Worst toy list 2012 features the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH), a Boston consumer advocacy group. According to The Huffington Post , the CCFC has released its worst toy list they called Toys Oppressive And Destructive To Young Children, or TOADY for short.
The TOADY worst toy list is focused on toys that promote staring at a screen. Three out of five of the supposed worst toys incorporate screen or tablet devices.
“Just because we can link a toy to a smartphone doesn’t mean we should,” Dr. Susan Linn CCFC organization director, explaining why they chose some of the toys to add to the 2012 worst toy list. “The toy industry is promoting superficial gadgetry at the expense of children’s creativity.”
Toys can also get onto the CCFC’s TOADY worst toy list by perpetuating gender stereotypes in an un-politically correct fashion. For example, the LEGO Friends Butterfly Beauty Shop was knocked for being “jam-packed with condescending stereotypes.” But not everyone agrees with including LEGO on the list.
“[N]ominating Lego Friends for its gender stereotyping calls into question the premise of the TOADY,” Dell’Antonia of the New York Times writes. “[I]t’s condescending to assume that young girls are any less capable of realizing that their Lego Beauty Shop doesn’t mean they’re only good for curling eyelashes, any more than Captain America suggests that boys are in for a lifetime of muscle flexing.”
The WATCH worst toy list for 2012 is probably far less controversial. Their “10 Worst Toys” list tend to focus on toys that have small parts that are choking hazards for small children. Such toys would include the Magnetic Fishing Game and the Dart Zone Quick Fire 12 Dart Gun.
WATCH also advises consumers with their 2012 worst toy list to watch out for internet purchases. Internet retailers typically do not provide as much product safety information compared to their brick-and-mortar equivalents.
