“Best Toy Ever”: Dad Invents Flamethrower for His Kids to Play With at Home

Daniel Hashimoto, a father of two from Canada, successfully transformed a common leaf blower into a flamethrower so that his kids could play with it in their backyard.

In doing so, he found a new way to keep his children highly entertained for hours.

It is “the best toy ever,” said James, 11, and Sophia, 7, in a charming video that is currently attempting to destroy the internet.

“To the children, it was not a deadly weapon, but more a dynamic and giggle-inducing obstacle,” their father Hashimoto told South West News Service.

“They had a friend over to play on the patio, and we decided to let them have some supervised play with this electric leaf blower.”

Although this homemade flamethrower apparatus may appear menacing, the flame that is unleashed is actually a surprisingly harmless blaze of flame-colored silk fabric.

Daniel and his wife Mandy Richardville say they are “hoping to inspire creativity for the kids” and “so far, it’s paid off!”

“We decided to see how the lightweight fabric might play with the blower, so Sophia grabbed a large rubber band and some tape, and we affixed it to the nozzle,” Daniel explained.

“The result was even more spectacular than we imagined—large billowing waves looked remarkably like flames—and so the device immediately was dubbed ‘the flame thrower.’ “

Now, the children engage in activities like “flame tag” and jump roping over the embers; they even act out scenes from the “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

“The children all took turns chasing each other in a game of ‘Flame Tag.’ We also played a jump-rope-over-the-flames game, and the children acted out a ‘fire bending’ play,” Hashimoto said.

The development of children will benefit greatly from this kind of creativity, according to Hashimoto. In addition to being host of the best playdates in the area, Daniel appears to be a lock for dad of the year.

“I believe that most children can turn this kind of imagination into being good at improvising, and dealing with challenges,” he said. “We definitely want to encourage imaginative play, creative problem solving and inventing a fun new game out of what’s lying around.”

However, not everyone is happy about it.

One person said it was “kinda horrific when you think what a real flamethrower can do to a human” while another said they were glorifying “one of the most horrific weapons of war.”

A third person wrote: “A gun should not be a toy for a child, it’s really that simple.”

Meanwhile, someone on Twitter urged critics to “Let them be kids” and another noted that children “have been playing with swords for thousands of years.”

“It’s kids messing around and having fun,” a third person added. “Stop pretending like wholesome prop building will turn them into mass murderers.”

So what do you think? Would your kids enjoy playing with this flamethrower toy? Or should they not be allowed to play with weapons of war?