Censorship in toys
Categories: Babies, Toddlers, Fun & activities, Media, Education, Toys & games, Gadgets & tech
About a month ago my husband was playing around with one of our son's toys and realized it was censored. The toy in question is a Leap Frog brand caterpillar called an Alphabet Pal with letters on each of its twenty-six legs. Among the things you can do with the caterpillar are set it to play different kinds of music (each leg plays a different song) and say the letters on the legs. You can also set it to pronounce the sound the letter makes when it is spoken. So, if you hit the leg with the letter "B" on it, you hear "Buh." As a joke my husband tried to sound out a dirty word. The caterpillar denied him! Instead, if you, say, try to sound out "fff" then "ugh" you get a "heh heh, that tickles!" before the caterpillar will pronounce the "kuh."
Now, I can assume my kiddo isn't going to be using this caterpillar to sound out dirty words. Most children who are the age the caterpillar is designed for--between one and two years of age--don't even know what those are. But it still brings up an interesting point: Isn't that censorship? I mean, whoever designed this toy, which is a lot of fun and a great educational tool (it also says the colors of each letter on each leg in another setting), had to think that someone like my husband would try some funny business and came up with a plan to avoid the caterpillar saying bad things.
I'm starting to wonder if this was a one-time thing or if all toys of this nature are set to ensure they don't spell or say dirty words. Also, who decides such things? And does that person get to decide what constitutes a dirty word and what doesn't? At home with television and the Internet, for example, parents can set their own standards for what their children are allowed to watch and read or look at. The maker of this toy did that for us. Thoughts??? Should companies be censoring toys for us or are they doing the job of the parents?
Pic of caterpillar by j / f / photo.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Melissa 7-06-2008 @ 1:31PM
It won't spell out my son's name (Adam) because of the D-A-M sounds, either.
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Cheli 7-06-2008 @ 1:54PM
The old Alphabet catapillars didn't have that "safety" on it and somenoe sued them because it said the f word when the right combo was pressed. It's almost as if the company can't win, know what I mean?
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mamaloo 7-06-2008 @ 2:26PM
Can't spell A-S-S on the Word Whammer, either. I tried. Nor T-I-T :) Teehee!
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Danica 7-06-2008 @ 2:48PM
David Sedaris (one of my favorite authors) does a great bit about this very thing. He describes the toy his brother and sister-in-law purchased for their daughter as "crafty and decent" when his brother is unable to get it to say "dick". "And that's a goddamn name!"
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Nicola 7-06-2008 @ 8:34PM
We've had this issue with the Word Whammer too. My son (going through a religious streak) wanted to spell God. No go. It won't say "God" either.
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Phoenix 7-06-2008 @ 9:53PM
Are ya kidding me? Will it let you spell "s u c k?" How about "a s s u m e?" Or does it get stuck on "a s s?" So, what is the worst that could happen, without the "censor?" A kid might spell a "bad" qord, and his parents might have to explain why it should not be used. But wait! Isn't that what parents are supposed to do? Or should we rig pencils to break when the word is spelled in writing? Or should we rig our kids mouths to freeze up when they try to say it out loud? Anyone read "1984?" Read about how language controls thought. What next? Will someone make a toy that will not spell "Democrat?" Or "revolution?" Personally, I'd throw away the toy, and spend time teaching my kid to spell with a pencil. And if he wanta to spell "bad" words, at least I'd make sure he knows the word is not spelled "f u k!"
(Hope THIS makes it through the censors!)
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pbhj 7-07-2008 @ 9:31AM
Phoenix, toddlers enjoy mimicry. Whatever your personal views on swearing/cursing (mine is that it _indicates_ poor vocabulary and generally lower intelligence) it's clear that use of these words is offensive to some.
We shouldn't need to tell people in public that they are being offensive, but sometimes it's necessary.
Toddlers of course don't understand social boundaries. I'm more than happy to teach my son all the swear words he likes, when he can use them responsibly - I'm guessing he'll be a bit beyond electronic speech toys by then.
... and 1984, seriously? You think people don't want toys to swear because it's thought control. Stopping people continuously swearing would only do one thing - encourage them to think about and properly express what they mean.
pbhj 7-07-2008 @ 9:31AM
Phoenix, toddlers enjoy mimicry. Whatever your personal views on swearing/cursing (mine is that it _indicates_ poor vocabulary and generally lower intelligence) it's clear that use of these words is offensive to some.
We shouldn't need to tell people in public that they are being offensive, but sometimes it's necessary.
Toddlers of course don't understand social boundaries. I'm more than happy to teach my son all the swear words he likes, when he can use them responsibly - I'm guessing he'll be a bit beyond electronic speech toys by then.
... and 1984, seriously? You think people don't want toys to swear because it's thought control. Stopping people continuously swearing would only do one thing - encourage them to think about and properly express what they mean.
windex 7-07-2008 @ 9:35AM
I have to laugh at the censorship because I am sure like most young kids they accidentally same bad words when trying to pronounce something else - like my 20 month old - for the past 2 months when we point to a frog - as clear as day he says another F word we all know....iot is just the way he says it....
The caterpiller one does not bother me as much - but the word whammer one is a little extreme as A-S-S and D-A-M are other words and as for GOD well religious or not that is just stupid - it is a word/name no matter what your religious beliefs are.
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Malleonard 7-07-2008 @ 12:23PM
I like that a lot of toys do ont let you spell bad words even if there are names and words that can not be spelled also. It is up to the makers to decide what their toys can and can not do. I feel if people have a problem with it they don't need to buy the toys. Don't buy what you don't approve of.
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Michelle 7-07-2008 @ 1:15PM
It was so funny to read this today -- my 9 year old thinks it's sooooo funny to make the alphabug sound out the F word. I guess we have the older version.
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Jenni 7-08-2008 @ 5:21PM
A creative way to censor the toy. It's not like a child who is the right age will purposfully create these words; unless they get a big reaction from the adults around.
It's the teenagers (and the adults) who take these toys and play with them that create these words. Personally, I think it's funny.
It's like Cheli said, the company can't win. Really, you can't please everyone.
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