What English is that?

No, you've guessed it wrong.  I am not writing this in support of our Government's Speak Good English movement.  Sure, there is quite a bit of wrong signages everywhere.  Perhaps those who manufacture the signages ought to have professional English checkers.  Then, end of story.  No more problem.  I am actually writing about the English on books teaching English to our impressionable infants and toddlers, our future.

We as parents buy toys that, hopefully, teach our children things as they play.  This is especially so for books.  But I have come across some play-stuff that need our attention, rectification (probably).  This is a set of flashcards that teaches children English as well as Chinese languages, showing the intended audience pictures of the words.  Not sure its place of origin. (If you are thinking about China, I urge you not to always condemn goods from China.  It is not fair!)

Where does my problem with it stem from?  Take a look at this one:

A 'washer' is defined as a 'washing machine' in 'dictionary.com'.  However, in this part of the world we are, we are taught that the item pictured is a 'washing machine'.  Children may be confused with the different terms used to identify the same thing at the young age they are at.  Another example:

Isn't it a laptop?  The word 'computer' is more generally used to point to the personal computer, or desktop.  The one with a Central Processing Unit and a monitor, where a separate keyboard and mouse is normally attached to make it work.  Confused.  Think that's all?  You're wrong.  Look:

The former shows, when, a bell (clock).  The latter shows a clock (alarm clock) as well.  And both are not actually bells!  You have made me a confused child!  More:

'Counter'?  'Scoop'?  'Dentifrice'?  'Handset'?  Aren't they more commonly known here as 'calculator', 'ladle', 'toothpaste' and 'mobile phone' (okay okay, many call it 'handphone', but that's the South-east Asian term for the item!) here?  Can we not see that it is a tube of toothpaste in the second picture here?  Why make it difficult with 'dentifrice' - 'a paste, powder, liquid, or other preparation for cleaning the teeth'?

I reckon that as parents, we have to play a bigger part in the learning of our young children.  We cannot just buy stuff and hope for our children to learn the correct things from them.  We have to step in to discern between right and wrong too.  Else, our children may learn the wrong things and it will be difficult for them to 'unlearn' these things later...