I was surfing the internet this morning reading updates on Facebook, Blogger, Pinterest and Zulily. I love Zulily they have some great stuff on there. I find bargains all the time and sometimes discover unknown products.
Having three children, I have seen and heard of all sorts of interesting, ridiculous and seriously alarming children's products over the last few years. Today, I discovered the Funpod.
For only $200 you can purchase this for your child...
I think it needs a new name. It doesn't look like too much fun. Being stuck in a box and prevented from moving more than mere inches in any direction doesn't look fun at all.
Now we do not let our kids juggle fire or play with knives but we do live on the edge. We do let them climb up on a 4-6 inch step stool. In fact, it is a Spongebob stool. The kids use it to help me in the kitchen, brush their teeth, wash their hands, and probably reach things they are probably not supposed to reach. The boys have even flipped it over and used it as a storage box for monster trucks.
I guess falling from less than a foot off the ground does not keep my husband and I up at night. When that fall happens we tell them to stand up, shake it off, and get back up there. We have probably even laughed at their clumsiness once maybe twice. We are horrible parents for doing so I am sure.
Once Brice fell off a trotting horse (a small pony actually) and I didn't go to him, he didn't cry, he dusted himself off, he climbed right back up into the saddle maybe because we have lived our life without a NotSoFunpod. Afterward, I told him he did a great job and I was proud of him for getting right back up on the pony. Yesterday, another larger pony stepped on his foot. He didn't cry, he pushed the horse off his boot and made sure he kept the horse at arms length. Lesson learned.
Falling down, getting stepped on, and getting back up again is a part of life. Learning to dust themselves off will serve kids well in life. Please let your kids out of the crazy, overpriced, wooden box.
This was my public service announcement for today.
5 comments:
They use those for special needs kids all the time who have balance issues. They are called something different though, and the name is evading me at the moment!
The adaptive boxes are called "standing boxes" and that's not what they are advertising here. Adaptation equipment makes sense.
It reminds me of "The Learning Tower," which is a much better product.
I don't know, $200 bucks seems pretty cheap to prevent the mind-numbing screams that come out of my girls when they fall. ;) I sure hope they eventually learn to "shake it off" like we tell them.
My first thought was "You've GOT to be kidding", but as I researched the product I guess it's an elaborate step stool with a protective enclosure. Aside from using this for children with balance issues, I put it in the category of "Hey, if you've got the money, go for it!" Our kitchen is small, so when my 3 yr old helps me, he's often close to the stove. I could see it being helpful in that case... if I had a bigger kitchen... and it was free.:-)
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