The dutchkid really wants a Barbie doll for Christmas. We were walking around your average big box store the other day, and happened down the toy aisle (which I normally avoid like the plague) when she spotted the high heeled temptress.
And I’m torn. Part of me wants to take into consideration all those things a “good parent” thinks of… will it negatively impact her own body image? There are definitely studies out there that say Barbie does have a negative impact. Plus I worry about how young kids are sexualized these days. I mean, all you have to do is look at a rack of young girls’ clothes at any store to wonder about that.
On the other hand, I have many happy memories of playing with my own Barbies. And I didn’t end up with an eating disorder, and I’m pretty sure I’m in the safe “mom zone” of fashion. Then again, I was a beanpole of a kid, I may have ended up wishing for Barbie’s boobs, but I was already skinny (at least back then). What if the dutchkid isn’t so lucky? I can hardly think of any woman I know who doesn’t struggle in some way with her body image, myself included.
There are Barbie alternatives, like the Only Hearts Club dolls. However, I have a feeling that they won’t be as alluring as Barbie is, mostly because Barbie looks like an adult, a glamorous princess, whereas the lonely hearts dolls look like little girls playing dress up.
Opinions? Would you (or do you) ban Barbie and enforce the alternatives? or am I overthinking it?
