About AG dolls, ages, & sibs

[Aubrey]

So dd wants an AG doll. I knew the time would come. I"ve been reading thr old threads today, beginning to get familiar w/ the whole thing.

 

Dh & I like the idea of high quality, historical dolls, stories to go w/ them, braiding hair, making clothes. We're not impressed w/ the price tag, but...if it's not made in China...

 

Anyway, dd is 5, & I don't think we'll do anything before she turns 6 this spring, so I imagine it'll be a yr or so before she gets one *if* she gets one.

 

My question is this: next Christmas, we'll have a 2yo dd (who already *loves* dolls) & a 1yo ds. Dh is concerned about a) one of the littles getting ahold of such an expensive toy & b) having one more thing that the older dc can only play w/ during the littles' nap times (which isn't often, since nap time is sch time, kwim?).

 

For this yr, I think we're going to try to stick more w/ stuff that the littles can play w/, too. Or at least not break, lol.

[partyof5]

Aubrey,

I guess your question is really "is it a good idea?" given all the concerns. Our oldest dd won her first AG doll when she was about 5, which is how we were introduced. We were very careful with it, and for the most part, her younger sisters respected the "special" doll, looking forward to the day when they, too, might be able to have one.

 

My experience has been that if you always wait for the youngers to be able to handle what the older one is ready for, the older one will soon outgrow what she wanted in the first place! ;)

 

Our girls love their dolls, and they now range in age from 10 down to 4. All are loved and treated better than any other toy in the house, as it should be! :tongue_smilie:

[Gretchen in NJ]

The historical dolls are designed for 8 and up. They do have other dolls designed for younger girls.

 

If you decide to purchase a doll for your daughter and a younger sibling gets a hold of it, they have a doll hospital. :lol: It sounds silly, but it is true. The last time I checked it was $60 for a new head complete with hospital gown.:D

[8filltheheart]

One other option might be the Gotz dolls. Tuesday Mornings usually has them in stock. Tuesday Mornings' prices are less that 1/2 the price of AG dolls and the quality is at least equal (if not better) than AG. We have both and the love both.

 

Definitely don't go the Target or Toys R Us route......they are vastly inferior in quality.

[abbeyej]

AG dolls are pretty sturdy. I mean, they'll suffer if someone sets them on fire or gives them tattoos with a Sharpie or uses Mommy's sewing scissors to give them a stylin' new mohawk... But they won't break if they're dropped, or even suffer too much from being carried around by the ankle. My sister's about as hard on her stuff as any child can be, and her Molly doll lived a full ten years before making a visit to the AG Doll Hospital. ;)

 

Anyway, I don't think you need to be paranoid about the youngers destroying their sister's AG. It's probably wise to have some ground rules (no Sharpies, no scissors, no using the AG doll as a weapon, only play with the owner-child's permission), but they're *meant* to be played with.

 

Between my dd, my sister, and me, we have a Kirsten (~20 years old), Molly (~10-12 years old), Josefina (~8-10 years old?), Emily (2 years), Nikki (1 year)... Kirsten was mine and later played with by my (rough and tumble) sister. Molly is the only one to visit the AG hospital. (She had to have an arm re-attached.)

 

The only thing I would warn about is the hair. I very, very, very highly recommend you get this kit if you're going to get an AG doll. If you care for their hair properly, it'll look great and be fun to play with for ages (even with the occasional unfortunate incident involving being dragged head-down through the sand at the park, etc)... But if you use the wrong sort of brush or don't mist gently, etc, they can end up giving Medusa a run for her money. The kit includes an AG hair brush, a book, a dvd, and a few odd hair accessories. The dvd and the brush are the most important parts...

 

And while the dolls are rather expensive, I think they're head and shoulders above most other "similar" dolls in terms of quality. And they're a toy that gets played with for years and years.

[Tracey in TX]

I would discourage an AG doll for a toddler or preschooler, but also wouldn't wait until a girl is 8y/o. Some girls lose interest in dolls by that age. Five is a good age to give the AG doll, but might wait a bit longer with little sisters in the house. We sent three dolls to the "doll hospital" with gross damage (arm/leg chewed off by puppy; finger nail polish over hair and head). They chose to replace the dolls instead of repairing damage.

We did find a like new doll for $10 at resale shop; had another given to us, but missing one leg. If you can get doll below cost, maybe this is a good time to buy. Otherwise, consider waiting until little sweet sis is a bit older.

[coffeefreak]

We got our daughter her AG doll when she turned 6. Her sister (who was 3) recieved the Bitty Baby twins a year later when she turned 4(I have a very generous Grandmother LOL)! Since we were concerned about the little one getting a hold of the older one's doll, we set up some ground rules for responsibility. It was actually a good tool to teach responsibility. Kit was taken away a couple of times for neglect or because the toddler got her. The other neat thing about having an AG doll is all the accessories. Since she was too young for them at first, it's become a treat to receive about one a year. It helps me cost wise too, because I'm slowly adding to the collection instead of trying to purchase everything at once.

[Dianne-TX]

I just purchased Samantha for my dd6 tonight and it was backordered until Dec. 12. Just wanted to let those of you know in case you would like to order. I was surprised it was already backordered this far out from Christmas.

[coffeefreak]

I just purchased Samantha for my dd6 tonight and it was backordered until Dec. 12. Just wanted to let those of you know in case you would like to order. I was surprised it was already backordered this far out from Christmas.

 

 

Probably because they announced they're retireing her. Crazy, isn't it?!

[MommyX8]

First Molly went to the doll hospital for a broken leg. Next Samantha went with a severed head (poor dear!). And right now, I have a leg in my closet and no Josephina. :001_huh:

 

Siblings can't keep their hands off these dolls. Our Bitty baby and twins have been fine, though.

[Jami]

Our timeline, if it's helpful: Dd got her doll last Christmas at 5.5. She's very careful with her toys and had begun reading the books, so we felt she would care for Kit well. And she has. Kit is a very pampered doll. ;) Dd (#2) was 3.5 at that time and was already asking for her own AG doll. But she has to wait for 5+ too. But little sister has not been careless with Kit at all, she knows that this doll is precious to her sister and treats her with kindness. She also knows that being able to care for a doll is part of how she'll earn her own. But that's 1.5 years older than your little sister will be. You'll probably want to have a higher shelf that the doll is kept on when not being played with and have dd responsible for not leaving her out where the littles can get her. But we've found that 6 is a great age to have an AG doll!

[Jennifer in NH]

but...if it's not made in China...

 

we have the Bitty Baby doll, and we do like it..but the dolls are now made in China..just google it and you'll come up with this http://cbs11tv.com/local/american.girl.dolls.2.607983.html

 

it irks me, and I'm not trying to talk you out of this, but made in china was in your post...

 

Best of luck,

Jenny

[whitestavern]

My daughter got the Bitty baby when she was three and I have never seen a more loved doll. She got Felicity when she was 6 and a girl Bitty twin when she was 7, but Bitty still gets the most love and playtime. My son has the boy Bitty.

 

It may be too much of an expense but my thought would be maybe get the historical doll for your old daughter and the Bitty twins (one boy and one girl) for your younger children. That way they each have their own to love and play with.

 

I think another poster mentioned that these dolls are durable. They really are. As I said, my daughter's Bitty is over 5 years old and just goes everywhere. My son has the Bitty boy and he's not very gentle with it (to put it mildly) and he's in great shape. Out of all the dolls my kids have had, these are the ones that get played with and these are the ones that last.

 

I will also agree with the haircare recommendations by another poster. If I had it to do all over again, I'd probably get Kit or another doll with short hair, although my daughter is now a pro at getting it to look good. But get the haircare accessories kit!

[sassenach]

I have the opposite problem. My 11 just decided she wants one. She's going through an interesting time of being too cool for just about anything then flipping to being engrossed in playing with her polly pockets and "younger" stuff. I'm really not sure what to do. I don't really want to tell her she's too old for it. I want her to have the freedom to be young in some ways still. I don't want to be the one pushing her to grow up. On the other hand, it's a lot of money for something that she will be outgrowing sooner rather than later. But I have a 4yo coming up behind her, so I'm sure it would get passed down. Sigh. Sorry for hijacking! This tween stuff takes so much mental energy, it just bursts forth at the most unexpected moments : )

[coffeefreak]

I have the opposite problem. My 11 just decided she wants one. She's going through an interesting time of being too cool for just about anything then flipping to being engrossed in playing with her polly pockets and "younger" stuff. I'm really not sure what to do. I don't really want to tell her she's too old for it. I want her to have the freedom to be young in some ways still. I don't want to be the one pushing her to grow up. On the other hand, it's a lot of money for something that she will be outgrowing sooner rather than later. But I have a 4yo coming up behind her, so I'm sure it would get passed down. Sigh. Sorry for hijacking! This tween stuff takes so much mental energy, it just bursts forth at the most unexpected moments : )

 

Oh but she's not too old! My friend's DD will be 11 in January and she's got two and has asked for a 3rd for her birthday! That's why the books and accessories are cool too. They grow with the girl. My sister got hers when she was 10 (I think that's when they came out) and she still has it. As a matter of fact, I asked if I could have it for my girls (my sis doesn't have any kids) and she wouldn't give it to me. It's the ONLY thing she's ever denyed her nieces!:001_rolleyes:

 

I say get her one, she'll love it and it will be an heirloom.

 

HTH!

[Matryoshka]

The dolls are billed as being for ages 8-12. I know most people get them earlier, but I'm in no hurry to have them grow up fast.

 

In our house, the determining factor is if you're old enough to read the books and decide which character you really like. This has been about age 7 here. At age 5 & 6 my most doll-loving girl got Götz toddler dolls (look a lot like the Bitty Twins and their clothes fit), which she still really loves, maybe more than the AG doll she finally got last year. She wants to get Julie this year, which kills me, as that "historical" doll is exactly my age...

[Mamasteff]

I took the sizes of clothing offered as a guide to purchasing one for my dd. 7 Their clothing starts at size7 (I think). My kids have always worn their age size, so we didn't let her have one until 7.

 

My little sister had saved up her money for over a year when she was about 10 (this was 20 years ago or so) to buy herself a Kirstin when they were very very new. We liked the idea of having our dd take some responsibility for such a big outlay of cash, so had her save her birthday, Christmas, and allowance money for a year. I think she treats the doll much better because it cost her something. We honored her sacrifice by matching the amount, to buy clothes and accessories for the doll.

 

Her cousin got a trip to the LA Store, a tea party, a new doll, and promises of matching clothing... but the girls' clothes don't come in a size 5. So cousin threw a fit. In my never humble opinion, this shows she was not ready for such a big ticket item (I did bite my tongue - HARD).

 

Sometimes it seems we parents want to get our kids the best or biggest or most longed for item... and we tend to do it too soon. I don't think it will hurt her to wait for it. Think ahead a couple of years, and if you get her one big/ expensive/ special item each year, at what age does she get her own iPod or cell phone?

[JFSinIL]

I say six is a minimum age - we gave when our girls each were seven. Hint - if you want Samantha buy her and some of her stuff NOW as she is being retired.

 

When the older girl gets a doll, the younger can get a Bitty Baby.

[abbeyej]

I have the opposite problem. My 11 just decided she wants one. ...

 

I got my Kirsten when I was 11. In many ways, I do wish I had gotten her sooner. I was too old to find the books appealing by then, for instance, and while my mom thought it was good for me to "long" for something, I do think I'd have gotten more play out of her if I'd gotten her somewhere between 8-10... But still, she was very much beloved. And I was old enough then to have a lot of fun making doll clothes without any help at all. (Really bad ones, most of the time, lol, but it was a learning experience, and something I could do with friends instead of with parental supervision and help.)

 

I even got and wore the girl-sized Kirsten dress (the blue standard one -- for a while there, they had several of the dresses available in girl sizes though, and I wanted them all!)... ;) It's still around somewhere, but it's a 12 or 14, and my dd will be in college by the time she's that size, lol, so I don't know if she'll ever wear it. :)

[unsinkable]

Probably because they announced they're retireing her. Crazy, isn't it?!

 

Yes, it is crazy b/c some of Samantha's dresses are sold out already and are now selling on ebay for almost triple the original AG cost!

[unsinkable]

My feeling is the AG dolls themselves are OK for a girl of about 6 years old but I would put the accessories away (doll's jewelry, purse, small things) until the girl is older. It is hard to keep track of the little stuff.

[chiguirre]

My personal doll rule is, "Don't buy it if you can't fix or replace it."

 

My oldest likes to "remodel" stuffed animals and dolls. We lost one Waldorf doll completely and I had to sew a leg back on to another. Dd came through the doll traumas like a trooper, but I promised her that I would fix or replace any doll our oldest breaks immediately. If you don't have doll replacement funds set aside, I wouldn't get an expensive doll.