Qivaros

 

Whatever Fever happened to rubber duckies and stuff?

Shaving kit joins the ranks of unfortunately sarhGU/dSSIGnEG, toys for,c children

 

While much of the initial, adult toy’s creation to release. Besides,is much trouble and not very much fun.
cringe worthiness comes from the toy’s there really nothing else that we can _— Perhaps toy buyers should leave this
regrettable name, the idea of a shaving give them to play with in the bath? one on the shelf.
kit of any kind for toddlers also strikes Overall, this toy just seems like too

By Sharon Miki

eople are always complaining
about how kids toys aren’t

 

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educational enough, but what

about when they’re educational but
also just plain weird? Or when they
make you oddly uncomfortable?

Much in the same vein as the
now-infamous Dora the Explorer
Aqua Pet—a children’s bath toy which
aroused unfortunate comparisons to
adult phallic playthings—the new
SpongeBob SquarePants Bikini
Bottom Groom & Go shaving kit from
Nickelodeon teeters on the tightrope of
inappropriateness.

The toy, which features a photo of
a little boy demonstrating the product
on his face, is marketed to children
aged three-years and up. Bikini Bottom
is the fictional town where the cartoon
character SpongeBob SquarePants
allegedly lives. As such, while the
context of the name was surely meant
to be innocent, the combination of
“bikini bottom,” “razor” and “shave”
in the toy’s name immediately brings
forth mature, adult grooming ideas to
anyone of age.

me as a bit off. What three year old
needs to learn how to shave? Though
a lot of children use their parents and
adults as models for their make-believe
games—playing house, etc—teaching
small children to shave, even in a
playful way, seems unnecessary.

If anything, is it not dangerous to
encourage small kids to pick up razors
and go to town with them? What if
they come across mommy or daddy’s
real-life sharp razor?

Though I suppose it’s possible
that the toymakers took the idea of
remaining kids at heart a little too
seriously and were operating under a
cloud of child-like naiveté throughout
the process of product development,
someone should have noticed that there
are a few too many things off with this
product to make it suitable for three-
year-olds. Even if the toys intended
use is not for girls bikini-areas (as the
name would suggest), the word choice
used in its title should have stood out
to someone along the line from this

 

 

 

 

 

   

ui We're inviting
B.C. youth to a conference

in Vancouver from August 19-21, 2011
— all expenses paid!

If you’re aged 18-30, live in BC, and want to
learn about transportation, sustainability and
planning, apply to attend by January 31, 2011.

See translink.ca/bcyouthsummit for full details!

ae

 

 

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