Thank you #bunchems for costing us $25 for the game and $50 for the haircut, my daughter's tears? priceless
A new toy is making parents want to yank their hair out in frustration. They’ve found that Bunchems can get tangled in kids’ manes, forcing parents to literally pull — or cut — their children’s hair in order to get them out.
The toy, designed by the Canadian company Spin Master, is intended to be used for building. The squishy, colorful, circular pieces have interlocking hooks which makes them stick together for building and for easy clean up. Bunchems even made Target’s top list of toys for 2015.Those same hooks make them prone to getting stuck in hair, and consumers have taken to the internet to warn others.
The reviews on Amazon are littered with complaints. One user called Bunchems “A Toy Spawned From the Darkest Depths of Hell,” advising parents to “Buy this toy for someone if you hate them or their child.”
president of marketing for Spin Master, told the Wall Street Journal that the problem of the pieces getting entangled in hair and other materials came up early in testing. Spin Master did not immediately return NBC's request for comment.
While there are several warnings on the box and in the instruction manual, Biren said the company is “trying to figure out ways to make it more obvious.”
The company posted a video to YouTube entitled “How to Remove Bunchems From Your Hair” using conditioner and vegetable oil. But some parents have resorted to scissors instead.
A parent on Twitter wrote, "Thank you #bunchems for costing us $25 for the game and $50 for the haircut, my daughter's tears? priceless." An Instagram user posted a photo of her son with the hashtag impromptu haircut.