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Walter White toy booted, but what about Barbie?

Toys R Us gave drug-toting "Breaking Bad" action figures the boot from their shelves after a Florida mom circulated a petition to stop their sale, but the…

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The latest news in kids' toys is that Toys R Us gave drug-toting Walter White action figures the boot from their stores.

Florida mom Susan Schrivjer started a Change.org petition arguing that the action figure referencing the hit TV series “Breaking Bad” had no place in Toys R Us and, “is a dangerous deviation from [the store’s] family friendly values.” The petition blew up online — even Walter White actor Bryan Cranston commented on it. With 8,500 supporters on her side, Schrivejer succeeded — the store released a tongue-in-cheek statement referencing White’s “indefinite sabbatical” from the show.

While to many it seems logical that a children’s toy store should take a meth-cooking action figure off its shelf, some are questioning the decision. Do kids really model themselves after the toys they play with? If so, aren’t action figures like the violent incredible Hulk just as threatening to family values?

Another group of parents agree that toys do affect children’s development. But their petitions have long been ignored.

With a combined 7,000 signatures, a group of parents have advocated for Toys R Us to stop marketing gender stereotypes to children. The Change.org petition's photo show just one example of what parents say is damaging to kids — pink-colored “cook and clean” toys targeted at young girls and an “electronic learning” line aimed at young boys. The parents argue that gendered toys further the divide in girls considering going into STEM fields one one hand, and promote materialism over scholastic pursuits on the other.

“When walking into a Toys "R" Us store or opening your catalog, it's instantly clear to kids that science, building, vehicles, and superheroes are the purview of boys while girls' toy options are limited to dolls, crafts, beauty supplies, and, of course, princess paraphernalia,” parents wrote in a letter to the company last year. Toys R Us has maintained that there’s no such thing as gender-specific toy sections in its stores, but even 5-year-olds have noticed toy marketing strategies.

At least Walter White was a chemistry teacher before he was diagnosed with cancer and turned to a life of crime to provide for his family. Barbie is just a disproportionate fashionista who can’t decide on a career. Both parent movements have one thing in common — they want better role models for their kids. 

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