Bad Toys for Christmas

This Christmas I have seen my share of whacky products for sale as Christmas gifts but I have just seen the wackiest - Whack a Mole, a toy. Hit the toy mole with a mallet to have it hit the bell, just like the strong man game found at carnivals. My first reaction to the commercial was "what the.....!" My daughter was sitting next to me at the time the commercial aired and her jaw dropped open too. We then looked at each other and almost said at the same time "animal abuse". It makes you wonder who are these people that are making up these kids games? What does Whack a Mole teach kids? They could have done the same thing with hit the ball. Why did they need to make it an animal?

While on the subject of toys for kids I also saw an oversized play house for girls advertised on TV. It was large enough for a girl to fit inside. It had a stove, washer, dryer and a couch. It showed the little girl happily doing the laundry. I for one thought that we as women had stopped buying our little girls items that would only teach them to do house work. Now I would be impressed if they had shown that same commercial with a little boy doing the laundry or have the play house minus the "working furniture".

Another questionable toy is the Easy Bake Oven. I had one of those things as a child. I also remember when I ran out of the food mixes that came with it I asked my parents for more mixes. My mom took us to the store to get some but found out they were too expensive for what size they were. So much for the Easy Bake Oven it got put in a closet and forgotten. The oven itself was the cheap part of the toy it was the food mixes that the company was making money on. When my own daughter was 5 years old her aunt called me and asked me if I would mind if she got my daughter an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas that year. I thought about it for about a minute and told her that her niece didn't need it, she already uses the regular oven under my supervision. My daughter had learned to mix and bake cookies when she was just 4 with my help. I didn't think she would settle for a toy when she could use the real thing. After that Christmas I told her what her aunt wanted to get her and wondered what her reaction would be. She told me that the Easy Bake Oven was for little kids (remember she was 5 at the time).

Don't get me wrong here, there are many well thought out toys for kids on the market. It is just that when there is a really bad idea for a toy they just stick out in my mind. To me a toy should provide an outlet for the imagination without teaching wrong values such as hate, abuse or stereotypes. The Whack a Mole teaches hate and abuse. The large play house, stereotypes little girls into thinking they will only be housewives when they get older. If you are buying a toy for a child this Christmas please think before you buy. Think of how that toy will help shape the mind of the child playing with it.