50 Epic Children’s Product Design Fails That Are So Bad, It’s Hard To Believe They Actually Happened
A general principle in product and package design is to never underestimate users’ stupidity. This should be even more true when designing product labels for children, and yet people manage to release some really poorly thought-out child product label fails like the ones on this list.
Some of the fails might be funny, but others are downright dangerous. The wrong product, label, or packaging design may prompt impressionable and inexperienced youngsters to use products in unsuitable ways or to even ingest products that can be harmful. If you’re a budding designer, this list can be a good list of things you shouldn’t do!
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Accidentally Sent My Son To School With His Newly Bought Ugly Christmas Sweater
Didn't realize what Santa was doing until his kindergarten teacher pointed it out when I picked him up after school.
Kids Love Pandas
This needs to be the secret bored panda shirt or pin or anything so we can recognize other wild pandas on the street
Light Switch In Kids' Room
Designers are often a tough crowd. It’s a competitive profession, and many professionals online are keen on picking apart each other’s work. The internet is full of communities sharing various design fails and poor choices for the world to see.
Ice Lollies Have Changed Since I Was A Kid
A Friend Bought This Balloon For Her Son's Birthday But Decided Against Blowing It Up
Uhhh... You Alright There Pikachu?
When it comes to children’s product design fails, however, there’s another group that like to get in on the critiques - parents. Children are a highly vulnerable segment of society, so a poorly designed product or package has the potential to drive a child to accidentally harm themselves.
If You've Ever Thought Kids Getting Hurt One At A Time Isn't Efficient Enough, Here's An Idea
Strawberry-Scented Scissors For Kids. That’s How You Get Kids Stabbing Themselves In The Face
Teaching Kids Terrible Things At Wellington Zoo
Product and packaging design for children is practically an entire discipline unto itself. For one thing, a single product and package has to appeal to two very different people - a child and their parent. The package and product have to promise to be fun while also convincing the parent that the product in question is safe, high-quality, entertaining, and, if applicable, developmentally helpful.
This "M" On A Kids' Menu Activity
The Brand Name Of My Daughter's Shirt
Yummy Drink With A Trip To The Hospital
"Oh, it has bubbles. Must be a fizzy red drink...YUM!"
Package design for kids also has its own set of trends and visual principles. Things like minimalism and eco-packaging may be trending for adults, but children want something else entirely. Bright colors, zig-zags, and big pictures continue to dominate children’s packaging – because they work.
This Kids' Swimsuit That Looks Like A Self-Destruction Vest
This Is Pure Nightmare Fuel
Look, kids! All of your cartoon pals, before and after the fire!
At least they're honest. No fake pizza that looks just like Mickey on the packaging.
Now Jayden, you better eat your demonic minion pizza and like it.
We are running a special on disemboweled demonic Minion pizza this week.
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What’s even worse is that they were proud enough of those abominations to put them on their very public advertising!
The minions pizza looks like a flayed cyclops from a bad trip!
None of these are Cartoon Network. 2 of them are Disney and 1 from CN's archcompetitor, Nickelodeon.
Mickey Mouse and Paw Patrol in the burn center, but I don't even know what happened to the minion.
I'm Not Sure If This Is A Thing That You Should Give Kids
Start the kids sniffing glue early. Who on Earth came up with this :(
Of course, as we can see from the crazy design fails in this list, another key concern is clarity of purpose. Too many of the products on this list fail in this key aspect. Inedible or even toxic materials scented as food shouldn’t be making it into children’s hands - moreso if the products are also food-shaped.
My Brother Pays $15,000/Year/Child To Send His Kids To Private School - This Is The 1st-Grade Homework From Last Week
My Daughter Got A Globe Ball With Only America On It
My Son Is Too Terrified To Learn Anything From These Speech Therapy Worksheets, And Frankly, I Don't Blame Him
Even adults can make mistakes when product packaging and design are done wrong, so children can be even more vulnerable to issues like these.
Chalk With A Popsicle Color, Shape, And Even A Wooden Handle. What Could Go Wrong With Giving These To Kids?
My Son Who Just Started To Read “Hell Baby. Hell, Baby. Hell, Baby!!!”
The Hippo In My Kid's Library Book Is Actually A Rhino
Baby Hippo prefers to talk... baby RHINO on the other hand prefers to stand in front of baby Hippo and blocking the view of him completely...
Paint That Looks And Smells Like Juice. There's Literally A Picture Of Juice On The Box. Do You Want Kids To Drink The Paint? Because That's How You Get Kids To Drink The Paint
My Son's Educational Alphabet Puzzle
Never Split Your Legs When You Slide Down
This Ad Of A Kid Holding A Nerf Gun The Wrong Way
I'm Not Sure What To Say
"And As Your Child Gets Older, Simply Adjust The Head Restraint"
At least put neck rings on her, poor thing! Kayan_woma..._rings.jpg 
My Son Just Asked Me Why The Tiger Had A Little Flower Under Its Tail... Thanks For The Detailed LEGO
Let's Put A Hopscotch In The Middle Of The Parking Lot, And The Kids Will Love It
This Highlighter I Caught My Kindergartner Trying To Eat Because He “Bought Bubble Gum At The Book Fair”
To be fair, A) kindergartners generally can't read works like "highlighter", B) why does her 5yo have money to spend without any supervision?
As A Baby Onesie It's Cute, But As A Kid's T-Shirt It's Troubling
How Can Kids Learn If You Don't Teach Them Properly
I guess that answers the question: are zebras are black with white stripes or white with black stripes. They’re neither!!
Just Looking At This Slide Gives Me Back Pain
All Toilets Must Be Centered In The Middle Of The Classroom So Kids Eating Their Snacks Three Feet Away Can Bare Witness To Their Classmates Defecating
Never, ever have I heard or seen anything like that before. How on Earth is that sanitary?
My Son Is Learning The Alphabet
Bought This Geometry Set For My Son, To Help Him In School. Comes With This Map Of The World That Has So Many Countries Spelled Incorrectly
I don't know what country VOGO is in Europe, but it's there. Panama is spelled Banama, but I suppose they do grow bananas there. Vietnam is shown as an island.
My Daughter's Little Shapes Book. Pentagon?
Perfect For Kids To Learn To Tell The Time
Analog clocks, cursive, how to physically mail a letter/card, am I missing anything else?
This Dinosaur In My Daughter's Coloring Book Has Human Hands
Show Them What You've Got, Son
My Daughter's New Shoes Are On Another Level
The Maze On The Kid's Menu Is Impossible To Get Through
I Decided To Open My Step Daughter's Junior Risk Board Game Tonight, And The Compass Is Incorrect
Restaurant Puts Cocktails And Beers Right Under The Kids' Menu
Oh Yeah, Sit On Me, Child
My Son Was Stumped With A State Abbreviation Crossword. Then I Looked At The Solution
Terrible Solar System
What is happening with this solar system? I was hoping to teach the kids, I guess I should have looked closer before ordering it.
My Friend's Daughter Went To Summer Camp And Received This "Meteor" Shirt
This Board Book For Kids Is Pretty Confusing
These “Jeans”/Sweat Pants My Grandma Bought Our Son For Christmas
A Kids Bag From Zara
My Kid Was Having A Hard Time Solving This
I Don’t Even Want To Stand Near That Thing. Way To Go Brusters
My Son’s Birthday Dinosaur Balloons Came Anatomically Correct
Yes, Let’s Put An Image Of A Puppy On A Soccer Ball And Tell Little Kids To Kick It
"Yeah, Whatever, Kids Are Stupid Anyway"
The Planets On My Son's New Rug Have Rings That Don't Go Around The Planet
Obviously the manufacturer didn't like it enough to put a ring on it.
My Kid Said Her Pants Were Too Big, So I Went To Tighten The Drawstring. It's Fake And Does Nothing
My Son Was Trying To Help This Sheep. It Is Still Sad
My Kid's Alphabet Pencil Case Has A Nest In The "E" Spot
I Saw A Kid Wearing This I Almost Passed Out Of Laughter
A Kid Will Just See Chocolate Paint And Think "Mmm. I'll Try That"
Who wouldn't? There is such a thing, in Anne Summers ( or so I heard...)
From My Niece's Kid's Book. So Nuts Or Nest Or Eggs?
Also, the 'octo'pus has seven arms and the moon is in front of the cloud.
So You Can Keep The Sharpener With The Pencil
The sharpener is held on by a removable cap so it can be taken off, used and put back. Not that hard to figure out.
Get These For Your Daughters
This Octopus From My Kid's Flashcards Is Missing Something. I Had To Attempt To Explain That An Octopus Actually Has 8 Arms
Kids Learning Book Shows 3 Ducks For The Color Yellow. Guess They Ran Out Of Ideas
and an ORANGE. its in the name! it belongs in the ORANGE section
Imagine Being Such A Bad Designer You Can Destroy A Child’s Ability To Count By Them Merely Looking At Your Design
It is standard to have icon under card number. Usually cards have the same backgrounds. But I agree it could be done neater.
This Giraffe On My Son's Valentine's Envelope
My Kid Had Some Issues Using This Slide
I’d almost say it was installed upside down, because what’s as bottom looks like a level staring place. But there are “rails” up to to keep kids from falling off up there, and to push off from, so that appears to actually be the top. My only guess is that this was f****d up in the factory—-made either on a Friday afternoon or a Monday morning, as the old joke goes—-and sent out for sale, when Quality Control should’ve flagged it as flawed, and had it melted down and started over.
This Dinosaur In One Of The Kids' Books At Our School. The 3D Effect Just Makes It Worse
Repeating my appeal for the correct representation of dinosaurs in books
Shrek And Brainless Donkey
My Son's Kindergarten Worksheet
Children's "Christmas Pills". You Encourage Kids To Eat All The Pills Out Of The Blister Pack Like An Advent Calendar
This Monstrosity In A Kids' Shoe Store
Good Thing My Kid Knows How To Count Already
I Gave My Daughter And I Matching Cereal Box Tattoos. Then I Noticed They Forgot To Mirror The Writing
The Way My Son's Alphabet Puzzle Has The Knob Placed Directly Over Each Letter
A little kid won't necessarily know the shapes of the letters they're being taught when they play with this. Why couldn't they just paint them larger so it would be easier for the little ones?
My Friend Got This For My Son. She Had No Clue It's In The Shape Of Ohio
Why Is The Horn There?
Yoga Kids
My Daughter Needs A Balllet Bag For Ballet
My Son Got An Artificial Coke Nail In His Christmas Cracker
I would assume that it's a claw toy, like those witch fingers for cheap halloween costumes. Only looks like a coke nail because it would only fit on the pinkie of an adult. Unless it actually officially said it was a coke nail, then someone probably took a cracker from the wrong box.
This Upside-Down Alligator On My Son’s Onesie
The "Cheetah" On My Son’s Socks
A Monkey From My Son's Nature Book
That's Okay Crazy-Looking Rainbow-Vomiting Unicorn. My Kids Didn't Want To Sleep Tonight Anyway
Racel Car On A Plate At A Kid's Party
On My Kid's Alphabet Puzzle. Why Would You Use A Word Where The Letter Is Silent?
One Of My 2-Year-Old Son’s Books “Pairs Of Feet”
Hundreds Of Kids Are Seeing This Abomination Every December In My City (For Size Comparison, A Regular Kid Is Around The Size Of His Shoe)
This Labyrinth In My Daughter's Coloring Book
Look At This Conference Roo-Er Kids Zone
Nothing wrong with that? Perfect lounge chairs for a reading kid :-D
At My Son's Doctor's Office
What am I missing? I don't see anything wrong with this .. looks like the artists take on the Frozen characters .. I personally like it.. 🫣
Raw Kids
This thread reminds me of the time my mom, who doesn't really speak English, bought me a pair of boxers one of which had trombones on it and said "I'm horny" and the other one had a warning label with "Warning contains nuts" on it. Yes I still have them
I love this! I’m glad you still have them.
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Hey, I'm just happy they were all relevant to the title/topic. *looking at you, "introvert" memes list I just read...*
Remember in the 70's, I think, we got tired of our kids dying from eating prescription medicine shaped like candy? How soon we forget..
This thread reminds me of the time my mom, who doesn't really speak English, bought me a pair of boxers one of which had trombones on it and said "I'm horny" and the other one had a warning label with "Warning contains nuts" on it. Yes I still have them
I love this! I’m glad you still have them.
Load More Replies... Hey, I'm just happy they were all relevant to the title/topic. *looking at you, "introvert" memes list I just read...*
Remember in the 70's, I think, we got tired of our kids dying from eating prescription medicine shaped like candy? How soon we forget..
