This popular toy is ripping little girls' hair out

BOSTON - With the holiday season quickly approaching, many young children are dropping hints and building their wish lists.

One popular toy called Bunchems is gaining popularity among children but also gaining lots of criticism.

Bunchems come in packs of little plastic balls with soft spikes on the end that connect to create different shapes.

Bunchems are for boys and girls 4 years old and up and can be used to create owls, bats and other items.

But the plastic balls can also wreak havoc in young girls' hair.

One mother, Jaymee McKinnies, took to Instagram to share a photo of her daughter Aubrey, whose hair became matted with the toys in her hair.

"Unfortunately the toy she bought with her own money ended up in the trash can," she told Buzzfeed News.

McKinnies said it took an hour to get Bunchems out of her daughter's hair after the girl did a flip and landed on them.

Other parents have taken to Amazon to review the product, describing their negative experiences.

“Soldiered for nine hours on her birthday before gracefully giving up,” one woman wrote. “Her butt-length hair is now chin length. I was lucky to save that much.”

"They bring pain and misery, tears, fighting, broken and ripped hair and questions of one's sanity in handling life in general. I can't feel my arms now after attempting to pull this 'toy' that matted itself into her hair like nothing ever witnessed before," another commenter wrote.

Other reviewers said the plastic balls get stuck in blankets, carpet and pets' fur.

Spin Master Customer Care responded to one review saying, "We make every effort to caution parents against possible hair tangles on the packaging and instructions."

Other commenters supported the toy manufacturer.

"There is a pamphlet that comes in the box and probably in 3 or 4 different places it says to not put in your hair so for these people giving it all the negative reviews, it's not the product's fault, these don't go in your hair," one person wrote.

The company released a video to help parents free Bunchems from hair. It recommends using conditioner or vegetable oil to get the plastic balls out.

Cox Media Group