'Wow Kmart': Queensland mum's problematic find in daughter's dollhouse
“It went straight into the bin,” Simon captioned the clip.
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A mum has slammed Kmart for adding a potentially damaging item in her daughter’s dollhouse.
Simone, a mum from Brisbane, recently purchased a Wooden Dollhouse Bathroom for her young daughter from Kmart.
Inside the toy were six wooden miniature versions of items usually found in the bathroom, including a shower, a toilet, a plunger, and a shower mat.
But it was the tiny set of scales that got the mum talking.
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Mum slams Kmart for miniature scales in bathroom set
The Queensland mother took to TikTok to vent her frustrations with the retailer for adding the scales to the bathroom set, arguing it could do more harm than good in the long run.
“Um, probably not gonna teach my little girl she needs scales in her bathroom, Kmart,” she said in the clip.
She held up the small yellow block, which had two zeros printed on the top, indicating the person’s weight.
“It went straight into the bin,” she captioned the video.
Scales have been a longstanding feature in many bathrooms across the country.
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However, in recent years, there has been a push to keep scales out of the house entirely, as it may trigger an eating disorder.
Eating disorders can develop quickly but can be incredibly damaging to the body and mind, and the effects can last a lifetime.
Scales, despite telling the person their weight, usually don’t offer much in terms of measurement of health.
In recent years, there has been a push away from health indicators based on weight alone, such as BMI (Body Mass Index), which indicates whether you are “healthy” based on your weight and height.
According to Healthline, while BMI may be a good indicator of general healthiness using height and weight alone, it fails to take into account other factors, such as age, sex, genetics, race, muscle mass, and bone density.
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This is not the first weight scale toy that has sparked controversy in recent years.
A resurfaced Barbie ste from 1965, “Slumber Party Barbie”, caused a stir after some of the accessories included may trigger disordered eating.
Some of the accessories included a scale permanently set to 110lbs (50kg) and a small book titled “How to lose weight.”
Inside the book was one rule: “Don’t eat!”
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“I’d rather be safe than ruin my kid’s teenage years … it starts at home”
The video, which has amassed over six million views in the span of two days, has infuriated others who feel like the dollhouse toy was a step too far.
“Literally having a scale in my bathroom ruined my life,” read a comment.
“Careful,” said another. “My boyfriend is still teaching me that the numbers on a scale aren’t dangerous.
“I’ve lived on my own for a while and refuse to buy a scale because of the spiral I fear it will send me into.”
“A lot of people think it’s not that serious but I’d rather be safe than ruin my kid’s teenage years,” wrote a third. “It really does start at home.”
“It’s giving sleepover Barbie vibes,” another joked.
But, some considered the scales to be a good learning tool.
“If you see your daughter reflecting her insecurities in the toy, you can correct her behaviour and tell her she's beautiful!” a mum wrote.
“Nothing wrong with a scale,” another agreed. “Just teach her about it in a healthy way, change the way we grew up with it to something healthy.”
Kidspot has reached out to Kmart for comment.
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Originally published as 'Wow Kmart': Queensland mum's problematic find in daughter's dollhouse
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