AIBU to think that the Willys should be moved?

[RubyPatterson]

There are two branches of Poundland near us. Both stock a range of hen party type products, Penis straws, penis deelie boppers etc. Both stores display them on a low/middle shelf opposite sections that are for kids. One lot is situated directly opposite the toys and in the other store they are situated opposite the kids craft equipment.
AIBU to think that if they are going to sell them they should be situated elsewhere? My DS (11) asked me why they sell them and said that he thinks its inappropriate opposite the little kids toys etc.
They have been positioned like this for months now. On one occasion I was in Poundland without the kids (my life is that glamorous) and spoke to the manager. I mentioned that it's maybe not the ideal place for them. She said that she agreed and has had lots of complaints but when she has questioned it with her superiors they insist that, that is the plan for the store so that's where they are displayed.

Hysteria? Really? Suggesting they put them somewhere more appropriate is hardly hysteria. For someone who pretends to be so cool, you seem strangely unable to gauge reactions

Right, because claiming a headband with a penis on is comparable to a man whipping his cock out on sight of a child and claiming that a lollipop or whatever shaped like a penis encourages rape isn't hysterical at all 🤔

And cool 😂
I guarantee no one who knows me would label me 'cool'!

Deelie Boppers.

Just tell kids they are joke willies. End off. Not even vaguely sexual.

Would you let your child wear them? Or would you buy that card for your child for his birthday?

I wouldn’t buy golf clubs or garden shears for my child for their birthday, doesn’t mean they need to be shielded from them. 🙄

I think the straws would bother me. I am quite an open parent, but an impromptu discussion about oral sex in Poundland would probably be a step too far for me and the other shoppers.

Hey, kids. That card with the man putting his special seed into the lady. Do you know what that is? It's an opportunity to talk about consent. Consent is very important because men and ladies can do whatever they like as long as they consent. Everyone is beautiful and we're all unicorns and ooh, look at this penis here. Do you like penises, Sebastian? It's very important to openly talk about penises in shops. Not everyone does that. Did you know that, Mabel? Ooh, look, Benjamin! Isn't mummy funny, playing with the dildo? Do you remember how we talked about dildos last time we were in poundland? That's right, there's no such thing as a bad dildo. Aren't you all so lucky that I can talk at you about penises and dildos? Not like those other children over there with Marvel characters. Their lives are so limited. Do you know what limited means, Adriana? Shall we go to the sauna?"

🙄

I wouldn't point them out to them as you seem to be suggesting.
If they saw them and asked about them I would talk to them about it.
Because there is no need to be hysterical about perfectly normal body parts all boys have and perfectly normal acts we will all be engaging in in adulthood..

Let’s face it, the willies on willy straws look nothing like the real thing.

A child wouldn’t actually even know what they are.
We sat on the train with a hen party who had a giant inflatable willy, they called him Richard if I remember correctly.
My dts, who are by no means MN gifted and talented but are not stupid either, just assumed they had a giant worm like cuddly toy.

Definitely no point in complaining to individual stores. Everything is to a very badly made plan made by head office —who have clearly never stepped foot in a shop in their lives— and there’s nothing the store can do about it.

Yes disgruntled Poundland employee here

Poundland have had these for years haven't they? I would have thought most kids would find it funny to see them. Kids and very drunk hens, everyone else would do a massive eye roll.

Can't believe people don't call them deelie boppers. Maybe it's a regional thing. Sound so much more sophisticated if you use the technical term...

@DaphneFanshaw good point- the ones they sell look very blobby and badly formed! And they are always a weird sort of salmon pink...

Actually, I’ve always called them deenie boppers.

Yy, they look nothing like a penis, the balls are all odd too.

Thanks Megablock. Do all stores have the same layout nationwide?
Seems odd that both local branches have these items displayed at the eyeline of a child, level with the toys.

Willies is the plural.
Just saying.

I wouldn’t say a willy straw justified a discussion on oral sex! I just see it as a willy on a straw!

I think the straws would bother me. I am quite an open parent, but an impromptu discussion about oral sex in Poundland would probably be a step too far for me and the other shoppers.

What?? Why on earth would you need to explain oral sex to a child who's seen a willy straw?

To the child it's just a plastic willy being used as a straw!

It really wouldn't bother me. They're not actual penises.

That made me roar with laughter. Surprised the cat. The thought of deelie boppers with real dicks on them. They'd probably have to be pickled. Fabulous!

No they don’t I guess it depends on size. We’re a large store so the party section has an aisle of its own. The willy boppers are not near the toys in my store if that helps .

A lot of the plans are badly thought out badly designed and don’t make any sense. I’ve always ignored and altered mine where necessary but they’re clamping down on that now.

YANBU
PPs saying they’re just body parts, well yes, but it’s the fact they are straws, that you suck fgs. That’s what my son would ask and he’s six.

@WorraLiberty my DD has form for asking challenging questions and keeping going until she has a decent answer. If she can make me want the ground to swallow me up, she counts it as extra points.

PPs saying they’re just body parts, well yes, but it’s the fact they are straws, that you suck fgs. That’s what my son would ask and he’s six.

I honestly don't think any child would ever make the association of penis sucking/blowjobs from a penis straw.
They would literally just see a straw with a penis on it and either think it a bit weird or really funny.

@WorraLiberty my DD has form for asking challenging questions and keeping going until she has a decent answer. If she can make me want the ground to swallow me up, she counts it as extra points.

"It's a straw in the shape of a penis darling. Yes, I agree it's a bit silly and a bit odd".

Surely that's the end of the conversation

If the straw was a toe, would you explain that some adults like to suck toes during sex?

There used to be an ice lolly in the shape of a whole foot. I'd hate to think parents felt forced to explain foot fetishes to kids at the side of the ice cream van

I honestly don't think any child would ever make the association of penis sucking/blowjobs from a penis straw.

Of course they wouldn't.

And if a 6 year old actually did, I'd say that parent needs to dig a whole lot deeper and wonder why an innocent child has made any kind of sexual connection there.

Raining,your comment had me in fits of laughter 'little penises bouncing around'..

Immature i know..

@WorraLiberty loved those foot ice creams!

YANBU, OP.
Would the "it's just a body part" brigade be similarly relaxed about a fleshlight being sold opposite the kids' toys, or a plaster cast of a nude woman with legs akimbo?