t be really happy with some kid telling one of my kids off for having a toy gun.
My sons a grown man now and still hasn’t killed anyone despite having toy guns and his own violent console games. I actually think most people aren’t wired that way.
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You may have a point there about the way we are wired. My son has only told his friends who his is playing with that not he doesn’t play with guns as they are for killing which is true so hardly bad behavior.
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I guess I view guns a bit differently because I know some sports shooters (and have done it myself), where the only thing killed is paper or a clay pigeon.
I also know people that live on properties, so guns are more utilitarian than only destructive, but yes guns are primarily used for killing.
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I swore my children would have no guns. My youngest child has SO MANY GUNS. And even if they’re not actual guns, they’re innocent objects made into the shape of guns. And other weapons.
I’ve given up.
This has taken me totally by surprise because my first two had no guns.
Also Star Wars. Is Star Wars inappropriate? He’s 3.
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My 3 yr old is obsessed with Star Wars… I blame Lego. He also has many guns….Mummy’s hairdryer, Ikea allen key, banana, my old Barbie bent at the middle with the head ripped off. I have given up too.
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i managed to keep my first born away from guns til he was about 4- yay! but the second born at 2 years was keen on star wars and guns because his big brother was- still no toy guns in my house, just light sabers, but they MAKE guns out of anything- duplo blocks, a stick, their finger- unavoidable! though we have had talks about the fact that mummy doesn’t like guns as they kill people- ‘don’t worry we only kill the bad guys’ said my 6 year old, ‘yes, but bad guys have mummies too and their mummies will miss them if you kill them’ i replied. this seemed to make sense to my 6 year old, and he knows it’s just pretend and to keep guns away from mummy!
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Stop trying to turn your sons into daughters. Relax already, playing with a gun is no more likely to turn your sons into violent killers than playing with Barbie is going to turn your daughters into bimbos. Boys play fight. Get over it.
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This comment is so wrong I’m having trouble finding the words. Tying to turn boys into girls? By not letting them have guns? WTF?
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oh thats right, in the post PC word, we all have to pretend boys and girls are the same dont we. My bad.
Except, see, they arent. Boys like play fighting and playing with guns more than girls, and guess what, it doesnt hurt them to do so. There, I said it. What is so bad in saying so. Chilax.
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There’s n othing wrong with that comment. The problem here is that boys aren’t being allowed to establish their own pecking order through play.
It’s so damaging to the development of boys it’s not funny.
As for the kid who tells his mates off for playing with guns, he’s just going to get flogged when he gets to school for being a wimp, and his mother will wonder why her boy doesn’t fit in. She will absolutely deny it when told that it’s her fault, but it is.
LET BOYS BE BOYS.
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Lego star wars figures are so cute (and Lego batman, Lego Harry potter…..)
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this is a reply to anon just above- I doubt my kid will get beaten at school. beat someone up- a possibility.
Most parents agree guns are a no no and I do not equate them with masculinity. if they want to work out aggression and masculinity football and sport are a much better option and My son is a sporty thug football player.
who knows guns are for killing which is never ok.
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Well good for you.
You’ve just proved how much you don’t know about boys.
It’s women like you that cause the problems that boys are having. Stop raising them in your image and talk to the kid’s father.
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You seem the one with a problem.
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Guns and killing are not the pinnacle of masculinity.
Amandarose has just stated she is not at all against letting her sons play traditionally male orientated sports that are all about rough and tumble, pecking order and the common goal. This is more conducive to social and identity development than pointing a bit of plastic at someone and saying, bang bang, you’re dead.
You’ve just proved you’re fond of your own opinion and pinned the ignorance label on someone while exhibiting a fair amount of it yourself. Not only that, but you’ve also projected the problems boys are having (such as) on parents who perceive weapons a certain way. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?
Oh, and by the way, girls like to rough it up just as much as boys. I can’t count how many times I came home with mud in my hair, bruises on my shins and a winning smile. Stop raising boys to be girls, indeed. Stop raising children along preconceived gender lines and just let them be who they are, more like.
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I gave up on the gun thing when Barbie was bent in the middle and made into a gun. Fits really well into a toddler hand …
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My niece is obsessed with Star Wars but all she ever wanted was a light saber. She hasn’t asked for a blaster once
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Hell, _I_ want a light saber. You really couldn’t take yourself seriously if you don’t want one.
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We didn’t have guns. Until the day my son chewed his vegemite toast into a gun and fired it. And then I gave up….
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My 3yo loves Star Wars because his brother does. I’m happy because I love Star Wars too, and after 4 years of Wiggles it’s a welcome change!
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i saw a petrol bowser int he catalogue fora bout $30. Not that bad a toy, but we used to fill our cars up with ‘petrol’ at the tree, letterbox, chair etc……Does having all these actual toys limits kids imaginations I wonder? And their abilitiy to improvise?
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Cardboard boxes are fantastic! Wins out over a plastic toy any day
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We kept the cardboard box our last fridge came in and our kids 6 & 9 at the time) loved it. Cut a door and windows into it, colored it, inside and out. I was always seeing it shuffling about the house, seemingly by itself, or I’d find toys in it randomly, or hear them giggling in it. Best toy ever. It took me ages to get jack of a huge box sitting about the house.
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Gotta love the big cardboard boxes. My boy has always loved them and we had a large purchase recently and we weren’t allowed to throw the box out as he wanted to make something out of it – he is now 13!!
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I so agree! My parents always tell the story of my own first birthday when I was presented with a box covered with psychedelic patterned paper, filled with new toys and apparently I just tipped all the toys out and sat in the box for most of the day.
When we still had nappies in the house, we were always making the nappy boxes into cars. My crafty daughter would add paper plates for wheels and loads of other stuff and then the girls would play for ages pretending to be driving fire trucks or school buses etc.
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I’m a Barbie collector, so it would be a bit hypocritical if I said my future daughter (or my current niece) couldn’t have Barbie dolls
I’m not fond of Bratz, but I think from the beginning, Barbie has been intended to foster the imaginations of little girls… certainly did for me!
I have an autistic spectrum disorder, and I actually believe that playing Barbies with other girls, particularly as an older pre-teen really helped my social learning and integration, as I was able to observe the other girls creating social scenarios with their Barbies and mimic that with mine while I was around them. Admittedly, on my own I spent most of my time building amazing Barbie houses, decorating them, and dressing and styling my Barbies more than the imaginative play.
For a girl whose brain isn’t wired to react and respond socially the same as other girls, it can be really helpful to foster the kind of social imaginative play that most girls find attractive. (There is a reason Barbie is STILL very popular among girls, as are other pretend social play toys.)
That’s just my 20c anyway
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No autistic spectrum disorder here, but I only enjoyed doing hair and clothes on my two barbies. The role playing and marriage with Ken bored me to bits as did the scripted play: “then your barbie goes over there and says such and such to my barbie”.
Not that there’s anything wrong with those games, glad they helped you out, just wanted to point out that by ourselves and in that regard you were no different from me.
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I instigated “no guns” as a single mum 20 years ago. Then I met my DH who had a son the same age as mine, who was allowed guns. My boy’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree – he was almost 3! He became obsessed, making guns from Lego, using his fingers and also sticks. My husband and I jokingly say that’s the reason my boy joined the Army at 17, was deployed to Afghanistan twice and is a son to be proud of!
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If someone can buy their kid this ATM machine toy and get video footage of them saying ‘Holy f*#ck. WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO?’ while staring at a receipt in shock and put it on YouTube, I will be very grateful.
That would be too hilarious.
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Ha! Ross Greenwood just tweeted re the My First ATM” ‘As long as we can charge the kids $2.50 everytime they use it.’
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Just got the gallery to work. I have those stuffed STIs! We have a whole series of stuffed germs and diseases.
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My gallery doesn’t work… I have to open each pic up individually
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I saw this in the catalogues yesterday and really wondered why it even existed! Kids don’t understand ATMs, they think it is like a magic money tree
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I want a T-Pain mic!!!!
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OMG You Can Shave the Baby…
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OMG Growing Up Skipper…
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My stomach clenched at the lego concentration camp, and slowly relaxed after I read the caption.
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I know you guys work so hard, but I find it very frustrating that the galleries have not worked for weeks.
The ‘control + R’ trick also does not work for me.
This makes photo based articles completely useless.
What are those IT dudes doing?!
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I’ve just found that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t (for me anyway, using either Windows Explorer or Firefox). I’m just living with it at this point…
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I second that! Very frustrating!
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I recently saw a toy poker machine in Target and had a WTF moment.
Seriously, teaching children to gamble….I shudder to think what’s next?
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I just inhaled my water at The Punisher.
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Thank goodness that’s all you inhaled!
I can’t see the rest gallery – not working on iPad today – but this first pic of The Punisher and can’t believe it! Even the name is too much. Who buys this toy??
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The complete McDonald’s kit of food, burgers, drinks, chips (fries) etc as was sold at Big W – outrageous!!!
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My sister-in-law (regular buyer of inappropriate presents) bought my eldest daughter this gift when she was two – yes two!! I was appalled. We still have some bits of it – I got rid of all the M branded bits and just left the bits of cheese and burger patties, burger buns etc as I thought she could use them with other healthier foods in her play kitchen. They are still in my house though – in fact just yesterday I nearly slipped over on a plastic burger pattie which my youngest (3 year old) had been playing with. That’s the thing with plastic – it lasts forever!
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We had a mini Maccas when we were kids. None of us are addicted.
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Whats the CTR trick to make the galleries work?
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Hold Control and press R. It refreshes the page.
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It doesn’t always work though, I can’t get it to work for me and nor can I edit my comment. Gremlins in the machine!! Happens to the best of us.
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Boohoo didn’t work for me either.
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It usually works for me after about the 10th refresh
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Whats wrong with the cleaning trolley?
My little girl begged for one and used it non stop when she got it. She would see us cleaning the house and get her toy trolley out and help. If she made a mess she would get her toy dustpan and broom and clean it up. I thought it was great for her.
She has a heap of barbies and plays with them all the time but they become so many different imaginary people, I love watching her create entire dramas using them.
We did have a no guns plan but then she loves star wars and has a light saber and thats just as bad anyway imo. She knows its pretend.
Then again I find the stuffed pee and poo in the gallery kind of funny so there you go
Kim
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The problem is the box has ‘Girls Only’ written on it (plus it’s all pink and purple.) Fortunately, my nephew loves to wash dishes and play with the feather duster!
As an aside, anyone seen the Japanese baby jumpsuits that have mop tassles all over them for when the baby’s crawling? So tempting, I’ll bet!
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My mother banned Barbies, but I got around that by playing with my friend’s amazing collection of Barbies, Skippers, Kens, outfits and dream accessories, over at her place. I allowed my kids to play with Barbies and Kens but made sure I bought a multicultural range. These dark, sultry models never outnumbered the scores of blue-eyed blonde Barbies they received from friends at birthday parties. Apparently, now you can get Goth Barbie and Tattoo Fun Barbie. Will there ever be Bogan Barbie in a 70s panel van? I think Barbie has a life beyond the celebrity red carpet. The imaginative play of children often takes Barbie to worlds unimagined by her makers. With one of my daughters, Barbie was frequently decaptitated, legless or a hermaphrodite (when combined with Ken body parts). Rest assured, that daughter has turned out creative rather than disturbed.
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I’ve never bought Barbies for my three girls but they have been given loads of them for presents – thankfully they mostly stay in a big box under the bed and rarely get played with. I don’t really mind them playing with them on the odd occasion but glad they’re not obsessed with them like my friend’s daughter who’s nearly nine and has loads of barbies with the Barbie house, barbie car, barbie boat etc etc – I think that would get to me.
What does bother me is the baby dolls. My six year old is obsessed with everything baby – dollies, bottles, dummies, nappies – you name it. It’s sweet – she’s very nurturing and I’m sure it’s not doing her any harm but some of the dolls are so wrong! Eg. the talking doll that is fed with a bottle of milk but is also potty training – huh? They’re not very ‘correct’ in their development. It irks me that’s all. I also get annoyed by all the baby dolls being fed bottles – I have to keep reminding my daughters that they were all breastfed and that most babies start life being breastfed. I love the idea of the breast-feeding doll although I don’t think you get it here. I believe that in America some people were ‘disgusted’ by it.
Finally, I absolutely cannot stand Bratz dolls – I thought at one stage they were banned? They’re certainly banned in our house anyway.
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I was obsessed with Barbie (seriously, had my mum make a Princess Di wedding dress for one and all the others came along as guests!) and also loved baby dolls that drank and pee’d, etc. And guess what – I was the last of my friends to have kids (cos I was so career focused), but I just love it now I do and I am the ONLY one of my mates who doesn’t have body hang ups…don’t stress too much if your daughters love it
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Thanks Me here – your Mum must be very patient and clever to have made a Princess Di dress in a Barbie size – that would be a difficult dress to make!
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My six year old is obsessed with dolls and babies too. I’m starting to wonder if she’s too young for them, then think they’re only little once and they change so quickly. Still torn about the babies though. Nice to know we’re not the only ones …
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Why too young? Genuine question. My 2 yo plays with her babies and has done from a year or so old. She sometimes bottle feeds sometimes breastfeeds, cuddles, wraps, changes nappies and puts them to bed (when you have to be quiet lol). I love it – it will just be a challenge in a couple of months when we have our next baby – she is going to want to do it all herself!
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Ah, bugger. Meant to type too old! Sorry, probably makes slightly more sense, now! Not many of the kids in her grade still seem so interested in the dolls …
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I can’t stand the bratz stuff either. I made it really clear to family and friends (anyone that might be buying gifts for my kids) that Bratz were an absolute no-go!!
From memory I think the reason why you don’t see them around anymore (woohoo!) is to do with an intellectual property problem. I think it turned out that the Bratz creator had worked at Mattel (the makers of Barbie) and there was a dispute about whether they had used Mattel ideas or time when they were coming up with Bratz. I’m pretty sure the Bratz makers lost and were told to stop selling them. I’m not sure how it totally finished up though as I have noticed that even now, a few years later, there still seems to be a handful of them on the shop shelves.
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Umm, bratz are still around. I saw them at the target toy sale last week.
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Hmn – my daughter has that exact cleaning trolley (#17 on the list) and absolutely *loves* it. I just wish she could use it to actually clean my house
All the rest, well, yes, weird 
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the punisher! LOL
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We have a no Bratz rule at our house but Barbie has free reign, usually they are the kids for miss 3′s school. Although finding them all after a school excursion into the back yard is always fun…. Hiding in the Strawberries is a favorite place!!!
They made their own gun after watching Dr Who – River is their
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My little girls favourite toy is a hand me down from her brothers. It’s a toy garbage truck and unlike some other “girl” toys it does things. I think that’s why she likes it.
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Ah, yes, The toy-makers clearly suffer RAS Syndrome. (Redundant Acronym Syndrome Syndrome). It’s just an ATM, as the M already stands for machine…
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I thought the same thing. I’d almost rather the toy than the bad grammar.
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I instigated a no Zhu-Zhu Pets policy as I believe they are possessed by Satan.
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Glad I’m not the only one who finds them creepy….
I hope they’re out of fashion by the time the baby is old enough to ask for one.
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My 4 year old daughter LOVES her Zhu Zhu Pets! She’s a real animal lover and would rather play with them than dolls (of any description). Whatever rocks her boat…
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There’s no doubting the appeal of the Zhu Zhu but sometimes in the dead of night they start squealing and whirring for NO REASON. I cannot turn them off and think it might take a stake thru the heart
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Totally agree with you there.
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Just heed the warning about mixing Zhu Zhus and kids hair. As a preschool teacher with a group of 4 year olds obsessed with Zhu zhus I can tell you that on average a kid will get a zhu zhu stuck to their head at least once a week.
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What about furry frenzies???
Just quietly, I probably have as much or more fun with them than my kids.
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We never bought guns for our kids ( I actually grew up in a household where my dad had a stash of them for competition shooting) and I was also very careful about the expressions on the faces of their toys……..I never gave our daughter any Barbies ( I hate them) and our son was encouraged to appreciate soft toys and both kids had “activity stuff” and learning toys………….my favourite pastimes as a child included reading from the age of 3ys and playing with those “cut-out” paper dolls where you got to change & mix ‘n match” their outfits………I used to build little theatres, read & write plays and spent hours doing make-up on my little friends……….I’m sad that kids don’t (for good reason often) get to roam the neighbourhood at least or play challenging stuff as we did…….TV can be useful but you must research what your kids are watching and of course the internet can be a scary place fragile minds.
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ooohhhh dear the hitler doll is just wrong! as for the slashed wrists…well they look like something else entirely!!! something that would go with the punisher!!!
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Hahaha that gallery is offensively brilliant! Thanks for the morning laugh
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I had a no guns policy – but my five year old son loves, loves, loves Fin McMissile form Cars 2, a super secret agent who has missiles hidden within his exterior. So I have compromised – no actual guns and no shooting at people, but my little boy and Fin McMissile can shoot all the ‘lemons’ (the bad guys from the movie) that they like. This keeps him occupied for hours – literally hours – as he creates elaborate scenes for Fin McMissile – he is so imaginative and involved with his storylines it totally blows me away.
So, we have missiles but no guns, which sounds illogical but works for us.
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We do lasers and freeze ‘guns’.
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My biggest problem with the toy is that it is called an ATM machine – that is, an Automatic Teller Machine machine!
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Oh yes – I agree! One of my pet peeves…
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If you want to be pedantic about it, it is called an “automated” teller machine.
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clear the maker of the punisher was a “little man”………as for bans….no weapons…he makes his own and thats the argument Im always hit with to which I reply “yes he does but I didnt condone weapons by buying them” he LOVES to go to others kids houses and play with their weapons…they always appear on his wish list followed by ” I know I wont be getting that gun” at the end of the day the kid has a good imagination but is aware his parents have a no violence stance…no harm no foul I say…and I DONT lecture those whom stock pile their kids for armageddon either so I wish they would leave me be…..
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I like this article. I think parents often read more into things than is really there.
My parents banned Barbie because of her unrealistic proportions, but truth be told I don’t think dolls had any bearing on my ideas of what real people should look like.
I feel the same about guns. I think too many parents think toy guns = violence, where the vast majority of kids are just running around having a bit of fun, they’re not really doing it in an aggressive way. I remember playing cops and robbers as a kid a few times and it was most certainly a very light hearted game.
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Agree. My kids use sticks for guns anyway, so what is the difference. My mum would never let us have bow and arrows after she shot her brother when she was a kid (in the shoulder, requiring a doctor’s visit to remove the stick/arrow). But my sister is aiming to go to the next Comm Games as an archer, so I don’t think the ban made any difference
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I struggle with guns and agree Bratz were banned for my daughter and she didn’t miss them at all! I think the ATM is ok but I like toys that promote imagination and I think it does.
With a 2 year old and newborn (both boys) I haven’t had to confront the gun issue yet and my husband doesn’t think it’s a huge issue.
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you will find it isnt easy to buy for boys with a no weapons stance….
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Really? My son’s 6 and I’ve never bought him a gun except a water pistol (deliberately a type that looks nothing like a real gun), nor has he received one as a gift. I haven’t had any trouble finding gifts for him or for his friends.
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We have a ban on Bratz dolls and guns but no problem with Barbie. I love Barbie because my daughter uses her imagination and comes up with great stories for her dolls and assorted animals and stuffed toys. Nothing cuter than watching her set them all up in her bedroom and play doctors or tea parties.
And as much as it pains me to say it since we literally have it from one end of the house to the other, Lego is fabulous. My son is a Lego nut (with more than a little encouragement from his father) and he really does make some wonderful creations. You rarely see him without some bit of Lego in his hand or pocket but it is EVERYWHERE. It’s even infiltrated our car!
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our house is drowning in lego too! our boys are 4 and were given a ton for their birthday. One likes to follow the instructions but of course some of the tiny pieces have been eaten by the vacuum so he’s now having to be a bit more creative with it. My husband’s lego collection will only come out when the boys are old enough to not put the pieces in their mouths. (We have a chewer of all things) We’ve tried to keep things a bit tidier by using snap lock bags for each colour so they can be put away each night, but some of the bits are so small it takes ages to clean up!
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I don’t think I go a day without stepping on some form of Lego!! It’s fabulous for kids! Except when they lose some TINY but ultra necessary piece that you have to hunt all corners of the house for. Our boys love Harry Potter Lego and we are fast running out of room to display it. The detailing in it is quite amazing, they are like little works of art and I quite often find myself wanting to “help” put them together.
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Our boys love it too, we have and old desk that is dedicated to lego, it keeps most of it off the floor and out of my vacuum cleaner!
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