This seemingly helpful toy is collecting some drama.
Arin Solange, a TikToker who reviews Amazon products, went viral this month by sharing the newest product that’s keeping her kids entertained as they help clean the house.
The Kids Clean Car allows children 2 to 8 years old (or adults, as Solange demonstrated) to clean the floors as they have fun riding around their house on the electric scooter.
“Working smarter not harder with this mom hack,” Solange captioned the TikTok that amassed over 3.4 million views in just 10 days.
In the viral video, the mother of four shows her son and herself riding around on the scooter as the front attachment sweeper-mop collects dirt and dust.
The portable go-kart also comes with a blue light feature, which supposedly kills bacteria, and can be modified to be used outside.
Other recent videos of the cleaning product/toy show children happily riding around the house as they leave a clean trail behind them.
“The boys had so much fun on their new Go-Karts!! How cool that it can clean the floor as you drive around!” Logan’s World Channel, a popular account that reviews children’s toys, captioned an Instagram video of two elementary-aged boys excitedly scooting around.
However, the $200 price tag stunned some moms — while others worried about the safety of the go-kart as they reportedly go up to 5 miles an hour with no seatbelt or encasement.
A few even wondered about the efficacy of the product, questioning if a child racing around the living room would allow the blue light sufficient time to kill any germs.
Freelance writer and mommy blogger Melissa Willets raised even more ethical issues.
“I can’t help but feel that we have finally zapped the last inch of fun out of our kids’ lives with this product,” Willets wrote for Parents on Monday. “Now we’re asking them to sanitize the floor while they enjoy just being kids.”
She explained that the Kids Clean Car makes her “sad.”
“If we’re going to have kids do chores, the least we can do is encourage physical movement involved in tasks like vacuuming and mopping,” Willets insisted.
Overall, the responses to the product have been positive — it has 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon.
Nevertheless, the product is currently unavailable on Amazon, and the seller has been removed from the platform and Instagram.
The product is being resold on eBay for about $350.
While this toy and its maker have virtually disappeared, a new viral toy is vanishing from shelves as quickly as it’s stocked — Ikea’s Djungelskog the teddy bear.
Retailing for just $29.99, the 3-foot, 6-inch bundle of joy has become an incredibly coveted item — with a nearly perfect 5-star rating online — for adults and children alike.
