Talk to the Hand
By Glinda
My one year old daughter received many, many toys on Christmas.
Some would say too many.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that, but I do think she got way too many toys that talk to her.
Oh for the good old days when your toys didn’t say phrases at you all the time! When you could stare at your stuffed dog and you could pretend it said anything you wanted, not one of twenty canned, pre-recorded phrases.
The one I hate the most is a dog made by Fisher Price that will talk and sing when you press it’s ears/paws/tummy. The songs are fine, I never have anything against a good rendition of the ABC song.
But I think I hate it because the voice is one that is dripping with saccharine. The actor who performed for the recordings deliberately pitched her voice much too high, and almost emotes too much, if you know what I mean.
And personally, I feel it is just wrong for inanimate objects to ask to “Be my friend.” Am I alone on this?
By some particular quirk of fate, the dog we have is apparently possessed, as it will say the phrases while it is lying on the floor and no one has touched it in over ten minutes. I will be sitting there on the couch, and suddenly a disembodied voice will rise up from the floor. “I loooove you,” the dog will coo in an annoying singsong way.
That dog had better watch it’s back, because if it keeps spontaneously spouting creepy phrases, I just might find myself spontaneously throwing it in the trash.
January 27th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
My two-year old talks back to her toy that is similar. (Toy: Hi, wanna play? My daughter: No.)
January 27th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Would that be Violet?
January 30th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
The toy is “Scout.” Programmable, so it can say her name, favorite color, etc.
January 31st, 2011 at 2:57 am
Ah yes, Violet and Scout are both from LeapFrog. Same thing, different color.
January 27th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Toys like that often mysteriously break at my house.
January 31st, 2011 at 2:58 am
Toy murderer! 🙂
January 28th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
If toys like that don’t have the option to turn down the volume (or turn it off altogether), they mysteriously disappear. My son currently has a singing cow from Fisher-Price that he loves. “I love counting, yes I do! Counting with a MOOOO!”
Seriously.
I keep that one in the car, because then it’s a special treat for him, and between the sound of the car engine and the radio, the cow is barely audible to me.
January 31st, 2011 at 2:58 am
LOL