Why Does Pretend Need Batteries?

I am a little hesitant to blog about this, for fear people are going to think I make my kids play with rocks and ends of wood, maybe a shoebox if I'm feeling generous, but...seriously, people.

Cook 'n' Learn Kitchen.

Let's ignore for a moment, shall we, that that which is 'teaching' your child uses a totally ungrammatical contraction in its name. Why is the play kitchen interacting with your child instead of the caregiver (note please I have not said parent or even more specifically mother)?
Why are you told the 'right way' to cook? Isn't half the fun of playing in the kitchen experimenting? Why does imaginative play need directions?

I had a pretend kitchen as a little one, but it was cardboard and definitely did not talk to me. Granted, this was the spartan 1970s, but I think I probably had a lot more fun creating my own "dishes" and feeding them to my indulgent parents and grandparents. Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to play kind of fast and loose with cooking, but I haven't poisoned anyone yet, and even get compliments on occasion. In a recent conversation with my mom, she mentioned that letting me mess around on the floor with a bowl of flour and a big wooden spoon kept me occupied for a decent amount of time, and it just required a quick vacuum afterward. I have to wonder how an "Interactive Cook 'n' Learn Kitchen" would deal with just a bowl of flour and a wooden spoon.

Am I one of "those" mothers now? I don't mind gadget-y toys, truly. Some of them are a lot of fun. But this? This is just...kind of saddening. I think today Peabo is going to get a bowl of flour and a wooden spoon to play with.