The thing I hate about birthday parties for other people’s kids is the fact that whatever I give them, I will not have the satisfaction of being able to watch them enjoy or use the gift.
When my boyfriend’s nephew’s second birthday came around, I was baffled on what the hell to buy him. For one the kid has everything…and secondly, he is a boy. I find it hard to buy toys for little boys. This is why one day I pray for a daughter of my own. To me, buying for boys is difficult…and sort of boring. (But hey, that’s because I am a girl.)
While browsing out local Toys’R’Us, my boyfriend and I went from picking out G.I. Joes, Elmo’s, and other idiotic baby toys. We grew frustrated, and 45 minutes into non-stop picking up and putting down, we were about to just walk out and buy him clothes across the street.
Suddenly like a spotlight from the heavens, with a light beaming down on one particular toy that made both our mouths drool with envy; sit n’ spin!!!
Or lord, I thought these suckers were banned, after that one dumb ass kid went and threw up his lunch, and caused his prick mother to somehow gain a recall on all of them back in the 80’s or…90’s. The result was a bunch of other kids, who had strong stomachs wanting to kill the woman. I remember it like it was yesterday…or at least that was a lie my cousin told me, after our sitter went and broke.
I knew that even though his nephew was turning 2, he would still enjoy it. He was well coordinated, a bit of a strong fella. I didn’t see any issues with buying it.
This Sit ‘N Spin was no ordinary Sit N Spin. It was actually called Playskool Simon Says Sit N Spin. This particular model worked the same as the old school version I remembered, only it played music, and shot out orders on which way to spin. It sounded cool, it looked cool…and I had a feeling he would love it.
However after he opened the gift it sort of got tossed to the side corner of the living room where piles of other un-cool gifts got chucked, compliments of mommy. Yay!
Months had passed and I hadn’t seen our gift anywhere, till recently. While over babysitting him and his 4 year old cousin, we found Playskool Simon Says Sit N Spin sitting in the corner of his play room (yeah the kid has a playroom). I dragged it out and tried to get him on it, but he mumbled out something that sounded like ‘no spinnie’. I figured he was not strong enough to get it to spin, so I convinced the 4 year old to give it a try.
She hopped on, and tugged and tugged with all her might, and the goddamn Playskool Simon Says Sit ‘N Spin didn’t budge! The result was me actually pushing the thing along just so she could spin around a bit. I even had a hard time pushing it with her on it. It seemed that the bottom rubbed too close to the plastic it lays on, which cause friction, and difficulty in spinning.
Heck, I remember my big ol’ yellow one I had as a kid, that thing would spin, and spin, and spin so fast that it felt like I would take flight if I could just spin faster. The result would be me tipping over, or the Sit ‘N Spin tipping from my lightning speeds! Hehe!
Playskool Simon Says Sit ‘N Spin though, wasn’t budging. It was grounded, and it pissed me off. Not only did it not move, but the stupid Simon Says voice in there would make this error noise, which resulted in the little girl wanting to hop off. She got annoyed, frustrated, and Simon was too dang loud and annoying to even want to tolerate.
The Playskool Simon Says Sit ‘N Spin also take 2 AA batteries. That’s so Simon can talk and play loud annoying tunes for your kid.
Overall:
It was a waste of money…however we had awesome intentions. We thought it would be neat like the originals they made years and years ago. They baby proofed them soooo badly though, that they don’t even spin.
I can see wanting to keep your kid safe, but hell, this Sit N Spin is designed for bubble kids. It sits there looking cool and that’s it. It is a damn shame that kids today can’t ever experience the true fun behind a Sit ‘N Spin.
My quest: To find an original!
Recommendation:
It’s a Skip ‘N Spin. SKIP. A waste of $20, indeed!
