# What's Happening to the Toy Industry?



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Honestly a game like Doggy Doo?

I JUST saw this commercial for the first time on TV. Seriously? What is the toy industry coming to? I do however recall a doll or something from either the 80's or 90's that was a pole dancing doll.(don't quote me) 

Who thinks of these things?





 

I remember Easy Bake, Skip-it, light bright, but nothing this crazy.


----------



## Inga (Sep 11, 2012)

Phantomcolt18 said:


> Honestly a game like Doggy Doo?
> 
> I JUST saw this commercial for the first time on TV. Seriously? What is the toy industry coming to? I do however recall a doll or something from either the 80's or 90's that was a pole dancing doll.(don't quote me)
> 
> ...


Well, my nephews play a game when they come over called "Fast doggy pick up" that is so much better. It involves shovels, bags and a timer. ha ha Works out really well and the winner gets a couple cookies. ha ha I think maybe people are running out of things to entertain kids with. So few have any imagination anymore. People (many) don't take their kids outside or Heaven forbid, ask them to work at all.

Pole dancing doll? Really? That is so wrong.


----------



## Fulford15 (Oct 17, 2012)

I was just thinking this the other day. I watch YTV sometimes to watch Wipe-Out(Lol), and some of the commercials for toys are just odd... same with TV shows!! 

I am a 90's kids, so I had a light-bright, easy bake, and then when Pokemon came out. Wasn't aloud a Ferby (although, I am surprised there are still commercials for those creepy things!).
What happened to kids having to make up their own games, playing in the backyard (I played with Tonka trucks lol!)... My friend works at Virgin Mobile, and she says it's unbelievable how many 6-7 year olds have Iphones and boyfriends... I worked at Claires, and oh man, some of the attitudes I saw, kindergarten girls wanting "big girl" make up, and the parents actually buy it for them and let them wear it every day....Scary :-|


----------



## Inga (Sep 11, 2012)

Fulford15 said:


> I was just thinking this the other day. I watch YTV sometimes to watch Wipe-Out(Lol), and some of the commercials for toys are just odd... same with TV shows!!
> 
> I am a 90's kids, so I had a light-bright, easy bake, and then when Pokemon came out. Wasn't aloud a Ferby (although, I am surprised there are still commercials for those creepy things!).
> What happened to kids having to make up their own games, playing in the backyard (I played with Tonka trucks lol!)... My friend works at Virgin Mobile, and she says it's unbelievable how many 6-7 year olds have Iphones and boyfriends... I worked at Claires, and oh man, some of the attitudes I saw, kindergarten girls wanting "big girl" make up, and the parents actually buy it for them and let them wear it every day....Scary :-|


 
The absolute worst was I saw a little kids pair of panties in the store with a big gaping mouth on the front and it said "Bite me" I was so disgusted I complained to the store manager. It was for maybe a 5 year old girl. How sick is that. Maybe I could look the other way but I work in a hospital and see far far too often the little kids coming in for rape or sexual assault. We wonder why when we try to sexualize them when they are little kids? Sick and wrong IMO


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Inga said:


> Well, my nephews play a game when they come over called "Fast doggy pick up" that is so much better. It involves shovels, bags and a timer. ha ha Works out really well and the winner gets a couple cookies. ha ha I think maybe people are running out of things to entertain kids with. So few have any imagination anymore. People (many) don't take their kids outside or Heaven forbid, ask them to work at all.
> 
> Pole dancing doll? Really? That is so wrong.


I know it's so terrible. I'm outside and I try to get my little brother outside and show him all the fun games I used to play. Now he plays wii and his DS a lot. It's sad.

Yup a pole dancing doll. I found a picture of it on google.(Now that I think of it I think it's more recent than what I thought) 











Fulford15 said:


> I was just thinking this the other day. I watch YTV sometimes to watch Wipe-Out(Lol), and some of the commercials for toys are just odd... same with TV shows!!
> 
> I am a 90's kids, so I had a light-bright, easy bake, and then when Pokemon came out. Wasn't aloud a Ferby (although, I am surprised there are still commercials for those creepy things!).
> What happened to kids having to make up their own games, playing in the backyard (I played with Tonka trucks lol!)... My friend works at Virgin Mobile, and she says it's unbelievable how many 6-7 year olds have Iphones and boyfriends... I worked at Claires, and oh man, some of the attitudes I saw, kindergarten girls wanting "big girl" make up, and the parents actually buy it for them and let them wear it every day....Scary :-|


~high five fellow 90's kid!!~

I had a Furby and be glad you didn't have one lol that thing was creepy. It would talk and if you took the batteries out it would still talk and it moved! I swear. I would face it away from me at night and it would be facing my bed by morning. 

It's sad what's happening with kids anymore. I nearly died when I found out my mom's boyfriend's 11yr old is wearing makeup already! I didn't start makeup till I was 14 and even then it was just eyeliner. I still play outside and I'm going to be 21 lol nothing is more fun than going barefoot in the summer and running through the mud! Kids today are too tech-y dependent.:?


Here are a few other toy doozies

(I'm not against tats I have one and plan on more but for kids? I mean I know it's fake but still)









A baby pregnant with a baby that is also pregnant. Lovely!









So strange.


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Inga said:


> The absolute worst was I saw a little kids pair of panties in the store with a big gaping mouth on the front and it said "Bite me" I was so disgusted I complained to the store manager. It was for maybe a 5 year old girl. How sick is that. Maybe I could look the other way but I work in a hospital and see far far too often the little kids coming in for rape or sexual assault. We wonder why when we try to sexualize them when they are little kids? Sick and wrong IMO


 
Ugh it's so true! I hate it. I was standing in a checkout line once and heard a little girl about 4-5 singing that "Whistle" song where the main line is "Blow my whistle baby"(you know what it's referring to) After she sang it a few times I turned and politely asked the mom if she knew what that song meant. She said yeah. And I asked if she was comfortable with her daughter singing it. Oh my word did I get a tongue lashing about how her daughter can do what she wants! I apologized and moved on my way. I know I shouldn't have said anything but it was uncomfortable to me hearing a child sing that song. I won't make the mistake again. I study psychology and I don't think I will ever fully understand people.


----------



## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

Too funny - I just saw Doggy Doo in a store over the weekend and I was so puzzled/shocked/etc I took a photo of it and posted it to another group I belong to because I was just at a loss as to how that was actually a toy that is for sale and that people would buy......


----------



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Started with those 'ho wanna-be Bratz dolls. Seriously, dolls that look as if they're dressed for a night on a street corner, flagging down men in cars and asking if they're looking for a 'date'? Why the heck did parents even BUY those?


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Speed Racer said:


> Started with those 'ho wanna-be Bratz dolls. Seriously, dolls that look as if they're dressed for a night on a street corner, flagging down men in cars and asking if they're looking for a 'date'? Why the heck did parents even BUY those?


 
Oh I know! Those dolls were/are terrible! And then they did the Bratz Babyz(I think that's how they spelled it) so they have (excuse my language) "mini-****s" 

good role models, real good.

Edit:

Bratz Babyz in lingerie?


----------



## Fulford15 (Oct 17, 2012)

Phantomcolt18 said:


> I I had a Furby and be glad you didn't have one lol that thing was creepy. It would talk and if you took the batteries out it would still talk and it moved! I swear. I would face it away from me at night and it would be facing my bed by morning.


And thats why my Mom wouldn't let me have one LOL. So I used to "baby sit" my friends and sneak it home on weekends... Mom found it and threw it out... opps. :lol: It was still alive in the garbage and freaked her out lol.



> Started with those 'ho wanna-be Bratz dolls. Seriously, dolls that look as if they're dressed for a night on a street corner, flagging down men in cars and asking if they're looking for a 'date'? Why the heck did parents even BUY those?


I remember those discusting things! Some peoples parents... :shock:


----------



## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

Reminds me of the baby dolls I used to play with that would wet their diapers after a 'feeding', lol! And those 'real dolls' where you had to feed / change / play with / blow their noses, mom tossed mine after we couldn't get it to shut up and stop crying in the middle of the night. No off switch!


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Welcome to the dumbing down of humanity.

Have you seen the movie Idiocracy?
Idiocracy (2006) - IMDb

Yep, that's our future, folks.


----------



## SaddleStrings (May 15, 2012)

My mom never had to worry about me. I had Breyer horses and barns for them. If anyone gave me a Barbie doll, I took her clothes and shoes off and put them on my Breyers. Yep, my Black Beauty wore pink Barbie boots and a skirt with a matching hat! I never got board of toy horses, that was all I wanted. I hated dolls!


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

smrobs said:


> Welcome to the dumbing down of humanity.
> 
> Have you seen the movie Idiocracy?
> Idiocracy (2006) - IMDb
> ...


 
Nope haven't seen it, but it looks interesting so i think I might!

I have lost a ton of faith in humanity at this point....especially after seeing some of these pictures on my FB wall. It makes me wonder if these people are for real or just trying to get laughs, something tells me it's not the latter. 

How did you make it through grade school?









This one is just ridiculous









I hope this girl is joking, although a lot of my graduating class couldn't tell time on a normal clock









~sigh~









How do you NOT know helen Keller









And this is just GOLD...good to know you know alllll about world matters chickie.









Whoops got a little carried away. Honestly, do these people play dumb or are they really that dense?


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

People are just stupid *shrugs*.

On another note, the pic about Hellen Keller didn't show up (though the newer "Miracle Worker" movie, the one with the little dimpled girl from the Pepsi commercials, is one of my fave movies).


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Dang I didn't realize it didn't show up.

Hopefully it works this time.









We watched that video in my film class. I loved it. We were divided into groups and instructed to recreate certain scenes in the movie. My group's scene was when Anne first arrived at the house and met Helen. It ended before Helen went through Anne's suitcase. I gave HUGE props to the girl in my group who played Helen she did a really good job of not having her eyes focus on any particular object (especially the camera) 

It's been a few years since I've watched it ~movie night idea~ Also, that little girl was also in "Paulie" one of my favorite movies. Never fails to make me cry at least once.


----------



## Inga (Sep 11, 2012)

alexischristina said:


> Reminds me of the baby dolls I used to play with that would wet their diapers after a 'feeding', lol! And those 'real dolls' where you had to feed / change / play with / blow their noses, mom tossed mine after we couldn't get it to shut up and stop crying in the middle of the night. No off switch!


 
They didn't make the super high tech things like that when I was a kid but I did have exactly one doll when I was young. It was a "Baby Tender Love" and it would wet it's diaper when you fed it a bottle. I basically used her for a squirt gun. I would fill her up and then squeeze her belly and make her shoot water out of her privates to hit my brother in the face. Believe it or not, it was all innocent fun, nothing sexual at all but... My parents took the doll away. From then on, I would hear them say "we don't need to worry about Inga, she is always in the barn with the horses." ha ha 

When most of the other kids were out drinking and partying, I was riding gaited horses in the arena and taking jump lessons. I probably wasn't as "safe" as they thought but... not from the usual teen/young adult problems. ha ha


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

or you could get one of these:

Happy Fun Ball (old SNL spoof commercial) - YouTube


----------



## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Toys like this are insidious. How dare they come packaged as a game, with learning hidden deep in the pretend poop that the little doggie pops out...

Seriously though, this sort of game is really harmless. In fact, there is a lot of good learning to be had playing it, in a form that kids (especially boys) will engage with. Who wouldn't want to make the dog poop? They have to feed him (social studies, what do pets need to live), then they have to count the number on the dice (reading the numeral, and knowing how many it means), then use the pump (developing some fine motor skills right there!). They have a shovel, so they are learning to clean up after their dog, and heck, throw in some recycling too, because where does the poop go? Right back in the puppy!


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Chiilaa said:


> Toys like this are insidious. How dare they come packaged as a game, with learning hidden deep in the pretend poop that the little doggie pops out...
> 
> Seriously though, this sort of game is really harmless. In fact, there is a lot of good learning to be had playing it, in a form that kids (especially boys) will engage with. Who wouldn't want to make the dog poop? They have to feed him (social studies, what do pets need to live), then they have to count the number on the dice (reading the numeral, and knowing how many it means), then use the pump (developing some fine motor skills right there!). They have a shovel, so they are learning to clean up after their dog, and heck, *throw in some recycling too, because where does the poop go? Right back in the puppy![/*QUOTE]
> 
> Not going to lie the bolded part had me giggling way more than it was supposed to :shock: maybe because it was unexpected :lol:


----------



## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Barbie had a pooping dog at one point, it was recalled though due to dangerous magnets. I was disappointed, I tried hard to find one for my kids just because it was dang hilarious! Feed "treat" to dog, treat ejects looking exactly the same. Pick up now "poop" with mini pooper-scooper and put back in can of TREATS! ROFL

Somewhere around here we have the Breyer horse set that came with a manure fork, muck bucket and pile of "horsey poo"! 

I'd much rather have my kids playing with fake poo than trashy, ****ty dolls!


----------



## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

I just hate that all of my childhood favorites have been heinously destroyed and mangled to the point where only the name is the same. Littlest Pet Shop makes me SOOO sad to see now. Polly Pocket is huge. Furby has lost almost all of the "Wtf? It is so creepy!" factor. Plus you can no longer find Grand Champion horses or other neat, lifelike toys.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Speed Racer said:


> Started with those 'ho wanna-be Bratz dolls. Seriously, dolls that look as if they're dressed for a night on a street corner, flagging down men in cars and asking if they're looking for a 'date'? Why the heck did parents even BUY those?


In England we had (maybe still have) an alternative to Barbie, she is called Cindy. A friend of my ex's was an art student and to get some extra income he did some product design for Cindy, he designed some of the things in her house. They had a meeting about a shower he was going to design, the managers expressed that it was important it be a one person shower as Cindy was not like Barbie, who was considered ****ty in comparison. 

It's funny now that Barbie was once considered slightly sexualized as things have moved on so much further.


----------



## peppersgirl (Aug 24, 2012)

omg...the idiot not wanting to pay for an abortion because she wants and Iphone...


I guess part of me is thankful she wants one as she would make a TERRIBLE mother with priorities like that!


----------



## peppersgirl (Aug 24, 2012)

As far as my toys when I was a kid...I had my breyers, and I collected horse tack looong before I had a horse, so I played with that aswell. I also (to my mothers dismay) would play with the molding clay my mom had for her crafts))

The Husband and I have already decided that our kid will play with the good ole' toys...lincoln logs, legos, old erector sets ect.. thankfully he has a plethora of older family that has kept a bunch of these toys around. And grandpa is a wood worker, so when he is old enough a nice wooden pedal plane is a garantee

He will also be out riding with me as soon as he is old enough to start, and I plan on nurturing his want to help with chores (age appropriate chores obviously).. And I realize I may be a little out there for this, and thankfully we dont have "regular" tv, so it'll be easy: but we plan on only letting him watch the good old shows..lassie, andy griffith, and some of tthe others that I got a kick out of as a kid..


I dont understand why people give their kids cell phones at such a young age..I mean I get it if your kid is say going to the park, and you want to keep tabs (offers a little independance I get it) but to all out let your 10 year old have a cell phone ALL THE TIME.. rediculous. My friend and former roomates daughter has her own cell, and I constantly get stupid chain texts...whenever I reply to tell her to stop, I get replies from other dumb kids with cell phone asking who I am (yay for mass texts!!)..I even got one to tell me her name and where she lived..stupid kid, good thing I am not a pervert!!


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I LOVED (and still do love...hehe) Link-n-logs! Tinker toys, legos, matchbox cars, and animal figurines were favorites of mine too. I had over 20 breyers which I put out to pasture and back into their stalls at night, with blankets and homemade halters too!


I also hate the rush to 'grow children up.' I'm almost seventeen and only have a phone with a small amount of minutes on it because I'm required to have it for work (I'm by myself a lot in the woods) and it cost me a whopping $15. Has a flashlight on it too, and I've actually dropped it in puddles, run it over with a wheelbarrow, thrown it...and it still isn't broken ;D I don't wear more than a bit of eyeliner ever, have never had a boyfriend, and don't wear shorts that could pass as underwear or shirts that show my belly and cleavage. And you know what? I'm 100x happier than every friend that I have >.> if people would just realize what they're doing to the next generation...


----------



## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Honestly, I don't really see what the deal is.

Wooden blocks? Hell no, ever seen how many kids get stitches from one flung at their head? I have a closet full of cardboard blocks, sturdy and neither child nor my house is damaged should one get hucked.

I have bins and bins and bins of Littlest Pet Shop, yes the ones with the BIG heads. I had no idea they ever were made any other way. Kid likes them 'nuff said. 

4ft wood barn and 200+ horses and farm animals? Check

No girly house is complete without at least a few nekkid Barbies... I think those are in a bin in the basement.

Roomful of Geo Trax? Check (boy do I get tired of tripping over them)

More legos than a vacuum could suck up? Got 'em

Untouched easy bake oven? Yup, kiddos use the real oven

Toys change. That doesn't make them better or worse, just different! Heck, my kiddos are now 9 and 11, I've started doing daycare again and NOTHING is like I had for them. Gigantic, PIA highchair? Nope, got a nifty portable, padded one that straps to a chair or sits on the floor and has WAY more features than mine ever did. Instead of a doorway jumper it's this exersaucer on springs thing... way safer IMO. Strollers with shocks are AWESOME on a farm! 

Kids are kids and ANY toy is creative. Compliments of my daycare children yesterday I have Nativity set people that are encased in plastic candy jars, a train visiting a fire station, rattles lined on end to create a runway only the plane wandered off to parts unknown so a boat became a "plane". An ambulance was deemed "a twactor" and several legos became hay bales. 

Highlight of the day? The SCHOOL BUS (the one that drops my girls off at the house), OMG the squealing and screaming over such a delight coming to the house and of course the poor driver dying of laughter as I met the bus with 2 overly-excited toddlers, 1 giant dog that tried to board the bus, 2 goats that tasted her tires and my girls who rolled their eyes and attempted to hide in their jackets as they exited.

Oh and YES my child has a cellphone. When the bus died in the absolute middle of nowhere (hour ride EACH way to school) in subzero temps and of course dead bus = no heat, by the time the driver had managed to reach the bus depot for assistance, I was there and transferring all the kids into my warm truck where we kept them while the driver contacted parents for permission for me to drive them or have them to come.


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

pft. The stitches after being hit in the head are what make the stories the best! As are the black eyes after being hit in the eye by your brother with a stick horse, the broken wrist from falling off of a tire swing, and the cuts from stepping on leggos!

Don't ask me how I know that...


I do think that most of us mean cell phones that little kids are allowed to text on 24/7, play games on all of the time, etc. I'm not against kids who are away from their parents a lot having a very basic phone for emergencies.


----------



## live to ride (Nov 24, 2012)

Did anyone have a Grandpa Time when they were kids? It was an amazing invention. It was a clock that was shaped as a granfather clock, that read to the kids a nursery story, which came on tapes, and reminded the kids to brush there teeth before bed. It was also an alarm. They were from the 80's i think. At the time, there was nothing like that. They are selling on ebay for hundreds of dollars!!


----------



## Phantomcolt18 (Sep 25, 2007)

Endiku said:


> I do think that most of us mean cell phones that little kids are allowed to text on 24/7, play games on all of the time, etc. I'm not against kids who are away from their parents a lot having a very basic phone for emergencies.


^^^
This! 

I'm all for a child having a phone for emergency reasons. I see too many under 10yr olds with their noses stuck in their iphones texting and facebooking it's ridiculous.


----------



## Showjumper1289 (Oct 27, 2012)

bratz freak me out. some girls in my grade wear really short skirts have boyfreinds wear makup and text all the time this one girl wears color contacts and has a streached ear lobe. i did not have dolls i only had breyers and the only doll i had was a american girl doll givin to me by my aunt
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

I played with paper dolls when I was little, for crying out loud. I still remember my grandma giving me a book full of them, with perforated dolls and clothes that you had to punch out. 

I also had LiteBrite, Skydancers, Polly Pocket, Fantasy Fillies, Paddock Ponies, Doodle Bear... most of the awesome 90's toys.  I actually still have all my Betty Spaghetti dolls.

I don't understand toys these days. Companies are running out of ideas.

Y'know what else baffles me? Kids' TV shows and movies. Nothing is classic anymore. Poor kids today are stuck with Hannah Montana and crappy computer animated sitcoms on Nick Junior.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Jessabel said:


> Y'know what else baffles me? Kids' TV shows and movies. Nothing is classic anymore. Poor kids today are stuck with Hannah Montana and crappy computer animated sitcoms on Nick Junior.


My biggest peave is the cartoons that are nothing more than crap...literally. You know, we didn't have the very best cartoons when I was a kid, but they were still educational tools to either teach moral ideas or math/reading/etc. Now, we've got our young kids being educated by the likes of Spongebob and Adventure Time and Regular Show. Stuff that is nothing more than candied pig poo...light on the candy. And we wonder why each generation is dumber than the last :?.


----------



## doubleopi (Dec 27, 2011)

LadyDreamer said:


> I just hate that all of my childhood favorites have been heinously destroyed and mangled to the point where only the name is the same. Littlest Pet Shop makes me SOOO sad to see now. Polly Pocket is huge. Furby has lost almost all of the "Wtf? It is so creepy!" factor. Plus you can no longer find Grand Champion horses or other neat, lifelike toys.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I love the Grand Champions....won't touch a Breyer.


----------



## jumanji321 (Dec 1, 2010)

I still have all of my breyers. Traditionals are very hard to come by where I live so I will hopefully be keeping them for a long time.


----------

