Buyers Beware

It is a treacherous sea of toy choices for your young ones... After doing a bit of holiday shopping this week I thought I would share with you some of the most confusing toy choices out there... Some are weird, some are baffling... some are just wrong.

This is the toy I spotted in a Walmart catalogue that inspired this post...


It's Robo-Panda. Because we all know that baby pandas are cute and cuddly... except when they are cold and metallic... with glowing eyes...

I could not possibly discuss toy trends for children without mentioning Bratz. There is no end to my dislike of these dolls (which incidentally are outselling Barbie, 2 to 1).

Huge eyes, giant mouths and no discernible nose. (oh yeah, and don't forget those hemlines...)

This toy makes me laugh. It's a motorbike, a scaled-down version of those cars for older kids. This product is geared for kids Hafsa's age. Let's go over that again. A motorized vehicle. For a 2 year old. Mine can barely be stopped from running out into traffic. With this she could drive herself into harm's way at every possible opportunity. Possibly the worst idea I have ever heard.


Haven't the Shrek people squeezed every last penny they could from their franchise success?

Apparently not - now there's Baby Shrek for the little girl crowd. I'm kind of baffled by this one because I just really don't think this doll is cute. At all...

And just for the ultimate combination of two commercial evils: Bratz Shrek.
This next toy just cracks me up. Heaven forbid you should put your child on a real bike and put him or her outside with real trees and roads. Why do that when you can buy this 'virtual' bike and he can 'unknowingly' exercise in front of the TV instead, without the possibly harmful effects of fresh air and social interaction?

And after the novelty wears off, does the child just hang his laundry on it like every other abandoned stationary exercise bike in civilization?

Let's PAY McDonalds to advertise inside our home, shall we?


And lastly, I thought I would leave you with this one. Not because it's particularly offensive to my sensibilities but more because maybe someone out there could tell me, WHY?

Happy Shopping!!