Parents complain that the most-hyped toy of 2016 curses, doesn't really work

It was all fun and games until they refused to hatch and started swearing at children.

Hatchimals were the must-have toy this holiday season, with parents willing to pay top dollar for the sold out bird-like creature that lives in a plastic egg until it hatches and becomes interactive. They make strange sounds and are able to repeat words, with nothing preventing them from picking up R-rated language — which some parents say they came equipped to say. On YouTube, there are several videos featuring Hatchimals that appear to be saying "f--k me," but there is a debate raging about whether they are really uttering expletives, or if it's just a lecherous sounding "Hug me."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.