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The fun police have struck again, this time banning all the fun toys from show bags.

Agriculture shows across NSW have been given a list of prohibited items that can’t be sold in show bags by the Federal Council of Agricultural Societies.

Among the banned items are water bombs, potato guns, cap pistols, “lurid” playing cards, Zippo lighters, stink bombs, bouncing beans, pressure pack snow and silly string.

NSW Agricultural Societies Council president Tim O’Brien has defended the list saying most were banned for “safety reasons”, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“(Potato guns) could shoot another kid in the eye,” Mr O’Brien said. “(Throw-down crackers) could scare a horse.”

banned toys

“I fear that soon kids won’t be allowed into the show unless they are on a leash,” Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm said. “Millions of Australians have survived a visit to the show over the years without these kinds of restrictions by relying on nothing but their common sense.”

The banned items will not apply to the Sydney Royal Easter Show but all show bags are being checked for unsafe toys.

Do you think they have gone too far?

Share your comments below.

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  • I agree with the ban on some of these toys (i.e. potato gun) but not others (i.e. silly string… who doesn’t love silly string). Parents should make decisions about what their kids play with.

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  • I agree with the decision. It’s common sense to get rid of this rubbish, not just for safety but also for environmental reasons.

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  • It seems a bit silly. Parents should be teaching their kids how to use those things responsibly. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for everyone anymore.

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  • lol at the comment about scaring horses. not really commonplace, is it? and i grew up rural…..

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  • Lol. I’m probably going to be the odd one out here with my unpopular, but I agree completely (for the most part, anyway).

    I’m not a helicopter parent… but I don’t allow guns of any kind, or lighters, nothing under pressure as kids like to blow s**t up, and my 16 year old is allowed to watch M films etc, (Partly because I have no legal right to stop him, lol!) but I don’t like the idea of my babies seeing nude/semi-nude women in any aspect… It just freaks me out.

    I’m not a prude (well, not totally lol), but I do believe there is a time and place for nudity, and in a plastic bag full of things considered to be toys, is certainly not it.

    That said… Water bombs… Seriously? Come on guys, yeah ok, throw one at a person and it’ll sting like a you know what… But really, that’s about it, right? And Silly String? Why? What damage could THAT possibly do? Sure, they could spray it on someone’s house or whatever… but really… what’s the major issue here? As long as the parents are mature enough to explain acceptable use… It seems overkill to me…

    We need to pick our fights.

    If we get all up in arms about the little things, then our children will rebel against us when it’s really important.

    Let them live a little, for goodness sake. :D

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  • I think in all honesty we need to be held more responsible for how we are bringing up our kids and how we are over protecting them.
    There are some parents that ive noticed that if their child does something wrong and another adult informs them of the negative behaviour then the parents make excuses for the child and then get angry with the other adult for informing them of their childs wrong doing.
    I was shocked a few years back when a sports coach told a boy off for spitting on another boy and he said “I will have to have a good talk with your father”…..
    The single Mum totally wiped away the fact that her child has been spitting on another child and she became full of fury over the fact the coach had said that he was going to talk to the childs Dad.
    Her child learnt nothing positive from that behaviour at all.

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  • the world is becoming crazy

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  • Silly string and water bombs seem harmless and fun. Water fights during summer are bliss!

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  • These actually seem pretty sensible restrictions.

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  • I think this is fair enough. I’m shocked things like zippo lighters would ever have been allowed anyway. Safety first and foremost! If parents feel strongly enough about their kids playing with water balloons and silly string, they can purchase these themselves (and then deal with the clean up).

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  • The have been banned because they are unsafe. If they weren’t banned, then someone could get hurt. Better to be safe than sorry in my opinion

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  • Is the water in the waterbombs clear or does it contain dye? I believe they have chemicals in them. If they hit anybody in the face what danger do the chemicals pose. A little child I know was hit with a show toy with chemical in it. Some of the fluid went in her mouth and she complained it burnt her mouth.

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  • Can understand the guns but silly string! they seem to be taking things way to far.

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  • Ridiculous. Let their parents decide if they have these items.

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  • I think they went a little bit too far with the water bombs!!


    • I agree – they are good fun on scorching hot days!

    Reply

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