Filed under: ethical consuming
If you’re buying toys, you might take a quick look at Toys to Avoid This Holiday Season (from World Against Toys Causing Harm, (WATCH), a Boston Toy Safety Group).
There are safety hazards for each toy noted in the slides, but I also made some notes:
#1 Simply too creepy to be true. Zombie baby. Pictured above.
#3 I love magnetite. But it’s probably not for children as even I have the urge to put these stones in my mouth.
#4 At first I had no idea what the heck this was. And once I realized it was a SPINNING DAGGER, the hazard became rather obvious. Love to hear the product development discussion on that:
“What should we make that will really appeal to kids?”
“How about a spinning dagger?”
“Great idea!”
It really lends credence to the “You’ll poke your eyes out” warning.
#7 The exact same notes apply here from #4.
#10 Oh, here’s #1 again. Does the fact that I find this exceptionally creepy mean I would be a bad mother? I wonder.
#11 Kids need a toy to do this? Who knew.
You are probably too young to remember the Dan Akroyd character on SNL who used to hawk children’s toys. I can never forget the “bag of broken glass.” Wonder why I thought of this after reading this post!
Comment by uuMomma 11.16.07 @ 8:21 amI think I remember that from re-runs…but I’m not sure you’re that much older than me uuMomma….my TV watching was heavily censored until I was 30.
Comment by Ms. Theologian 11.16.07 @ 8:27 amuuMomma stole my memory! But I’m also remembering “A Christmas Story” — “You’ll shoot your eye out!”
Some of the items — magnetic stones! dagger! — ARE stupid. But some of the warnings are stupid, too. A rubber band gun is dangerous? Really? Yeah, I needed a warning for that …
Not that it’s an item I’d be getting, but any toy can be dangerous, given the evil creativity of all young children. (Says the mama of 4.)
Comment by Lizard Eater 11.16.07 @ 9:01 amI’ve always thought you have to count on the fact with a toy that it’s going in someone’s mouth. Whatever it is.
Comment by Ms. Theologian 11.16.07 @ 9:20 amRemember Baby Alive? Now THAT thing was effin’ creepy. “Alive,” my left fanny…
But I want the magnetic stones. Yeah, I’d probably eat them too.
Comment by GhostGirl 11.16.07 @ 8:49 pmA rubber band shooter. Wow; that is perhaps the height of laziness.
Comment by h sofia 11.17.07 @ 3:21 amwell, i didnt have one, but the rubber band shooter is actually a decades old toy - i recall seeing one around (cough cough) 1960 or so.
Comment by Steven R 11.18.07 @ 7:56 pmI think I found an old rubber band shooter of my dad’s in the garage too, and that was well before 1960.
Comment by Ms. Theologian 11.19.07 @ 8:59 amLeave a comment
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