please help me hate Barbie a little less...

Shanny

I loathe this toy with every fiber of my being. Kate has 2 barbie like dolls that are actually Disney Princesses that my Mom bought her. I hate Disney princesses just slightly less than Barbie. She rarely plays with them at home though so I don't worry too much about it. A has an ever growing collection of Barbies - girls, boys, mermaids, fairies, bath toys, mini barbies, 3 million accessories etc. About one week a month I show up and her Mom bought her a new one over the weekend for no reason I can find. The girls used to fight over them relentlessly which I didn't mind because it gave me a great excuse to take them away. They are pretty much on to me and have learned to work out a lot of what used to end in tears (one positive I guess). A is in school in the afternoons and Kate flocks right to the Barbies and entertains herself for hours while I work so I really shouldn't be so hard on the plastic b#*$:! I listen to her playing and she is using her imagination (today: "oh Daddy Daddy something something"!). I have discussed ad nauseum that real women do not look like Barbie so I just really need to let it go....right?

Why do little girls love her so much??? Aaarrggghh!

Zen

I loved Barbies as a child. Not so much now. Shiloh is in an animal phase right now so I have a little time on the whole Barbie invasion thing

cocolibby

Our boys like Barbies too, which I mostly think is funny. They have them ride around in a Jeep with G.I. Joe and Wolverine, and they make her a decapitation victim. Asa wants to play with her fashion accessories, but even at 7 he lacks the dexterity to do so! (Which is what I remember hating most about her as a kid)

lolabel

I think it's because Barbie's a grown up, not a girl. So rather than thinking women look like Barbie, I think it's about play-manipulation of the grown up world, and access into fantasy about it. When I see how my girl plays with them, I worry less than I used to.

Flowergirl

I never liked Barbies as a child and hardly ever played with the one I had - I much preferred "real life play" with my baby dolls or kittens dressed as babies. But, I wouldn't panic if my child liked or even loved Barbies simply because in my personal opinion, they don't love them for their image, or what they "are thought to represent". They have child minds, and although brilliant, to a child, barbies are simply a means to using their imagination to recreate adult interactions. I think it's healthy for them and I'd much rather have my child sit surrounded by a tub of Barbies and friends, then sit in front of a tv or computer screen, blankly letting the scenarios unfold for them while they do nothing. The little girl who used to live with us asked me for a Barbie for her birthday last year. Then she whispered in my ear that she wanted it to have black hair, "just like yours!". I searched everywhere for a black haired Barbie and ended up paying an arm and a leg for some special edition one, but she was absolutely thrilled with it. She was beaming when she opened it and informed me it was so pretty and looked "just like me!". Well God knows I look nothing like Barbie, but to her we were twins

K&H

Barbie has descended upon our house as well... Now, truthfully, we have had one Barbie in our possession for over a decade, and that is "pregnant Barbie" that we bought way back when because we thought it would be an interesting and fun way to talk about babies in bellies... But this weekend my mother brought all of my Barbies from when I was young and dropped them off at my house!!! :mad: WHY?!? :rolleyes:
Needless to say, they'll be in a box in the basement for a few more years at least. I don't hate Barbie, but I don't like her either.

tc0104

Laney likes her Disney princesses too but I get your Barbie attitude....shes beautiful, dates the hot guy, drives a nice expensive car, has the option to live in a mansion, knows how to ride horses, has all the toys one can dream of.....that b@&!%...i hate her too now!

A&J

Yep, I loved Barbie growing up and spent many hours playing at my spoiled neighbor girl'shouse who had an entire playroom practically dedicated to all things Barbie. I loved combing the hair ( cutting it too;-), changing outfits, and acting out scenarios that I knew were only fantasy.

I think they are fairly harmless, but I too have a dislike for Barbie and all of her junk now. She is not on the list of items I would choose for Olivia. However, if she ends up wanting a Barbie I'm sure we will go with it.

Klt86

I wont worry unless she wants a bratz doll. Then we will have problems.

Shaeley Mae

I think you're safe letting it go.
Kate's a very grounded little girl. A little fantasy playtime with a plastic boobilicious doll will probably be good for her imagination, and short-lived.

annerbones

I think that Barbie has a great many purposes - she shows women that they don't have to choose just one career (I count over 60) anything from McDonald's Cashier to Plastic Surgeon. She had one long term steady man in her life who never left her because of the choices she made, granted they did break up but that was after 30 years together - Ken was having a midlife crisis. He sought help had a make over and returned to her. So maybe more of a break than a break up (Like Ross and Rachel on Friends.)

I think when some people think of Barbie they think of the older versions of Barbie pre-1997, in 1997 Matel actually widened Barbies waist to make her appear more realistic. It ruined her wardrobe and none of her skinny clothes fit anymore

Barbie has had over 40 pets including cats and dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra. She has owned a wide range of vehicles, including pink Corvette convertibles, trailers, and jeeps. She also holds a pilot's license, and operates commercial airliners in addition to serving as a flight attendant. Barbie's careers are designed to show that women can take on a variety of roles in life, and the doll has been sold with a wide range of titles including Miss Astronaut Barbie (1965), Doctor Barbie (1988) and Nascar Barbie (1998).

Mattel has created a range of companions for Barbie, including Hispanic Teresa, Midge, African American Christie, and Steven (Christie's boyfriend). Barbie's siblings and cousins were also created including Skipper, Todd and Stacie (twin brother and sister), Kelly, Krissy, and Francie. Barbie was friendly with Blaine, an Australian surfer, during her split with Ken in 2004.

I don't know, maybe being like Barbie isn't such a bad thing.

A&J

Ha! Love it Annerbones! You make some great points

Lindsay

I don't hate Barbie..But I do despise all her accessories...LOL Lily doens't have many..She loves the fairies and pricesses...I refuse to buy the Bratz and the "older" girl dolls..she will sit for hours and play with these..She likes to take a bucket of them to the park and play...Great for attracting new friends also..Ice breaker..But like any other..It is a phase I am sure she will grow out of before she is 12...Kate is about Lily's age I think..Maybe a bit younger..Seems like we went thru some allergy stuff at the same time but she will move on to bigger and better things as she grows..:))

But makeup...Now I could gripe and complain about wee little girls wearing makeup all day long:)))) (except for nail polish and lip smackers of course)...

Goobie

I had oodles of hand-me-down Barbies as a child, and can't say I ever assumed thats what a woman should look like... I had enough real women in my life to know that the doll was just that, a doll! But it was fun to be the one in control of the adult like situations my child like mind could create (I had the power to let the Strawberry Shortcakes, whom I used as Barbies kids, stay up late, or have pizza for dinner).

Do I agree that she's a bib skanky looking, you bet... and totally unrealistic, ahhh yes! Will I with-hold hours of imaginative play from my children (boys and girls) because of it, nope! It's pretty unrealistic to have a farm in your living room too, but the Little People Farm is a big hit with most children. And most kids will not become firefighters, but the helmet and fire engine are great toys too. Its about role play, stretching the imagination, with a toy that is somewhat lifelike.

Ivy plays with her sisters Barbies already, they are all naked and in the bathtub, but thats her favorite bath toy. In fact, she sits in the tub playing with them for about half an hour each night, which for 11 months old I think is pretty good for imagination and attention span. What amuses me is she has many baby dolls, and she hugs them, kisses them, pats their back, but already at 11 months, she will pick up a Barbie in each hand and change her tone of voice, saying "hi" repeatedly in a conversational tone, whereas with the baby dolls she coos and makes baby noises.

For me, personally, I look at Barbie as a toy, not a role model... I aim to be the role model for my children, so I get down on the floor and play Barbies with them, and the fact that they can keep the kids entertained, well cool beans, I can pull them out to get dinner on the table without having someone trying to pants me in the kitchen! And as they get older, its a great way to incorporate "all people have different shapes, sizes, hair colour, eye colour, skin colour..." into conversation.

lippysaunt

I could have written Annerbones or Goobies responses. I wrote an essay in college about Barbie and how she's a positive role model for girls in showing they can become anything. I had a bunch of hand me down Barbies from my sister's friend along with a Ken and two Skippers, plus a house, airplane, two bicycles, hot rod car, camper, and tons of clothes. I loved it! I was a smart enough child to know I didn't have to look like her when I grew up, and aside from having big boobs, I don't! Barbie can really fuel the imagination and help kids to navigate situations in their own lives. I would never deny (nor necessarily encourage) my child the opportunity to play with Barbies. I think she's a wonderful toy.

K&H

Goobie wrote:

with them, and the fact that they can keep the kids entertained, well cool beans, I can pull them out to get dinner on the table without having someone trying to pants me in the kitchen!

D@mn! Maybe I should get E some Barbies! What's up with the pants pull down action, man? It's her new favorite thing, along with picking people's pockets!

pb

Beckham has a Barbie and and Cinderella. He calls them both "Sissy". Sometimes he loves them other times he can careless. Paige was into Barbies when she was 3 and 4 then gave them up for soccer. She then became obsessed with Cinderella in high school (too many visits to Disney maybe?) But she got to live her dream and now is a normal healthy 21 year old so I'm glad we just let her go with what she liked