Mother Calls Out Toy Company For Selling 'Baby's First Cubicle' Toy & Promoting Capitalism
The toy includes a computer, calendar and coffee cup.
Fractal Pictures / Shutterstock A mother is slamming a toy company after she purchased a plaything for her infant daughter, believing that the toy promotes capitalism, and is sending young children the wrong message about their futures.
The toy the woman bought for her baby contained toy ‘office supplies’ that you would often see on one’s work desk.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed over one million times, the mother shared the controversial toy she bought for her baby. The toy is from the popular company Fisher Price and is meant to emulate a small office.
“I didn’t pay attention to what I was buying,” the mother admitted. “I don’t know what they call it, but I call it ‘baby’s first cubicle.’”
The “Like a Boss Activity Center” features typical office supplies and necessities including a toy computer, computer mouse, Post-it notes, a calendar, a tape dispenser, paper clips, and even a cup of coffee. It also includes a box of toy tissues, "for when you have to cry because it's your first [expletive] cubicle," according to the mother.
When certain buttons are pressed, the toy computer even recites popular sayings you’d hear around the office, with child-like phrases incorporated into it, including, “Per my last email, let’s pencil in some playtime,” “Is it 5:00 yet?” and “Let’s circle back to that. I love circles.”
When the mother pressed one button, a voice began singing, “I can’t wait for lunchtime! I’ll eat something yummy, then go back to work!”
The toy even has some work-from-home features! When another button is pressed, a voice sings, “I work from home. I wish I was on vacation. I’ll pretend I’m at the Beach Channel, use my imagination!”
The mother was dumbfounded that the toy was marketed for children and believed that the emphasis on office life promoted capitalism.
“Capitalism is really popping off today!” she wrote in the caption of her video. “This is giving me flashbacks to my cubicle days.”
Others online could not help but agree with her.
“This is a cry for help. Someone check on the Fisher Price office workers. They are NOT okay,” one TikTok user commented.
“This is the real dystopia. Sweet lord,” another user wrote.
“Baby gonna be demanding PTO and a 401k,” a third noted.
Photo: Freeman Studio / Shutterstock
While the toy could have very well just been designed as a creative way to keep children entertained using an office setting as inspiration, that is not how this mother and many others perceived it. Many people were concerned about the toy sending the wrong message to children before they could even walk.
Some people may want an office job for themselves, and that is perfectly acceptable, but kids should be dreaming bigger than fantasizing about vacation while sitting at a desk.
Photo: Kuznetsov Alexey / Shutterstock
While the Fisher Price “Like a Boss Activity Center” may seem like just an innocent children’s toy to keep babies occupied and interactive with their surroundings, others interpret it as promoting a capitalist and corporate agenda.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.