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An iPad for babies is the recipient of this year’s TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children) Award for the Worst Toy of the Year. The Vinci Touchscreen Mobile Learning Tablet beat out its rivals because it advertised that screen time is educational for babies. “While all the [finalists] were horrifying, the Vinci seems the most insidious to me,” said Anne M. Deysers, a member of Commercial Free Childhood. “It’s likely to convince parents that they are doing something positive for their babies when that couldn’t be farther from the truth.” Peggy Sissel-Phelan, EdD, agreed with Deysers: “People don’t know that without human attention, babies won’t develop normally, much less optimally. They will, however, learn how to push the buttons to make the screen react. Rats can do that!” A list of finalists can be found at www.commercialfreechildhood.org.
What not to wear
Some British schools are fighting “hemline creep”—where girls hike up their uniform skirts at the waist to shorten them. One headmaster observed that girls wore skirts “almost like belts.” Another mused that short skirts could ignite “inappropriate thoughts” among the boys. Meanwhile, an Ottawa-area school is cracking down on students wearing yoga pants and leggings because such attire is deemed to be too tight and revealing. Students caught ignoring the rule will be reprimanded. As one student explained, “The first time is a detention; the second time is a suspension; the third time you get expelled from the school.”
