I think the laser Spiderwick toy is outrageous -- and really really dumb on the part of McDonalds. Plain and simple.
Yes, of course it is our responsibilities as parents to teach our kids -- and we do. We say, "don't touch the stove," "don't put a bobbypin into a light socket," don't stick peas up your nose," "don't swallow your gum," "don't run with scissors," "don't stick your tongue to a lamppost in the winter," etc etc. But, honestly -- they still do it. Unless you've got a camera on your child 24 hours a day and are monitoring them every second (which absolutely NO parent does), they're going to do stuff they're not supposed to do -- Because they simply don't remember lecture #153 about the dangers of pointing a laser light at their eye. A four year old child isn't going to retain information on NOT PUTTING A LIGHT UP TO YOUR EYE when they have hundreds of other "DON't DO's" on their mind.
It's very irresponsible for a large corporation to come in and say -- sure, point this really bright red light at your eye -- it's fine because it's in the shape of a scary looking monsterman from a movie. A small child can't discern the difference between a laser pointer and a toy.
I'm not too worried about my four-year old getting ahold of a laser pointer (we don't own one or have need for one). However I am worried about the safety of this toy -- not only does it teach unsafe practices, but it certainly does affect your vision (I tried it before I decided to dump it) and it actually caused discomfort in my eye. That's not good.
I am also very upset about the fact that a mega-company is marketing this thing to children -- who the heck was the person in the boardroom that thought this would be a good idea! Take out the light for goodness sake. Kids love little people -- they don't need to have a death glow light on it. What's next and where does it end? It's absurd that nobody at McDonalds stepped up to the plate on this one and said ----- "Ahhh, No!"
Sorry for my rant, but I'm with you on this one! I'll be contacting McDonald's too.
I too am amazed and fascinated by how stupid of a toy this is. Who's idea was this? Didn't anyone at McD's say, "Hmmm, I wonder if red lights for kids to shine in their eyes is really a good toy to give out?"
Report Abuse
Spiderwick Chronicles McDonalds Toys Safety Issue?The only thing I know is that a laser or red light is very bad for the eyes. I don't have young children but I would contact McDonalds and complain about this since i know it is not save for children or even animals. I have read about the lasers and we do use one to play with our dog but very careful to keep out of his eyes.
ugg oohhh! I feel another "hot coffee lawsuite" comming on! Your the parent -you decide what is unfit for your kids! BUT... If you ask me those chicken nuggets and fries that your kiddo is shoveling down his/her throat is WAY more harmful than a weak a*s red light! Come on now?!
i agree they should at least come with warnings
i understand your concern kimmy, my father took my daughter to mcdonalds for a treat after swimming, and she came back with this spiderwick toy, which she shone in my eyes, i started to get a headache and my eye started to feel bruised. NO I AM NOT AFTER COMPO, but my husband did email mcdonalds to warn them and to ask for a copy of the safety test they did.but our main concern was if it can do that to me what could it do to a younger child?
we took the toy off my daughter and had to explain the dangers of shining it into peoples eyes, after looking at the instructions, i realised she was doing what it said, she didnt realise you always had to have the eye glass with it.
my eys still feels sensitive today, but surely if a child has a toy you shouldnt have to read them a bunch of rules before they play with it especially a 4yr old.
I personally think you are overreacting.
MCdonalds is a kids place after all.
MCdonalds will do anything to ensure the safety of the children.
about the laser pointers, I used to work at MCdonalds and I can tell you from my own experience that the laser will not hurt your eyes in anyway possible
Toy safety? The whole thing is as creepy as hell.
Why on earth would McDonalds make a toy like that? what are they trying to teach or train children to do?
Lets take a basic look at this toy. A child is supposed to let a small demon idol shine a laser into their eye through a device that I guess is supposed to mimic a security retina scanner.
Brave new world of predictive programming?
Creepy!
ok so my thoughts on this are simple...
Its our job as parents (I have a two year old) to teach our children to be smart enough to not shine a laser at their eyes. Its not McDonalds job to protect your children. If you dont like the toy, put it in the trash. No sense in letting some silly toy bother you.
I hear where you are coming from, but seriously, the issue is not that kids do stupid things (which they do, and I did) its that too many parents dont pay attention to their kids. No amount of warnings, or whatever will stop this. American culture relies far too heavily on the government to fix their problems and raise their children. Many people are so busy working and being selfish to realize that your children ARE your number one priority. Not everything else.
Long story short... I stick to my original answer. If you dont like it, toss it and teach your kid (which it sounds like you actually do, so kudos to you, you are one of the few) not to do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment