Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Toys that Make the Noise

"Don't buy the toys that make the noise." -Denis Leary

I got a Busy Ball Popper from the local consignment store. The balls go down the track and pop out the top while silly music plays. Giggles guaranteed, apparently. Sounds neat. Figured it'd be something my son could have some fun with. It was for 9 months and up, so it was a timely purchase as well.

Well. Have you heard this thing? It sounds like a hootin' and hollerin' musical hairdryer on full blast. Plus, it shoots the balls all over the room. "Popper", my foot. Cannon, more like.

Also, the "Busy" in its name should have tipped me off as a warning sign. I should've known from my substitute teaching days that "busy" can be code for "wild like a baboon". But then, I guess "Wild-Like-a-Baboon Ball Cannon" may not sell as well. My first thought was that I paid money for something that makes a racket and a mess. I already have someone that does that for free!

So, at first, Sonny boy was freaked out by it and tended to come crashing down while trying to pull himself up on it more than anything else. Meanwhile, half the balls bounced down into the basement and I had to go get them. The only one who was having fun was the little voice going 'yippee! Hooray!" every time the plunger was pushed.

Sonny has figured it out now, though, and you know what, he actually really likes it. It's one of his favourites, and the other babies who come over tend to love it, too. Go figure. I have come to find him seated in front of it, pushing the plunger and giving babbling lectures to each ball as he puts it down the chute. Plus he can stuff big Legos in there, which the cannon popper shoots out as well. Good Times!

All the same, I think I'm going to see if I can maybe put masking tape over the speaker or something.  When my mom calls, she says it sounds like I'm living in a nut house.

I think it's one of those toys people only get as gifts from people who won't be living in the house with it. Surely no one would buy it for their own house... well, not on purpose, anyway.

"...Like you're living in a nut house" (Click to Enlarge)

3 comments:

  1. yes Janet, do the masking tape thing! I can't tell you how many rolls of that stuff we went thru when people would buy those lovely noisey toys for OUR children!;)

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  2. David's got a ball popping elephant. The batteries died. Now when he pushes the button it just beeps, and David says "oOOooo" And I am not too eager to replace the batteries. It was a gift. We buy David quiet toys and give him giant boxes to play with.

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  3. I see a theme! Our talking and singing puppy (also a gift) started malfunctioning, and it would giggle and bellow 'HI THERE!' all afternoon out of nowhere. So we took out the batteries... might replace them later. :)

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