Help me figure out why I don't want my girls to have Barbie dolls

[BikeBookBread]

A long time ago, I decided I didn't want my girls to grow up with Barbie dolls.. I was never allowed to have one. I was told by my Mom that they were "sinful". (Yes, SINFUL.) I'm sure that my thoughts on the subject are heavily weighted by these memories. PDG is now begging for one. She has saved her allowance and could easily buy one herself.

 

I know I don't like the consumerism, commercialism, tie-ins, etc... I hate plastic toys. I don't like the skimpy outfits. But what if she got one doll, and the clothes we purchased were not of the skimpy variety? Is there anything intrinsically wrong with a Barbie doll, in and of itself? I know there are more "appropriate" alternatives -- we've tried the All Hearts Club dolls, and they were a bust. We've tried Groovy Girls with the same result. She is just fixated on Barbie.

 

Help me figure this out -- and HOW to explain it to a 6 year old girl who just sees a pretty doll with long hair.

[Just Robyn]

This, copied from wikipedia, is the best reason I can think of.

 

One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a young woman, leading to a risk that girls who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic. A standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate

 

Regarding clothing, my mother sometimes bought homemade Barbie clothes from craft shows that were much less skimpy.

[Liza Q]

But what if she got one doll, and the clothes we purchased were not of the skimpy variety?

 

I would do this. Yes, Barbie's body is unnatural but a nice princess dress covers most of it! Barbie can be a Computer Engineer (lol!) or a ballerina - these are not that bad, I think!

 

My daughters all liked Barbie but they were good about my rule - "No naked Barbie. If I find her naked I will throw her away!" They knew I was serious so they kept her clothed and Mom happy.

 

Then again, if you just can't stomach a Barbie, don't get one. Your daughter may laugh about it when she is a teenager (My girls tell me that I was soooooo crazy about certain things when they were kids!) but there are a million dolls out there and I would keep looking for one that works for both of you!

[RoughCollie]

My DD had Barbie dolls galore, along with cars, airplane, Little Tikes Barbie dollhouse, furniture, dishes and food. She was not harmed by that, not in word, thought, or deed.

 

Her brothers and their friends melted the heads against a light bulb sometimes and the dog chewed them up whenever he found one lying around -- those were the only factors mitigating against Barbie doll ownership.

 

DD's body image wasn't tainted by Barbie either. I would have thought something was really wrong with DD had it been. DD never once compared herself to Barbie, and thought I was odd for asking. "Why would I compare myself to a doll, Mom?"

 

There are patterns available for making Barbie clothes -- or there used to be, anyway.

[dangermom]

We don't have Barbies, and my mom never let me have one because of the body image/consumerist stuff.

 

When my kids have asked, I just say that I'm not a fan of Barbie because she doesn't look like a real person and I prefer dolls that look more real. My oldest girl noticed the large breasts and tiny waist/hips by the time she was 7 and pointed it out without my help. :001_huh:

 

They have AG dolls and Polly Pocket-size things instead of 9" fashion dolls and that seems to have been just fine for us. I can sew a lot of things for the 18" dolls, which is a big plus.

[GWOB]

We held off on Barbie for a while with dd9. Mostly because 99% of Barbies out there could be described as "Hooker Barbie." Now, when dd expressed an interest in becoming a vet, we did purchase Veterinarian Barbie. Apparently we opened the floodgates, as dd then received the aforementioned "Hooker Barbie" from fil and smil. Honestly, I am pretty sure dd does not wish to emulate "Streetwalker Barbie" just because it is in our house. Now, my younger dd plays with big sis's Barbies. Dd2 just pretends they are all princesses.

 

Playing with Barbies will not get you a one-way ticket to h@ll. It will not likely lead to anorexia. Girls have at least a million other things telling them they need to be super thin. Barbie is a small drop in a vast ocean.

[Nakia]

I think you should go ahead and let her get one and just not allow skimpy outfits, like you mentioned. My girls were given Barbies when they were little, but they were never interested. They would rather play with their barn or horse stable. :D

[KarenNC]

No, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with a Barbie, but nothing intrinsically necessary for life about one either.

 

Does that help?:001_smile: FWIW, I am okay with Barbie, but I draw the line with Bratz---the clothes, styling, accessories (especially when the line first came out) are not something with which I am comfortable. They are, IMO, much more hypersexualized and dysmorphic than Barbie (though it seems the manufacturers have been backing off the hypersexual trend for them in the last couple of years). That said, there's probably nothing so intriniscally wrong with Bratz that allowing my daughter to have one would scar her forever, I just don't like them and don't allow them in my house.

 

Be prepared that it probably won't stop at "just one doll." ;) We have a wide range of them in various skin tones and body types (I got her the grandparents set that was out a few years ago, and she went through a period of really wanting more Kens, some Kellys, babies, etc so that she could have families). If she is going to only have one doll, I would recommend the "Fashionista" ones because they are much more flexible and more naturally poseable due to the jointed upper torso and additional joints in the limbs. We don't have a Ken from that line yet, but I understand he is not quite as poseable as he has fewer joints, though still more poseable than a regular Ken. My daughter was excited that the Fashionista Barbie could do aikido throws (she and my husband take aikido).

 

After liking only Barbie for several years, she is now at 9.5 getting more into the American Girl dolls (I have found several very inexpensively) and plays with both.

[WiseOwlKnits]

I shared your feelings, but have since relented. My rule is that Barbie is ok...immodest clothing is not. So if she sees a Barbie that she just loves and it's dressed inappropriate, I've been known to buy the Barbie and confiscate the clothes (to the trash). DD uses clothes from other Barbies and it's not a problem. It's really not hard to find clothes that ARE appropriate. And there are some cool Barbies. DD is VERY into medicine and has the vet Barbie and the pediatrician Barbie....as well as a bunch of princess Barbies from family.

 

I would let her have it, but set some ground rules.

[KarenNC]

I think you should go ahead and let her get one and just not allow skimpy outfits, like you mentioned. My girls were given Barbies when they were little, but they were never interested. They would rather play with their barn or horse stable. :D

 

Once my daughter moved out of her "horse phase" (which lasted from about age 5-8 in her case) into her self-described "bunny phase" :), the wooden Breyer stable received a conversion into a Barbie apartment. At her suggestion we unscrewed the pieces, took out the stalls and put it back together.

 

Our house is quite a mishmash---the sitting room (used to be dining room) is Barbie world, the bonus room is American Girl world and the in the corner of another room is Playmobil/Polly Pocket/dollhouse dolls/mini Kim Possible world.

[secular_mom]

Well, I have always hated Barbie dolls. I just don't like them. I never cared for the type of person they represent, IMO. My oldest had tons of the things when she was young. I hate pretty much everything about them, their hair is AWFUL, their clothes are a PITA to put on and usually kids end up asking for me to help them change the clothes EVERY time they want her to wear something different. Those tiny little accessories are just awful, IMO. I hate plastic. I hate keeping up with teensy things.

I have avoided Barbie for my youngest two for the most part. At MIL's one year they saw an old Barbie in the toy bin which had belonged to their aunt. They LOVED the ratty thing, so aunt found another and gave each them a Barbie. They played with them for MAYBE a week, and then they ended up in the 'toy box' of junk toys that they never play with. I have since weeded all the never played with toys out of the house, and I purge the junk toys regularly. They have never noticed that the dolls are gone. One dd received another as a Christmas gift last year at DH's company party. It was Seaworld Barbie, so they enjoyed playing with her in the tub for about a week or so. Again, this Barbie has been ditched and they don't notice or care.

 

BUT, my kids are the type who play with stuffed animals, video games, sticks, stones, dirt, ANY type of container they can find to hold whatever they feel like stuffing into it at the time. The only toys that have held their interest over time are stuffed animals and video games. They've never really been the baby doll type.

[dangermom]

Playing with Barbies will not get you a one-way ticket to h@ll. It will not likely lead to anorexia. Girls have at least a million other things telling them they need to be super thin. Barbie is a small drop in a vast ocean.

True enough, but that still doesn't mean I have to like them or own them. :001_smile:

[fairfarmhand]

several reasons we don't do Barbie

 

1. billions of minuscule pieces to keep up with and suck into the vacuum cleaner

 

2. she always ends up naked. Naked baby dolls are bad enough, but something about a naked Barbie just...bother's me somehow.

 

3. She always ended up beheaded, or with limbs torn off. I refuse to keep body parts around, hoping to assemble a whole doll.

 

4. I have enough pressure to be thin without Barbie's perfect thighs in my face. Don't know if that affects my girls, but it bugs me.

 

I don't think that it is a moral issue, but we have respectfully told family members, Please no Barbies, and they have complied. They do play with them at their Grandma's who has quite a collection, but then Grandma is the one trying to button the tiny buttons.

[Caitilin]

My mother didn't let us have Barbies because they promoted the culture of conspicuous consumption. I'd say that was my reason too; I also avoid purchasing "merchandise" for any TV show or movie, etc. for the same reason.

[Orthodox6]

I nixed Barbie because of the inhuman body proportions, the obsession with clothing and appearance, and because the character is naught but a vacuous airhead. "Career Barbie" and such never persuaded me otherwise.

 

There are plenty of other dolls on the market to satisfy the natural desire of a child to play with dolls. :)

 

. . . sinful toy ? Of course not !

[BettyL]

Remember when they announced Barbie and Ken got divorced? That was over the top for me! http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111234,00.html

 

My daughter has a few Barbies that she uses to ride her toy horses. They are renamed and dressed modestly. We do not have cable, so my dd does not really know who Barbie is, just that she's the right size doll to ride her favorite pony. :D

[Veritaserum]

I loved Barbie growing up and my girls have some (some of my old stuff). They have (several) princess, mom (Midge with the pregnant belly), and doctor Barbies. They like the Kelly dolls, too. We have a few Ken dolls as well.

 

So, I don't have a problem with Barbie even though I'm sensitive to the the whole body image issue. They know it's just a doll. :)

[lllll]

"Help me figure out why I don't want my girls to have Barbie dolls"

 

 

Because they're ugly?? Our dd's had some when they were little. They used to rip their heads off and play with them that way. :D But they never were into dolls anyway. They preferred horses, jewelry, and dress up clothes.

[KarenNC]

My daughter has a few Barbies that she uses to ride her toy horses. They are renamed and dressed modestly. We do not have cable, so my dd does not really know who Barbie is, just that she's the right size doll to ride her favorite pony. :D

 

When you say they have been renamed, do you mean that your daughter gave them other names (which my daughter does all the time to all her dolls and stuffed animals) or that you felt the need to rename the dolls for some reason, perhaps linked to the modest clothing issue?

[5LittleMonkeys]

DD's body image wasn't tainted by Barbie either. I would have thought something was really wrong with DD had it been. DD never once compared herself to Barbie, and thought I was odd for asking. "Why would I compare myself to a doll, Mom?"

:iagree:

 

My older two were never interested but my 3rd dd likes them. I asked her once if she wished she looked like Barbie and she said no way because it would probably be really hard to run or jump rope and she would definitely not be a able to jump on the trampoline.:lol::lol::lol::lol: I am large breasted and she has heard me complain about how annoying they can be sometimes.:glare:

 

She plays family with them, they go on safari occasionally, recently they were Egyptians performing a mummifying process, they definitely play various princesses from folk and fairy tales we have seen or read about and I've even seen her playing homeschool with them. We don't watch any tv so she doesn't see all the advertising that goes with them and so has no preconceived idea of who Barbie is. She sees her as whoever she needs to be to act out her imagination.

 

As for the clothes...she has a few swimsuits and lots of princess dresses and I have found tons on e-bay. We just sort through them and toss the ones that we feel our modest Barbies wouldn't be comfortable wearing.

I have taught my girls to be conservative in their clothing choices and I definitely see that reflected in the clothing choices dd #3 makes for her dolls.

 

That being said, to each his own and what is okay for us may not be for others.:D

[Orthodox6]

 

Because they're ugly?? Our dd's had some when they were little. They used to rip their heads off and play with them that way.

 

Immediately I thought of the movie "Toy Story I" !

[martinswife]

I understand where you're coming from. There is nothing "sinful" about the human body. Man was created in the image of God. What is sinful is the lasciviousness and the lust of the eyes. If your daughter was well proportioned, would you call her sinful? No, of course not. I had 2 Barbies as a kid and I loved to play with them and dress them up. It was part of my imaginary world. The only rule I have is do not take their clothes off! Not because I don't want them to see them naked, but because guess who has to put that timy arm back into an equally smaller sleeve? Argh! :ack2:

[woolybear]

Gosh, this is a tough one. I think I am leaning towards letting her get one. And saying no extras, no more barbies. If you make it a definite no, though, the appeal of the forbidden might make her want it even more. Or is it just my son whose mind works that way?:)

[Carol in Cal.]

My aunt wouldn't let her girls have Barbies because they were 'developed'. She thought that they were too s*xualized.

 

I thought they were just 'grown up' and it was nice for me to be able to imagine stories about what grownup ladies did. I especially favored stories involving daring rescues at sea, what with the swimming suit and the molded arms that looked like a perfect crawl stroke.

 

I never got any of the really cool Barbie clothes, and I mourned over some of them. The ones that were for costume parties I think I would still like to have. How silly is that?

 

This was the first time I really fell for advertising. My great aunt knitted me some lovely Barbie clothes, and I totally didn't want them because they were not on those little fold out catalogues. Other than that, they were pretty much an empowering, rather than detrimental, toy for me. My sister still remembers the stories I used to make up with them.

 

Having said that, there was one big problem with them--I sort of took over their body shape as my idea of 'normal' for a grown woman. I never looked all that closely at real women. I kind of waited around to look like that, and needless to say...

 

So the body image thing really wasn't great for me. But other than that, I see no real problem with them.

[lllll]

Immediately I thought of the movie "Toy Story I" !

 

I don't remember that one. What happens in it?

[Pippen]

I think you should go ahead and let her get one and just not allow skimpy outfits, like you mentioned. My girls were given Barbies when they were little, but they were never interested. They would rather play with their barn or horse stable. :D

 

I lived out in the country and horses when I was little. Every summer I'd come and spend a month with at my grandparents house. There was a girl in the neighborhood who loved horses as much as I did, so of course our Barbies and our horse collections went together. My grandparents had a garden house and we had the whole place to ourselves.

 

I never touched dolls otherwise. :)

 

I'm another one whose daughter played with Barbies and I don't see any negative impact. She was into them for a few years, and then she was done.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My sisters and I had Barbies when we were kids, although I preferred my Sunshine Family dolls. I don't think any one of us 4 girls ever thought we should grow up to look like Barbie. I think it would take a lot more than a doll to skew someone's body image.

 

If you don't want to promote the consumerism that comes along with the Barbie world, that's a different story.

[BikeBookBread]

Thanks everyone. Lots of food for thought. I've thought pretty much everything the "no Barbie" people have said. I'm even a member of Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. I hate commercial tie-ins.

 

The Barbie figure stats have always just made me laugh. She's a doll, and what doll is natural-looking? For that matter, what toy is realistic-looking? I think that the "disproportionate figure argument isn't enough of a reason in and of itself. Coupled with the objectification of beauty, consumerism, clothing overload, more more more stuff to go with Barbie, because she isn't a complete SET unless you get all the stuff, now, those are arguments I can lock onto.

 

All of that said, I just can't get past the fact that sometimes the banning of a thing which is not intrinsically evil becomes a hill to die on when the sacrifice wasn't necessary in the first place...

 

Off to ponder...

[kathkath]

I don't like them because of the emphasis on fashion, sex appeal, and accumulating accessories and more dolls.

 

We were not allowed to have them growing up and my older sister explained it to me this way:

 

"Mom doesn't want us to want big boobs when we grow up."

 

I replied, "I don't want big boobs. I just want Barbie!"

[stephanie]

My DD had Barbie dolls galore, along with cars, airplane, Little Tikes Barbie dollhouse, furniture, dishes and food. She was not harmed by that, not in word, thought, or deed.

 

Her brothers and their friends melted the heads against a light bulb sometimes and the dog chewed them up whenever he found one lying around -- those were the only factors mitigating against Barbie doll ownership.

 

DD's body image wasn't tainted by Barbie either. I would have thought something was really wrong with DD had it been. DD never once compared herself to Barbie, and thought I was odd for asking. "Why would I compare myself to a doll, Mom?"

 

There are patterns available for making Barbie clothes -- or there used to be, anyway.

 

 

:lol: This reminds me of our house. We have tons of Barbies, tons of clothes. Barbie is used by the boys as "the first man in" to check for land mines. She usually ends up missing an extremity, or hung by a noose from our stair banister. She's been the guinea pig for many "in-style haircuts", as well as the only doll in the house who can slide down the stair rail, fall off, and come out of it scar-free. She's been a great addition to our family and will continue to be! :D

[Mejane]

I respect all the above-stated reasons not to have Barbies, but I must say I enjoyed playing with mine very much, as did my daughter. Neither of us has an unrealistic body image or dresses like a fashionista/tramp. ;) Just my experience, fwiw.

[novagirl]

I don't like them because of the emphasis on fashion, sex appeal, and accumulating accessories and more dolls.

 

We were not allowed to have them growing up and my older sister explained it to me this way:

 

"Mom doesn't want us to want big boobs when we grow up."

 

I replied, "I don't want big boobs. I just want Barbie!"

 

:D That's funny!! For a while I was worried if my daughter was going to be affected by how Barbie looks, yes, she is a bit out of proportion but THERE ARE women who are NATURALLY big chested and have smaller waists. I am one of them (okay not a teeny waist but 27" is smaller I'd think)...and when my dd his puberty...if she has my genes...well, she will too. I think sometimes I think these things out too much. I played Barbies till I was 12 or so...and I never thought for one minute about wanting to look like her or compare myself to her. None of that happened till high school and I sure wasn't compairing myself to BARBIE ...Barbie had nothing to do with it.

 

For the record....I can jump on trampolines and do anything anyone else does... I may have to wear two sports bra's so I don't jiggle but it hasn't stopped me from livin'!:lol::lol:

[Pippen]

:lol: This reminds me of our house. We have tons of Barbies, tons of clothes. Barbie is used by the boys as "the first man in" to check for land mines. She usually ends up missing an extremity, or hung by a noose from our stair banister. She's been the guinea pig for many "in-style haircuts", as well as the only doll in the house who can slide down the stair rail, fall off, and come out of it scar-free. She's been a great addition to our family and will continue to be! :D

 

Your guys would have appreciated my Inertia Barbie physics class demonstration. Rapid acceration, brick wall, no rubber band seat belt...

[Dawn in OH]

I didn't have time to read all the replies, but I will say that we decided to not have Barbie in our home, even though I had them as a child. Instead we opted for the Only Hearts Club Dolls. They are tastefully dressed, look like 12 years olds? instead of Baywatch lifeguards, and in general just seem more appropriate for a child of 7.

 

The original Barbie was marketed to teens/pre-teens, not 6 year olds. Today's Barbie is more voluptuous than the original Barbie. It just didn't seem an appropriate doll for a little girl to me. We did have some of the Kelly dolls (Barbie's little sister) when she was 3-5.

[KarenNC]

Coupled with the objectification of beauty, consumerism, clothing overload, more more more stuff to go with Barbie, because she isn't a complete SET unless you get all the stuff, now, those are arguments I can lock onto.

 

:lol: I can't think of a single person whose children have Barbies who would *ever* go for "she isn't a complete SET unless you get all the stuff" regardless of the amount of pleading. It is perfectly possible to get *some* Barbie stuff without feeling compelled to get all, the majority, most or even a goodly percentage of the things that are marketed along with her. My daughter's Barbies have been the basis for a lot of creative play, reusing and creating accessories, houses, clothes, etc out of stuff we have around the house. Sure, she enjoys the marketed stuff (which she doesn't see much of as we don't have TV, just dvds and the computer) as well, but she also has become much more creative since she got really interested in them. The "renovation" of the stable is an example. Now part of it is that she has to buy Barbie accessories with her own allowance, so they compete with all the other stuff she wants ;). Frankly, at this point, she really just likes a lot of "stuff" not just Barbie stuff:). We seem to have hit the "collecting" phase.

 

The major pattern companies sell patterns for Barbie in the craft section of the pattern books. Turn it into a sewing lesson and opportunity to be a fashion designer of modest clothes. Simplicity 7073 looks like a pretty basic one http://www.simplicity.com/p-2582-doll-clothes.aspx and has the most variety of patterns

McCalls has a nice one http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m8552-products-7150.php?page_id=909

[Caraway]

My approach is a little different.

 

I don't think I need a reason not to get certain toys/books/games/movies/music... I need a reason *to* get it. I need to believe that there will be value added to our lives (however small) by a given item.

 

When each of my kids went through the stage of having some interest in getting a Barbie, we didn't focus on Barbie's negatives; we said 'there are better dolls - prettier, higher quality, more appropriate dolls - that we can get (or that we have).

 

It was never a big deal - there are many things we don't get & none of those have been a big deal either... I don't think any of it needs to be a 'hill to die on'... it can just be how things are here.

 

When we approach our consumption - of books, movies, toys, etc - with the assumption that we need a strong reason not to read/watch/buy something it is really different than when we need a strong reason *to* buy/watch/read things.

 

We don't do TV, for example, not b/c TV is evil, not b/c there might not be something enjoyable on sometimes, but b/c we don't see any strong enough justification to add this to our lives.

 

There are so many beautiful, sturdy, healthy-looking dolls out there, we've seen no reason to bring Barbie into our homes, or our kids' imaginative play... for our family, with our values, aesthetic preferences, and lifestyle, there is no value a Barbie would add to our lives... though it clearly does do so for many other families. ymmv :)

 

 

I like this a lot. :001_wub:

[BikeBookBread]

My approach is a little different.

 

I don't think I need a reason not to get certain toys/books/games/movies/music... I need a reason *to* get it. I need to believe that there will be value added to our lives (however small) by a given item.

 

When each of my kids went through the stage of having some interest in getting a Barbie, we didn't focus on Barbie's negatives; we said 'there are better dolls - prettier, higher quality, more appropriate dolls - that we can get (or that we have).

 

It was never a big deal - there are many things we don't get & none of those have been a big deal either... I don't think any of it needs to be a 'hill to die on'... it can just be how things are here.

 

When we approach our consumption - of books, movies, toys, etc - with the assumption that we need a strong reason not to read/watch/buy something it is really different than when we need a strong reason *to* buy/watch/read things.

 

We don't do TV, for example, not b/c TV is evil, not b/c there might not be something enjoyable on sometimes, but b/c we don't see any strong enough justification to add this to our lives.

 

There are so many beautiful, sturdy, healthy-looking dolls out there, we've seen no reason to bring Barbie into our homes, or our kids' imaginative play... for our family, with our values, aesthetic preferences, and lifestyle, there is no value a Barbie would add to our lives... though it clearly does do so for many other families. ymmv :)

 

This has generally been my approach on all toys. I'm very careful about what I buy - to the extreme. This Barbie thing is very recent.

[momofkhm]

A long time ago, I decided I didn't want my girls to grow up with Barbie dolls.. I was never allowed to have one. I was told by my Mom that they were "sinful". (Yes, SINFUL.) I'm sure that my thoughts on the subject are heavily weighted by these memories. PDG is now begging for one. She has saved her allowance and could easily buy one herself.

 

I know I don't like the consumerism, commercialism, tie-ins, etc... I hate plastic toys. I don't like the skimpy outfits. But what if she got one doll, and the clothes we purchased were not of the skimpy variety? Is there anything intrinsically wrong with a Barbie doll, in and of itself? I know there are more "appropriate" alternatives -- we've tried the All Hearts Club dolls, and they were a bust. We've tried Groovy Girls with the same result. She is just fixated on Barbie.

 

Help me figure this out -- and HOW to explain it to a 6 year old girl who just sees a pretty doll with long hair.

 

I'm jumping in without reading the rest of the replies.

 

If you decide not to do Barbies, you will need to tell the rest of the world every time she has a birthday party. When my girls were the "Barbie" age, they regularly got Barbies as gifts from friends. Think about a plain Barbie is cheap. It keeps to the budget very well.

 

I'm not saying this is a reason for or against Barbies in your house, just warning you!

[TheCoffeeChick]

Well, now I wonder if I am the only one here who lets their dd play with Barbies? DD even has a couple Barbie DVDs.

 

:leaving:

[Kim in Appalachia]

I'm not against Barbie, meaning I don't think it is sinful or wrong to own one, but I am not fond of them.

 

When my oldest was young (she is now 16) she had Barbies. We had the house, the motor home, car, etc... She played nicely with them. Then one day my sweet daughter (who was around 6 or7) told me she wished she looked like one of her friends. When I asked her why, she said that her friend was pretty because she had blond hair and dressed in fancy clothes like Barbie. I told my dd that she was pretty and that she had lots of nice clothes, but to her, she needed blond hair and lots of new outfits. I was very upset by this and soon got rid of everything Barbie in our house.

 

When my dd became excited by an American Girl (also made by Mattel),Samantha, because she looked like her, she got one for Christmas. She believed Samantha was pretty and smart and she wanted to be like her. For us, it was a much better fit.

[Cindyg]

Once my daughter moved out of her "horse phase" (which lasted from about age 5-8 in her case) into her self-described "bunny phase" :), the wooden Breyer stable received a conversion into a Barbie apartment. At her suggestion we unscrewed the pieces, took out the stalls and put it back together.

 

Oh my gosh! Thud! That was me fainting! Converting a Breyer stable into a Barbie apartment? Oh my stars! I can't breath!

 

:lol:

 

My mom never let me have Barbies, and I think she was right. That said, I would probably let my little girl (if I had one) have a Barbie if she wanted one desperately; but I would not allow the immodest clothing. I would hope this will pass relatively quickly.

 

I also hate commercialism aimed at children and the entire glam culture. But I've had little success keeping my boy away from the commercialism aimed at little boys -- despite the fact that we rarely turn the TV on.

[Mommy22alyns]

I held off on Barbies for a while too, but then I relented. The girls have Barbies but they get played with about as much as any other toys they have.

[Veritaserum]

Well, now I wonder if I am the only one here who lets their dd play with Barbies? DD even has a couple Barbie DVDs.

 

:leaving:

 

Nope, we have some of the DVDs, too. They are actually nicely done. :)

[Orthodox6]

I don't remember that one. What happens in it?

 

Go to this link --

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toy_Story_characters#Sid_Phillips --

and read the description of Sid Phillips.

 

Bad joke, mayhap, but it is what popped into mind ! :)

 

PLEASE do not think that I am classing your children in with that movie character ! ! ! I was thinking only of the dismembered toys.

[KarenNC]

Oh my gosh! Thud! That was me fainting! Converting a Breyer stable into a Barbie apartment? Oh my stars! I can't breath!

 

:lol:

 

 

 

If it helps you recover, we kept all the pieces and will "reconvert" it when she's done with the Barbie phase ;). It does make a nice classy loft, though, I must admit, and much better than a plastic Barbie house (she's added on cardboard box rooms, etc and "wallpapered" them with leftover wrapping paper).

[novagirl]

Well, now I wonder if I am the only one here who lets their dd play with Barbies? DD even has a couple Barbie DVDs.

 

:leaving:

 

 

Oh no! We do, I just made my DD wait till she was AT LEAST 5 yrs old. I think she has 3 now, and maybe 3 outfits?? They aren't such a big deal in our house.

 

Oh and yes, I agree with the poster who mentioned that if you ban Barbies....you're going to have to keep explaining yourself each and every year till she's too old for them anyway. People didn't get my reasonings, and I realized I was making a big deal over them anyway too. Wasn't a hill to die on for us. But..to each their own!

[applesing]

We love Barbie here, but I do insist on modest clothing and have been able to have good discussions w/dds about some dolls' outfits at the store. I grew up enjoying Barbie dolls.

 

I do NOT, however, allow any Bratz or Bratz-type dolls. They are beyond obnoxious.

[brijen97]

My 6 year old also doesn't have Barbie and I have brain washed her enough that she doesn't want one. :0) I never had them either and the main objection my mom had which is also mine is the whole materialistic side of Barbie...living with Ken in her dream house or whatever. Admittedly they seem to have worked on that but still, why start I thought. She doesn't seem overly upset by it. We have some only hearts club dolls but they don't hold her interest at all. She is much more interested in her American Girl dolls and baby dolls.

[Tangerine]

I don't like Barbie. I wouldn't forbid them. But I'm sure not going to introduce them of my own volition. I read this blog post and found it very interesting. This family of a mother and two girls travels the world and makes DVDs about their travels. In Iran, they found Barbie imagery to be quite prevalent, which she found kind of incongruous. Interesting to ponder.

[Peela]

In my ideal world, I like the Steiner beliefs around children and toys. All wooden and natural substances- wool, cotton etc. No plastic. All toys should leave a lot to the imagination- so barely any face on beautiful hand made cloth dolls that take weeks to construct, made with love nd devotion.

Absolutely never any plastic guns for boys, or horrible plastic monsters and such things. He could always make his own gun out of natural materials, but wouldn't, because he wouldn't be like that, would he? Never any advertising on clothing, which should always been made of natural fabrics. And the kids would actually WANT these types of toys, because they would be so wholesomely brought up that desire for plastic junk wouldnt exist.

 

In my real world...we have always been swap meet people, and taking small chidren round swap meet meant massive temper tantrums if they couldnt get what they saw when they fixated on something. So in my real world, dd had Barbie dolls- a whole collection, some with, some without heads and limbs :). They probably never cost us more than $2 each. She had plastic jewellery, plastic unicorns with psychadelic hair. Ds had noisy toy guns because his dad said so and I didnt get to win that one! It always seemded worth it at the time, when he was 3 and screaming his lungs out in a public place because he wanted something that would cost us a dollar (well,we did say no at times, we are not complete pushovers!). Ds also had- still has- a massive variety of plastic monster figurines.

 

Do I wish it had been different? Maybe, but I don't honestly think much damage has been done. The Barbie phase passed. The toy gun phase passed. Now its real life makeup and nail polish, and home made bombs made out of match boxes, and bows and arrows made out of sticks and string.

 

Barbies were not a hill I wished to die on and I am glad I didn't, even though *I* was not a doll child (you know, I was above all that :lol:- how did I get such a girly girl for a child anyway? )). Sometimes its worth it, but often I feel that when you deny a child something like that, it makes a big deal out of something that isnt so much of a big deal, really. Dd has a healthy sense of her body image, enjoys her own body and it most definitely is not Barbie like. Barbie is only one small influence among many.