To hate pinatas for kids?

[Crunchymum]

I may or may not be watching This Morning

Seriously though, watching those kids with cricket bats and wooden baseball bats going town on the pinatas made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

AIBU?

Our granddaughter is Mexican and has had most of her birthday in Mexico with a Pinata. It's great fun and I can remember the children singing a song while she was trying to break whatever shape it was.

A little research and it seems they originated in Europe and were taken to Latin America by the Spanish.

In S London they seemed to gain popularity via the Brazilian community, but were often home made as an art / craft activity by the family. The real papier-mâché ones crack more easily than the fake commercial cardboard boxes.

Do kids do the blindfolding and having 3 whacks each thing? When I was present at Brazilian parties everyone sang, too.

Cultural appropriation ( ) seems to consist of taking a fun and charming tradition and turning it into a greedy rugger scrum!

@memaymamo Back up a moment... used stamps? Hundreds of them?

When I was a kid they used to sell bags of them at Woolworths. Used stamps still affixed to torn bits of envelopes.

Seriously?! My dd had one at her 7th birthday party a couple of weeks ago. The kids loved it!

All kind well balanced kids, that don't batter donkeys as a result.

I love that hitting a papier mache shape is nasty and American but burning an effigy of a terrorist is just good traditional fun

I love that hitting a papier mache shape is nasty and American but burning an effigy of a terrorist is just good traditional fun

Love this

oh yes and burning a giant effigy of Pope Paul V is also good traditional fun..
honestly people are so precious...my children had a piñata once, and neither of them has ever battered an animal...

They've been around forever. They were at every birthday party during the 80s, 90s and early 2000s here in Australia.

No problem with them.

It's not fun or sporty to look on as someone exhibits violent tendencies to something representing another being that is unable to defend itself.

It serves to remind us of the barbarism still within people and why we need to continue to educate against violence in any form.

We sometimes have them for our kids parties, they love them! But just with a stick, not with a baseball bat! The sticks are made of plastic inside I think. I LOVE the idea of a Halloween one but it's a bit mean to fill it with blood and guts! Might steal the idea for this year's Halloween party and fill it with sweets and pretend spiders though, v. cool! But they do know the difference between a cardboard piñata animal and real one ;-) my two are the gentlest with animals, no harm done!

They do seem unnecessary.

I mean beating the crap out of something isn't fun and it always makes me think of strung up animals.

My codeine addled brain thought you wrote that you don't like pirates for kids - I was going to agree with that too.

The stick always seems dangerous for a wee nipper soo many fail videos.

It clearly is fun or people wouldn't do it.

We had one once, it took absolutely ages for the kids to break it. DH had to step in. It was hanging, but we had to take it off and put it on the floor to properly whack. I'd never get another one.

It's justification through it being 'fun' that rings alarm bells for me.

I generally hate destructive behaviour, but to enjoy destroying an animal effigy is beyond my comprehension.

I generally hate destructive behaviour, but to enjoy destroying an animal effigy is beyond my comprehension.

Don't ever go to a bonfire in Britain on November 5th. You'll be completely baffled.

Love all the pearl clutching

We lived in Mexico for many years, kids were born there, always had them, nothing sinister or nasty about a piňata!

Cultural appropriation! Violence! Well, isn't that exactly what kids love?

It's called play

Oh dear. It's a harmless game that kids love.
If you don't like violence do you not do bonfire night?

Oh gosh, my 7 year old had one for her birthday. It was a unicorn. Just a bit of fun as far as I was concerned. I think all children present were well aware that if they saw a real unicorn they would not gets sweets from it by hitting it with a stick. After all, the whole point is to break open the cardboard box for the sweets and treats inside. I have never seen a piñata that looks like a proper thing (donkey being multicoloured etc).

We usually have a piñata at DS’s birthday but thought it might be time to progress to bull fighting this year.

If your child can't tell the difference between battering a cardboard, brightly coloured shape and an actual, live animal, I think you have more problems than a piñata.

Don't ever go to a bonfire in Britain on November 5th. You'll be completely baffled.

Baffled is indeed the word. Imagine the utter bafflement, not to say discomfiture of DH's entire extended family in continental Europe when our children proudly showed them some films I'd taken of a Guy Fawkes night in our town. To say 'they didn't know what the fucking hell to make of it' would be to seriously understate their feelings on the matter

*It's not fun or sporty to look on as someone exhibits violent tendencies to something representing another being that is unable to defend itself.

It serves to remind us of the barbarism still within people and why we need to continue to educate against violence in any form*

Have you seen these piñatas? They bear pretty much no resemblance to "another being".

When I was a kid they used to sell bags of them at Woolworths. Used stamps still affixed to torn bits of envelopes.

What were they for?

To put in piñatas? 😂