Comments on: Great gifts for (other people's) Kids!

Great gifts for (other people's) Kids!

Ruthless Bunny — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:48:02 -0800

The Seven Worst Gifts for Children! This year's list of the worst toys is brought to you by plastics, those bright synthetic polymers that threaten to overtake the living rooms of middle-class parents.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:52:31 -0800

Really. Don't buy the I Am T-Pain Mic for your ungrateful kids, buy it for yourself!

By: JoanArkham

JoanArkham — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:53:04 -0800

The Play-Doh dentist thing has been around forever. I remember the commercials freaking me out when I was a kid.

By: ultraviolet catastrophe

ultraviolet catastrophe — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:53:30 -0800

That post was pretty snarky (and pretty funny, really) for coming from the normally staid Christian Science Monitor.

By: Dark Messiah

Dark Messiah — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:54:42 -0800

I've taken to giving T-Pain microphones instead of outright telling people their kids can't sing worth a shit.

By: Rock Steady

Rock Steady — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:56:04 -0800

Yeah, they would rather you just buy a nice green lawn for your kids to get off of. These are really not that bad. If that Moxie doll is the skankiest one they could find, they are not trying very hard.

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:57:47 -0800

If the T-Pain microphone were a few bucks cheaper, it would make the perfect White Elephant Swap contribution.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:57:56 -0800

The T-Pain Mic for people with a bit more money.

By: mightygodking

mightygodking — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:58:04 -0800

YOUR CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO SING IN PUBLIC UNLESS IT IS IN CHURCH AND EVEN THEN WE ARE SUSPICIOUS

By: Frowner

Frowner — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:58:53 -0800

So I notice that the Very Worst Present In All The Land is a fairly average, not especially "skanky" girl doll with light brown skin who wears fashions not unlike those teen girls have worn since I was a teen back in the dark ages. I feel that there's some race and gender panic in here somewhere. I mean seriously, Bratz and Barbie dolls wear much, much creepier stuff and have much more exaggerated bodies and faces. If anything, the monster girl dolls are creepier and more sexualized.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:59:30 -0800

So elitist. Some parents can't affort an iPod and have to scrape the bottom of the barrel, they grab that battered McDonalds funburger so thier kids will have something. Christian Science Monitor not being very christian.

By: Dark Messiah

Dark Messiah — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:00:01 -0800

You can save a lot of money on that T-Pain microphone, however, by just "singing" into an oscillating fan. Same effect.

By: Malice

Malice — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:00:26 -0800

I don't like websites that make you click through for every piece of the article to get more views on their ads. A website is not a freaking magazine. Still, I clicked through some of them. The dentist thing is pretty awesome.

By: Bulgaroktonos

Bulgaroktonos — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:03:30 -0800

YOUR CHILD SHOULD NOT HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO SING IN PUBLIC UNLESS IT IS IN CHURCH AND EVEN THEN WE ARE SUSPICIOUS This is a genius idea; I should buy a T-Pain Microphone and bring it to church. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is going to sound a ton more poignant when sung by a robot.

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:05:31 -0800

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is going to sound a ton more poignant when sung by a robot. The producers of Jeopardy beat you to it.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:08:14 -0800

How did I know each one would be on its own page. And that Arizona, the mocked Moxie Teen(z), would link to the CSMonitor's topic page on the U.S. state? These were too normal to be funny. No Digg. #CSMonitorFail

By: crunchland

crunchland — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:08:37 -0800

I think I need to start boycotting websites that spread content over multiple pages solely for the purpose of boosting pageviews.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:09:01 -0800

More on Arizona (sanity and ear warning): "Oh no! If I keep talking about Gavin, I'm going to be late to work! Ok, more about Gavin next time!"

By: Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:09:31 -0800

MetaFilter: Beware of vacuuming up their hands.

By: FreezBoy

FreezBoy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:11:50 -0800

So Crunchy, would you prefer to pay for all the content you read online? How much do you think a daily dose of Metafilter would cost if all the commercial sites linked to were pay-only and not ad-supported?

By: 0xFCAF

0xFCAF — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:12:14 -0800

All the kids on my list are getting the timeless classics: Snare drums, oil paint, poorly-assembled bicycles, and books of postmodern knock-knock jokes.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:12:46 -0800

I know the worst gift for your dog: the Humunga Stache.

By: mikepop

mikepop — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:13:40 -0800

One of the things I like about phones that run apps is that they partially replace the need for crap like the T-Pain microphone - you can get an app that does the same thing for a tenth of the price, and you don't have to buy a piece of crappy plastic. Granted, not everyone has a phone like that now, and certainly not every kid, but I'm enjoying the long view of this trend. Also eliminates the embarrassment of grandpa buying the wrong gift again, gee thanks for the T. Paine microphone, yes it will "radicalize" my singing...

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:14:20 -0800

You know what would be awesome, an American Idol contestant who requires the T-Pain mic to perform.

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:16:01 -0800

I don't normally comment on the presentation of the content linked. But I would prefer 10 ads on one page so I don't have to click next and wait for yet another page to render. Maybe I am still bitter over some of the gifts I got. I got pencils one year. Another year I got a coffee table book on mushrooms and toadstools, I think I still have it.

By: Big_B

Big_B — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:16:04 -0800

I accidentally clicked over to a tabbed article about Romney/Gingrich with big head shots of them, and thought, yes, those are the worst gifts you could give your children.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:16:05 -0800

postmodern knock-knock jokes. Knock Knock Who's There? Joseph Bueys *Uncomfortable Silence*

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:16:06 -0800

Also, the real "10 Worst Toys of 2011" list, from the totall real and not fake at all (I think) WATCH (World Against Toys Causing Harm).

By: hermitosis

hermitosis — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:16:47 -0800

So elitist. Some parents can't affort an iPod and have to scrape the bottom of the barrel, they grab that battered McDonalds funburger so thier kids will have something. So the choices are an iPod or a funburger? Last I checked there were tons of cheap gift options for low-income families. I don't think it's elitist to make fun of toy options that fail on multiple levels. Some of these, such as the Rock Star Mickey, aren't even cheap.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:19:12 -0800

I'm pretty sure we had much worse stuff back in the '80s. Radio shack alone was an unlimited source of horribly-shrieking children's toys. Perfect for circuit bending.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:19:22 -0800

I know the worst gift for your dog: the Humunga Stache. I am deeply unnerved by its resemblance to a ball gag.

By: clvrmnky

clvrmnky — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:19:23 -0800

Meh, I've seen worse. Let's chalk this article up to class-ism and call it a day.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:21:01 -0800

I know the worst gift for your dog: the Humunga Stache. You almost certainly misspelled "best."

By: Joe Chip

Joe Chip — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:21:41 -0800

Another year I got a coffee table book on mushrooms and toadstools, I think I still have it. Awesome present! I would like a book on mushrooms and toadstools. And yes the presentation of thois article was obnoxious, but did you expect much more than a "Top n xs" article?

By: sandraregina

sandraregina — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:23:50 -0800

Yes. I too want a book on mushrooms and toadstools. For my neice's gifts (of the birthday, christmas, and I'm her aunt and I get to spoil her dammit varieties), I told my brother that I would buy her gifts that made noise. Lots and lots of noise. Just not battery operated noise. Because that's awful.

By: katillathehun

katillathehun — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:23:53 -0800

Play-doh! I just wanted an excuse to say that. I actually kind of want it, though.

By: no relation

no relation — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:26:47 -0800

When I got to the Play Doh Dentist thing, I realized that these weren't really that bad. Certainly no Bag O' Glass or lawn darts, for sure.

By: 2ghouls

2ghouls — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:26:52 -0800

Here is another worst toys list. I want a Gelli Baff!

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:27:03 -0800

Ok, Ok, I retract my comments about CSM. And I guess a book about toadstools was ok, I would have preferred a transformer or something but I guess I still have the book on mushrooms so I could find it and go pick mushrooms or something. Not much I could do with a transformer. I am still sad about the pencils though, I got school supplies for christmas!!

By: This, of course, alludes to you

This, of course, alludes to you — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:29:21 -0800

Humunga Stache that your dog bites it and it plays any of a number of recorded phrases fake wizened faces that go over boobs

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:30:35 -0800

I want a Gelli Baff! I bought my wife two boxes of that for Christmas last year and we're still married.

By: roystgnr

roystgnr — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:30:51 -0800

postmodern knock-knock jokes

My favorite was always: "I heard a great knock-knock joke! You have to start it." "Okay...? Knock, knock!" "Who's there?" ...awkward confused silence...

By: gompa

gompa — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:34:43 -0800

So elitist. Some parents can't affort an iPod and have to scrape the bottom of the barrel, they grab that battered McDonalds funburger so thier kids will have something. This is either sarcasm or bullshit. You can get a small Lego kit for $12.99. You can get an inexpensive harmonica, or many balls of multicoloured Play-Doh, or the travel version of Battleship my daughter's crazy about right now, or any of a thousand or a hundred thousand books. Crayons and paper, beads and string, a dollar-store soccer ball. You can find a million things to give a kid so they'll "have something" that does not tell them they should aspire to minimum-wage work serving profoundly unwholesome food, and you can do this while still not being an elitist in any economic sense. Of course, in contemporary America, I understand valuing arts, crafts and engineering and seeking out nutritious food is only for latte-sipping bike-riding pinko elites only. But hey, not everyone wants their kid to grow up to be a Herman Cain booster, do they? (Also Play-Doh Drill 'n' Fill is kind of awesome and in any case is so much less toxic - literally and figuratively - than that Perfumery thing that I do have to question CSM's ranking criteria at the very least.)

By: chambers

chambers — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:36:16 -0800

UNLESS IT IS IN CHURCH Say what you will about organized religion, at least they make a decent attempt at keeping caterwauling children off the streets and out of earshot.

By: Chrischris

Chrischris — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:37:11 -0800

That playdough drill'n fill was actually kind of cool. My kids love play-dough and I can see them having a ball playing Dr. Szell (Is it Safe? Is it Safe?) with this thing...

By: cortex

cortex — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:39:34 -0800

postmodern knock-knock jokes A: Knock knock! B: Who's there? A: Knock! B: Knock who? A: 'sthere.

By: gompa

gompa — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:44:14 -0800

That playdough drill'n fill was actually kind of cool. My kids love play-dough and I can see them having a ball playing Dr. Szell (Is it Safe? Is it Safe?) with this thing... Yeah, uh, Chrischris, thanks for the invite to the playdate, but - yeah, geez, we're just real busy. Yeah. Some other time, sure. [sotto voce:] Maybe next cold day in hell, Torture Boy. *hangs up* *shudders* *hugs quietly weeping daughter* There, there, dear, we're not going to let that strange man make you play Marathon Man ever again.

By: Chrischris

Chrischris — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:47:43 -0800

If nothing else, it will serve as a nice lesson on why you must always brush your teeth (with toothpaste! Every morning! and every night!).

By: Bunny Ultramod

Bunny Ultramod — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:50:04 -0800

This just struck me as cheap snobbery and vague snark. There are far worse gifts you can give your child for the holidays. How about a toy electric chair? How about a mink penis bone? How about a surgery doll whose entrails spill out? How about toys with genitalia to teach children that it feels good to touch them? How about a yarn fetus filled with catnip? How about jelly beans that taste like skunk, rotten eggs, and vomit! Honestly, I could go on all day.

By: Mister Fabulous

Mister Fabulous — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:50:42 -0800

Required: Consumer Probe (Hulu)

By: Ad hominem

Ad hominem — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:54:17 -0800

This is either sarcasm or bullshit. Can't it be both? Anyway, impying that there is something wrong with aspiring to minumum wage work is somewhat elitist no? Minimum wage work is in no way a reflection on their worth as a human being. Not everyone needs to be a hedge fund manager to be fulfilled. How is that for excluding the middle. Either McDonalds or hedge fund manager. I think the plah-doh dentist kit is cool as well. But I also think the perfume chemistry kit is cool, nothing is wrong with getting kids, boys and girls, who are into perfume interested in chemistry.

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:02 -0800

One of our children got the dentist toy a few years ago. Even after the playdoh dries out or gets stuck in your carpet, that electric drill will be providing laughs for ages (you can press the point into your brother or sister and drill them - it actually feels kinda nice). My youngest loves playing with the wee mirror and tweezers too.

By: BigHeartedGuy

BigHeartedGuy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:38 -0800

I still remember the play-doh dentist thing from when I was a kid several millenia ago. One of my elementary school friends had invited me over after school one day, and there was the odd looking "Mr. Mouth full 'o play-doh teeth" (in the middle of their kitchen table no less). I asked him why it was there (as the only kid of a single mom, he had no younger siblings) and he said, "Oh, my mom's a dental hygienist and she uses that to practice on." I never did bother to confirm the veracity of that statement, but it does go a long way to helping explain my fear of dentists now that I think about it.

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:01:46 -0800

Of course Gigan is dangerous, you fools.

By: beefetish

beefetish — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:05:14 -0800

HOLY BUTTS THAT GIGAN IS SWEET

By: obscurator

obscurator — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:07:51 -0800

SUPER HAPPY FUN BALL!!

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:08:38 -0800

Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

By: mittens

mittens — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:11:02 -0800

We bought the Play Doh dentist set for my eldest this Christmas...so yes, thank you CSM for confirming I am the worst parent ever.

By: Capt. Renault

Capt. Renault — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:21:45 -0800

The niece and nephew Renault will be receiving a Zube Tube, which is either a great gift or a terrible one, depending on one's long-term proximity to said Zube Tube.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:22:19 -0800

DID NOT GET THE ITEM GULLOTINE THAT I ORDERED FROM AMAZOM.COM I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY OR SEND ME A REFUND. (Actually, that was the only bad review. I know what I want for Christmas!)

By: FAMOUS MONSTER

FAMOUS MONSTER — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:24:20 -0800

There need to be warning labels on that Gigan. WARNING: THIS TOY MAY BE TOO AWESOME FOR SOME CHILDREN. and HEALTH WARNING! UPON BEING GIVEN TO YOUR CHILD, GIGAN IS GOING TO ABSOLUTELY KICK THE SHIT OUT OF ALL YOUR KID'S OTHER ACTION FIGURES. HE IS GOING TO WIN EVERY TIME, BUT MAYBE SUPERMAN CAN BEAT HIM SOMETIMES, BUT PROBABLY NOT. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU AT LEAST HAVE ONE OF THOSE FISHER-PRICE DOCTOR ACTION FIGURES, BECAUSE THE GOOD GUYS ARE GOING TO NEED ONE.

By: nadawi

nadawi — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:25:52 -0800

print page for the article so it's all on one page. warning, it might try to print something.

By: clvrmnky

clvrmnky — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:25:56 -0800

Everyone knows the best toy is a Log.

By: Keith Talent

Keith Talent — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:26:15 -0800

Isn't it better that you kids practice with the Playdough set prior to administering anesthetic to the cat via either a heavy book or handfull crushed Mommie's Ambien? Kitty is going to be way happier with results of the bridge work if the kid has a little experience first. Why do they hate cats so much over at the CSM?

By: Abehammerb Lincoln

Abehammerb Lincoln — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:30:19 -0800

Mink penis bone? I think my wife keeps one of those in her "special" bag.

By: Abehammerb Lincoln

Abehammerb Lincoln — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:30:32 -0800

Special bag is not a euphemism for vagina.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:34:09 -0800

The niece and nephew Renault will be receiving a Zube Tube Oh man. I have been looking for annoying gifts for my cousin's daughters. I think I'll go with Zube Tubes and nose flutes.

By: pinky

pinky — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:35:31 -0800

More than once I have walked past that horrible Mickey Mouse toy at Target, triggering its abrupt rendition of "You Really Got Me." It never fails to provoke in me a desire to kick both Davies brothers in the nuts.

By: KathrynT

KathrynT — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:59:09 -0800

I am still sad about the pencils though, I got school supplies for christmas!! My five-year-old wrote out her own Christmas list to the best of her ability. One of the items on it is NOOPENSL CULRPENSL PURPL. (Also on the list: rnbo dsh plaan, ezebac uuvn, spidr puzl, scrf penc, and my favorite but hardest to decipher: pesawul purplwul)

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:10:45 -0800

Oh man. I have been looking for annoying gifts for my cousin's daughters. I think I'll go with Zube Tubes and nose flutes. Airzooka

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:13:04 -0800

Wow. Author doesn't understand kids, or toys. Or s/he misspelled "parents" as "kids". Ironically, the reverse is also true. There is a boutique toystore near here that appeals to the parents. It's all designer rustic chic, with stocked full of stuff like overpriced crude wooden "trainset" bullshit that kids uniformly DESPISE being expected to play with, but which looks so adorable for making a kitsch playroom reek of pseudo-nostalgia. Christain Science Monitor FAIL. Kids will love those "worst" toys a lot more than the shit you get when what-the-parents-like is the focus of the toy.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:13:40 -0800

pesawul purplwul Purple parasol?

By: orange swan

orange swan — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:15:35 -0800

I thought the Perfumery kit and Play-Doh dentist's kit actually looked like fun toys. I'm always a little bemused by the idea of there being a year's best or worst or hottest toy. A co-worker of mine years back bitched on and on about how she'd gone to the store to buy the year's top-rated toy and found it was just too expensive for her to buy. Her child wasn't even born yet, for heaven's sake. These toy review lists just seem like a way to get parents to shell out because so many of them have fallen for the idea that if they do everything "right" they can raise a genius or launch their child into a successful life. I've yet to be all that impressed by any of the "hot toys". And I bet Einstein never got the year's top-rated toy, and he failed a grade in grade school (I think it was grade two) and yet he still turned out to be Einstein.

By: Capt. Renault

Capt. Renault — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:41:33 -0800

I think I'll go with Zube Tubes and nose flutes. I tell ya, man -- I found them in a corner of the toy store, had no idea what they were, picked it up and figured it out, and started a fucking rumble on those things. I had every kid in the store running over to figure out what was making those awful, wonderful noises, and how they could get them for themselves. In no time, the store was filled with the terrible, magnificent noises of Zube Tubes. I was like the Pied Pier of Annoyance. Parents were clearly hating on me as I walked out, which was the sign I needed that I'd found the perfect gift. I did nose flutes last year.

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:08:50 -0800

How weird. I was thinking, "Huh. Zube tube. Sounds strange, maybe something for the husband's stocking." I clicked on the link and realized that at some point in my childhood I had had one. I still remember the feeling of plucking the wires.

By: chavenet

chavenet — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:11:41 -0800

The gap between what adults think are awful toys and what kids think are awful toys is often very large. Kids know better.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:22:14 -0800

For some reason, I see the "Seven Worst Toys for Children" and immediately think of the "Seven Joys of Mary": The first bad toy that Mary had It was the toy of one To see her blessed Jesus Distort his voice for fun Distort his voice for fun Good Lord And happy may we be Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost To all eternity The second bad toy that Mary had It was the toy of two To see her blessed Jesus Setting teeth askew...etc.

By: Lou Stuells

Lou Stuells — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:14:28 -0800

I hope to God Bunny Ultramod is my Secret Quonsar.

By: divabat

divabat — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:16:08 -0800

So there's no way staying "true to yourself" includes wanting to pair white leggings with black boots? That outfit wasn't actually too bad - I might yoink it for myself. Boo slut/skank-shaming.

By: Pruitt-Igoe

Pruitt-Igoe — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:43:38 -0800

"You're slut shaming" vs. "You're sexualizing youngsters and perpetuating unrealistic body images" is one of the great MeFi debates. Personally I think the play-doh dentist kit and T-pain mic are awesome. Actually I'm going to buy a T-pain mic.

By: naoko

naoko — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:33:06 -0800

For my neice's gifts (of the birthday, christmas, and I'm her aunt and I get to spoil her dammit varieties), I told my brother that I would buy her gifts that made noise. Lots and lots of noise. Just not battery operated noise. Because that's awful. If you have or intend to have kids of your own, this can escalate quickly - in my family, it started when my aunt gave me one of these, and turned into a decades-long war between siblings about who could give whose kids the most obnoxious presents (noisy, lots of tiny pieces, etc.) - years of drums, rock tumblers, bead kits, rockets, etc. would have been avoided had my aunt not started this toy arms race. My cousins and I sure enjoyed it, though!

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:18:53 -0800

double.

By: Harald74

Harald74 — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:30:10 -0800

I beg to differ, Bunny Ultramod, that surgery doll is awesome!

By: pemberkins

pemberkins — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:21:41 -0800

I got school supplies for christmas!! This made me realize that I've come to a certain point in my life, where I really do want school supplies for Christmas. And I'm not sure how to feel about that. /grad student

By: Spatch

Spatch — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:10:56 -0800

In defense of the Play-Doh Dentist set, it's both awesome in my personal belief but more importantly, it's one of only two toys on that list (the other being the McDonald's bucket, ugh) which are not based on and further perpetuate gender stereotypes. All the others are clearly aimed at either boys or girls, though I guess you could also give Rockin' Mickey to either. Anyone can play dentist (or McDonald's consumer) with those, and I think that's important.

By: BurnChao

BurnChao — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:55:41 -0800

How is the microphone gender specific? I can't figure out which gender you think is appropriate to use a microphone. I can't even figure out which gender you think Mickey Mouse is for. Maybe you think music in general is only appropriate for one specific gender? The dolls definitely do not perpetuate gender stereo types. In fact that seems to be the complaint about the dolls. Monsters fall in the stereotype for boys. Those dolls are braking the stereotype, not perpetuating it. And the ugly doll doesn't meet the stereotype for girls that I've been exposed to. And I can understand that reaction to the science kit, but the stereotype for girls is against science, not for it. That science kit also brakes the stereotype. They didn't start off with "Let's make a science kit for girls. What should it focus on?". It started from "We have made science kits focused on making mold, making slime, making candy, making soda. We can make a science kit focused on making smells. What are options?" Can you think of any other aroma based science kit? The only I can even come up with would be focused on making disgusting smells like farts and rotten eggs. This would be a bad thing.

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:17:11 -0800

This made me realize that I've come to a certain point in my life, where I really do want school supplies for Christmas. And I'm not sure how to feel about that. I asked for things like towels and measuring spoons, and I couldn't be more excited. :-\

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:21:55 -0800

All you need to know about this woman's position on gender is located in the byline she wrote for her article. She focuses exclusively on what could "skankify our daughters," but has nothing to say about the moral implications certain toys might hold for our sons. Her examples are low-hanging fruit, as others above have mentioned, and she has nothing valuable to say about the sexualization of children, e.g.; she only mocks and derides the appearance of the toy and, as divabat notes above, engages in obvious slut-shaming. Some of her reviews were funny, but there was an overall self-righteous, classist undertone to the piece that put me off.

By: pemberkins

pemberkins — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:27:10 -0800

I asked for things like towels and measuring spoons, and I couldn't be more excited. :-\ Kitchen supplies are the other half of my list. I genuinely want new measuring cups! My plastic ones are all bendy.

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:52:17 -0800

I genuinely want kitchen supplies too! I asked for all kinds of stuff I don't want to and can't afford to buy (even simple things like a new baking sheet or a new sauté pan)...