So your child was lucky enough to get a Spike the Ultra Dinosaur toy for Christmas this year? Bet he's rearing to go and play with it! There are a few things to keep in mind first though, both for Spike's safety and your child's.
As cool as Spike is, he's not indestructible, and he needs to be taken care of properly if he's going to be your kid's faithful companion for years to come.
First of all, Spike's legs are strong, but they can be bent and pulled off.
While the dinosaur's legs are more than up to the task of moving and shuffling him around all he likes, if his owner suddenly decides to flip him over and play at twisting Spike's legs for some reason, they are not going to hold up for long.
This applies mostly if you have a very young child of course, but if you do, make sure he knows that this way of playing with Spike is not OK.
Another thing that can happen, and this one also includes the older kids, is that as Spike explores and conquers more and more difficult challenges, his owner may decide on guiding him into challenges that are just too steep for him.
This would include things like leading him to jump off a table or int a stream.
Spike isn't very likely to come off well out of either of those scenarios! Finally, some younger children may also not only guide Spike into dangerous obstacles, they could actually end up following him there as well.
Basically, the excitement of following Spike into adventure may be just to distracting for your child to see where he's going! Talk to your child and let him know that he must always be alert and aware of his surroundings, and that just because Spike is with him doesn't mean that he doesn't need to take care of himself.
When we're young, we can often get caught up in the fantasy and the frenetic pace of our adventures, sometimes so much so that we get into trouble or hurt ourselves.
It's a good thing that most children have careful loving parents to watch out for them and see that something like that never happens.