Bunchems is one of this season's most popular toys and it's already on Target's Top Toys for 2015 list. They are described as squishy balls designed and developed by toy company Spin Master for building and unleashing a child's creativity. But while kids could want them for Christmas, Bunchems is turning out to be a nightmare for parents.
Dads and moms have been posting their reviews of the toy on Amazon where many have given Bunchems just a one star rating. Social media is also rife with many disgruntled posts from parents who described the toy as a "horrible spawn from hell," per Daily Mail.
The problem with the Bunchems is that the pieces can get seriously stuck on a children's hair and they are not easy to remove. "I just spent the last TWO AND A HALF hours (absolutely, 100 percent not an exaggeration) attempting to remove 14 of these bastard balls out of my daughter's hair," said one parent.
"I spent a total of 4 hours removing these from a little girl's hair today! She had 45 of them matted into her hair! 4 hours of pain and $200 later...Not really worth it!!" said one hairstylist in the Amazon review.
Mom Jennifer Spafford shared on Facebook that she had no choice but to cut her daughter's hair after she played with Bunchems. "Moms and Dads - avoid 'Bunchems' toys with your life! Katelyn came home from a playdate with these things stuck in her hair. We had no choice but to cut it out!" the mom wrote and posted the photo.
Another mother told Buzzfeed that her daughter has had two unfortunate encounters with the Bunchems. One was while she was playing with it and the second time was when she was flipping and landed on the pieces. It instantly stuck in her hair. "Unfortunately the toy she bought with her own money ended up in the trash can," said the girl's mother, Jaymee McKinnies.
Spin Master claimed it has received "very few" complaints about their toy product, per Wall Street Journal (WSJ). But to address the concerns of parents, the company released a video tutorial showing how to remove Bunchems from the hair. Some consumers remain displeased saying the instructions don't work.
The company also admitted they knew of the product's flaw during the testing phase, which is why Bunchems come with a warning label at the box and in the booklet that comes with the toy. "We're trying to figure out ways to make it more obvious," said marketing vice president Arlene Biran.
