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Most toys meant for babies and toddlers nourish their developing brains, which might explain why one mom was so upset when a toy her nine-month-old got started telling inappropriate jokes.
In a video on TikTok, a mother named Ashley Lynn explained that her son got a toy remote control for Christmas. She put batteries in it and her son happily chewed on it. As he did, he would hit the buttons, which played some fun sounds and told jokes in a goofy voice meant for kids, but the jokes were not at all things a child should be hearing.
In the video, Ashley presses a button and the phone says, "How many Catholic priests are required to screw a lightbulb into its socket? Two - one to do the screwing, and one to hear the confession."
Sexual jokes weren't the only ones though, there were also jokes centered on violence, like one that said, "You'll never guess what makes a clip-clop, clip-clop, bang bang, clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop noice. An Amish drive-by shooting."
The toy, made by Linsay, has big buttons and bright colors and is definitely meant for a child - it features a baby on the box and is called the "Smart Learning Control." One site describes it as:
Light up toy remote for toddlers and kids with ABC songs, stories, music and fun sound effects and buttons with different shapes and textures. Each of the 15+ buttons makes a sound effect or plays a melody of nine songs and some actions cause LED lights to flash. Babies will love exploring different play-stop buttons, developing their fine motor skills as they work through the different sounds and songs. While older kids will love adding this remote to their imaginative play, babies will love exploring the different buttons, textures and sounds. Easy to grip thanks to the rubber edging and simple to operate this remote control is fun for babies through preschoolers.
However, an angry review of the toy on that same site reveals that there is another joke on the device that says that Santa and the Easter Bunny aren't real.
In a follow-up video, Ashley says she reached out to Linsay asking what the company planned to do.
They quickly responded, letting her know they had opened an investigation into the toy and that it would "stop being sold." It seems they have indeed pulled it from shelves.