A mother has questions about the amusing toy she purchased for her child.
In a video shared took TikTok, user @stealth_revenger showed viewers the Fisher-Price 2-in-1 Like a Boss Activity Center she had recently bought. The toy, which is priced at $109.99 on Amazon, is meant to emulate an office environment with a computer and various supplies.
“I didn’t pay attention to what I was buying. I don’t know what they call it, but I call it ‘baby’s first cubicle,’” the woman began the video. In addition to all of the typical office supplies - such as a calendar, Post-it notes, and tape dispenser - the toy also comes with a computer that recites specific phrases when its buttons are pressed.
When the mother pressed one of the buttons, a recording of a child’s voice could be heard saying: “Per my last email, let’s pencil in some playtime.” After she pressed another button, the recording said: “Let’s circle back to that. I love circles.”
A third toy computer button pretended as if the child was on a work video call, as it played: “Whoops. I was on mute.” Meanwhile, one feature of the playset includes a dial tone, as if they are making a work call. Then, it transitions to “on hold” music.
At one point, the activity set began playing a song about working from home and pretending they were on vacation at the beach instead. It also featured a button with the recording: “Is it 5:00 yet?”
In the caption, the mother wrote: “Capitalism is really popping off today!”
She added: “@Fisher-Price put the millenials in time out. They don’t get to make toys anymore. This is giving me flashbacks to my cubicle days but you got me with the #wfh ditty.”
Since the TikToker posted the video, it has received more than one million views. Now, many people are commenting that they were just as shocked as the mother that a toy like this exists in the first place.
One person noted: “If my toddler tells me to circle back to something I’m gonna lose it.”
“This is an SNL skit. This can not be real!” another comment read.
“This is a cry for help,” someone else joked. “Someone check on the Fisher-Price office workers. They are NOT okay.”
Other people pointed out that the overall concept seemed “dark”, with one person writing: “This is the real dystopia. Sweet lord.”
“This is DARK. Hilarious, but DARK,” another commenter agreed.
“It might seem not that deep but actually it IS that deep” a third commenter wrote.
However, a few people had a laugh at the toy’s expense: “When Gen Z is refusing corporate life so they’re trying to get gen alpha early,” one person joked.
Another person took to the comments to discuss about another children’s toy. “My niece got a Little People farm set and on the box it said, ‘Today you’re the farmer - tomorrow the pig.’ Like, what in the Upton Sinclair is going on with these toys?” they wrote.
According to a comment the mother wrote, she ended up selling the Fisher-Price toy on Facebook Marketplace... although it took her “so long” to find someone who wanted it.
