Whether it’s debating if Barbie is anti-feminist or if a “Dora the Explorer” toy looks suspiciously like male genitalia, the discussion over the appropriate and politically correct nature of children’s toys is nothing new. There are plenty of recalls on kids’ toys due to issues like potential choking hazards or battery compartments reaching inordinately high temperatures, often leaving consumers wondering about the companies’ lack of quality in their quality control departments.
But when I received a MagnaPlay Alphabet Picture Puzzle for my daughter, I found the lack of quality control was truly astounding.
The concept behind this specific puzzle is to take each letter of the alphabet, associate it with a noun (Apple, Balloon, Car…) and split it into two puzzle pieces. The first letter of the noun is one puzzle piece, while the rest of the word is on the second puzzle piece. A and pple, B and alloon, C and ar, and so on.
Now, before I get to the truly terrible part about this puzzle… something that immediately annoyed me was that the words they used for M and H are Mouse and House. This means there are two “ouse” pieces in very similar colors. No, the pieces don’t fit with their incorrect counterpart, but isn’t this just confusing for a toddler?
OK, so we’re already skeptical of the quality control department of this company, right? Right. Now, are you ready for the ultimate in things inappropriate for children? The pièce de résistance?
What word did they choose for the letter G?
Not Gorilla… Not Gift… Not Gecko… Not Garden or Galaxy or Guitar.
What word did they decide to split the first letter from the rest?
GRAPES?!?!
Think about it for a second…
Yes, this company has mass produced a children’s puzzle piece that says RAPES!
How many people didn’t happen to notice this? Or worse, noticed it but thought this was OK?
I tried to check out the website…
…but the domain no longer exists.
Not that it is surprising to me that a company that can’t properly monitor their product should also find itself behind in paying for its domain. (Pretty sure this guy is the president of the company.)
My daughter loves these puzzle magnets. But now I need to explain to her that the letter G had to make a quick permanent GETAWAY to GEORGIA with a GAGGLE of GEESE.
GAH!
