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

7 Sv ee

A I ae mw

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

15