The holiday season can be stressful for parents, as they prepare for various family gatherings and struggle to pick up everything on their shopping lists. But on Christmas morning - sometimes very very early on Christmas morning - the children tear open their gifts and the parents get some respite. Finally, a moment of peace and quiet, after so much anxiety and chaos.
However, if you bought your kids Yellies for Christmas, you will find yourself enshrined in a special hell. Created by Hasbro, Yellies are fuzzy spidery creatures activated by yelling, so the louder you shout, the faster they scoot towards you. An intriguing idea, but some shoppers are not happy with the noisy toy. What parent wants to hear their kids' constant screaming, especially during the hectic holiday season?
Also, what happens if kids are really scared of Yellies? As they cry and freak out, the unstoppable arachnid monster continues speeding toward them. It sounds like a traumatizing experience, right? To quote Karen Alpert from the parenting blog Baby Sideburns: "Who on earth thought inventing this toy would be a good idea?!"
One mother described how the toy terrorized her son in a viral Facebook post: "Being the mother of a naturally loud and boisterous kid, I thought [Yellies] would be the perfect Christmas present," wrote Hilary Hard. "I yelled at it. The spider ran for it. Leo starts screaming... the louder he screams, the faster the spider pursued him... Leo is backed into a corner as murder glows green in the eyes of little 'Skadoodle.' So, in short, maybe a little electronic spider thats power source feeds off of screams of terror... is not the best Christmas gift for your small child. 10 years from now we’ll be discussing this in therapy. "
On Amazon.com, some consumers have praised Yellies, presumably because they are deaf and hate their kids. "Great little toy that follows kiddos voices!" wrote one person, who gave the product five stars. "Keeps everyone entertained!" Another added, "So much fun for the whole family. Even the cat. I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts."
Other Yellies reviews were hilariously sarcastic. "Buy this if you hate someone with kids," suggested one Amazon user. Another person raved, "If you have arachnophobia and point it towards yourself, you'll have a heart attack for about fourteen bucks as it will run towards your horrified screams!"
Despite the backlash, the controversial toys are reportedly selling very well at Target and Walmart. Are parents actually buying them for their kids? Or are tortuous pranksters buying them for other parents' kids? Maybe parents have to keep buying new toys because the cats destroy them? I don't know. Whatever the reason, Yellies are popular.
Anyway, if you got your kid Yellies for a Christmas present, word of warning: You won't have a 'silent night' ever again
