diff --git a/IPython/html/static/widgets/js/widget.js b/IPython/html/static/widgets/js/widget.js
index ce06396..6c711a9 100644
--- a/IPython/html/static/widgets/js/widget.js
+++ b/IPython/html/static/widgets/js/widget.js
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ function(WidgetManager, _, Backbone){
             // TODO: this is hacky, and makes the view depend on this cell attribute and widget manager behavior
             // it would be great to have the widget manager add the cell metadata
             // to the subview without having to add it here.
-            options = $.merge({ parent: this }, options || {});
+            options = $.extend({ parent: this }, options || {});
             var child_view = this.model.widget_manager.create_view(child_model, options, this);
             
             // Associate the view id with the model id.