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MaryMary
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| Posted: Oct 20 2006 at 12:18pm | IP Logged
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Do you let your daughters play with Barbie?
Why or why not? If you do, what age do you think is appropriate to introduce Ms. B?
There's a discussion going on at our house (between kids and parents) about this very issue and I'd like the opinion of the wise women of this board.
Thanks so much!
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Mary
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Michaela
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I *thought* I'd never let my dd play with barbie.
She doesn't look like anyone I know. 
For some reason, Olivia would rather play with barbie or polly pockets than a baby doll. (a preference to dolls she can easily hold in one hand, I guess)
However, family have given Olivia a couple of them.
My elderly neighbors told me last week they have purchased toys for my kids....and Olivia is getting a barbie.
Right now, my main problem with barbie in my house is for some reason she always ends up without clothes! I can't stand seeing Ms. No Clothes left in positions that make me uncomfortable. Actually, all the dolls & actions figures (boys play w/) that have removable clothes end up laying around naked. My new rule is clothes have to stay on the dolls.
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momwats8
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Michaela wrote:
Right now, my main problem with barbie in my house is for some reason she always ends up without clothes! I can't stand seeing Ms. No Clothes left in positions that make me uncomfortable. Actually, all the dolls & actions figures (boys play w/) that have removable clothes end up laying around naked. My new rule is clothes have to stay on the dolls.
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i am sorry but that is tooo funny  You all are cracking me up today. I laugh because now that I have a one year old daughter after 7 boys I am finding the same thing. All the dolls are laying around naked. The boys feel this irrepresible desire to take of their clothes. Come to think of it last Christmas we got a baby boy Cabbage Path Kid for our then 2 year old son and they did the same darn thing - it was always naked.
I have not had to cross the Barbie threshold yet but I do hear that Polly Pocket is the "thing" for little girls these days. I guess I will find out soon enough 
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mrsgranola
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Well, I'm pretty anti-Barbie. Although I do like some of the newer ones that aren't so pornographic-looking. Have you seen the Only Hearts Club dolls? We have one of those but we mostly let the girls do the 18" dolls like American Girl and the younger girls' doll, Bitty Baby.
I could rant on this a while but dd needs me... I'll come back later...
JoAnna
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Dawnie
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Mary,
This is just my opinion, but I do not let my kids play w/ Barbie dolls.
They have lots of baby dolls to play with, in various sizes. Their grandma made them dolls clothes and diaper bags last Christmas and they LOVE dressing their baby dolls and playing "mommy."
They have received Barbie dolls as presents on a couple of occassions, but they haven't been very interested in them and they disappeared after awhile. I've since asked relatives not to give Barbies as presents. We also do not watch TV, so my girls are not exposed to all the commercials advertising them and I'm not sure they even know they exist.
I once read that a little girl playing w/ Barbie dolls is role playing being s*x objects, while a little girl playing w/ baby dolls is role playing being a mommy. That statement rang true for me, based on my own experience in playing w/ Barbies as a child.
Obviously, I have made this decision based on my own experience. I would be interested to hear of other's experiences in playing w/ Barbie dolls that *did not* involve s*xual role play. I don't know if I played that way w/ Barbies b/c of the doll itself, or b/c of other things I was exposed to at a young age, like love scenes on TV and in movies. At any rate, I *do not* want my daughters playing w/ dolls like that, so that is why we don't have them in our house.
Dawn
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Michaela
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| Posted: Oct 20 2006 at 1:48pm | IP Logged
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Quote:
I don't know if I played that way w/ Barbies b/c of the doll itself, or b/c of other things I was exposed to at a young age, like love scenes on TV and in movies. At any rate, I *do not* want my daughters playing w/ dolls like that, so that is why we don't have them in our house.
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well, I had a response all typed up, but I've deleted it. I would love to read responses from other mommas.
another thought for me to think over as I anxiously wait is why I don't mind barbie, but won't allow anything having to do with the BRATZ doll in my house. I don't care who gifted it. (No shoes, clothes, no dolls....nothing that has to do w/ BRATZ.)
We're off to co-op and I need to think this through some more.
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stefoodie
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we've received about 7 barbies since we had kids. we've let them play with them a bit then donated them/threw them away. a few reasons i won't let them play with barbies:
there are better choices, i.e., dolls with "a better body" -- not proportioned like barbie with the non-existent waist, etc. not that i think my dds would have an unhealthy self-image because of playing with barbies -- i think that's more a function of how mom regards her body and her health, so we're okay there -- but still...
i'm not comfortable with all the stuff that barbie "represents" -- she rides in cool cars with guys, is a model (?), always has to be dressed up and fashionable, etc. maybe if they'd make a mommy barbie who cooks and cleans and teaches or takes care of babies i'd reconsider.
i don't think it's a player-friendly toy. you can pose her but that's about it. she's not cuddly like a bear or a soft doll. she's "too pretty". 
and sometimes it's not just the doll itself actually. it's everything else barbie that comes with it. the barbie books, paraphernalia, clothes, etc. i'd really rather just invest in more quality toys, books, etc. and esp. now that the toys aren't made with quality materials anymore, etc. but i do still drool occasionally over the collectible barbies -- the ones dressed in gowns/foreign costumes.
having said that, i had a barbie and ken when i was little, given by my godmother. i split her mouth with a razor blade because i was playing doctor with the IV stuff my mom took home from the hospital (clean and unused but for some reason she was always getting free stuff, maybe because she worked there for a number of years), and the face was the only soft part of her that i could put the IV needle in (yes, i was allowed to play with needles, etc.).
the funny thing is i gave ken away to my cousin because i was "being nice". to this day my mom and godmother say i could have kept the dolls, waited until they were "collectibles" and sold them at auction.
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teachingmyown
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We do play with Barbies, and baby dolls. I think a key part of downplaying the troublesome aspects of Barbie is to control what clothes are acceptable. Our Barbies are mostly characters from movies, Princess and the Pauper, Disney Princesses, etc. They were lovely gowns (modest) or interesting "homemade" outfits from things like socks, scarves, etc. The rule is that they be appropriately dressed. If we receive a Barbie as a gift with skimpy clothes we lose those clothes and come up with something else.
My girls spend lots of time being mommies to their dolls. But they also spend lots of time going to balls or having tea parties. Their play with the Barbies mimicks this type of play. They aren't "dating" Ken or GI Joe or dressing up like starlets.
Just my $.02!
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Patty LeVasseur
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Okay don't throw tomotoes, but I have a Barbie joke...A man went into a store to buy a Barbie for his daughter. He asked the store clerk how much the Pilot Barbie cost and was told $10. How much is the Doctor Barbie? Again she was $10. Surprised he saw one doll was called divorced Barbie. How much is this one he asked. The clerk told him that she was $200. Why is she so expensive? Well, she comes with Ken's house, and Ken's car, and.....
My daughter who is 10 has Barbies that she loves to play with. I don't think that Barbie is evil, but I do think some of the clothes that one can buy for Barbie are pretty close. Not all barbies have the same shape and some of them come clothed modestly. I have seen Barbies that come with a baby complete with a daddy. I also saw one that came with a kitchen that was wearing an apron. That said, when we get a barbie in a bikini from a relative we either re-dress her or get rid of her.
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Glenn
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My six year old was given a few Barbies from relatives. She told me that she really didn't like their clothes because they were immodest, and threw the clothes away. Then she made some outfits for them out of felt and fabric scraps. She really prefers her baby dolls, but every once in a while she pulls out the Barbies. The other day she came home from Walmart, where she was shopping with husband, and told me about these horrilbe dolls they had. "Mama, they were so ugly, and they were called RATS dolls!" I knew exactly what she was talking about.
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MicheleQ
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Patty LeVasseur wrote:
| Not all barbies have the same shape and some of them come clothed modestly. I have seen Barbies that come with a baby complete with a daddy. I also saw one that came with a kitchen that was wearing an apron. |
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I have noticed this too. There's the classic disporportioned Barbie and newer one with smaller bre*sts, a waist and wider hips. She actually looks real - well, not mom real but twenty-something no babies yet real.
A favorite os ours is the one that comes with a pregnant belly and baby. There's also a daddy and grandma and grandpa. Anyway I played with Barbies when I was a kid and loved them. We don't have tons of them but we do have some and my daughters like them. Yeah I find them naked sometimes but I just make a joke of it "oh my gosh - Barbie's going to freeze get her dressed!" and don't worry much about it. I don't like the skimpy clothes either so we make our own.
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KC in TX
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I thought I would never have Barbies either, but my girls love them. They play family with them. I try to keep them dressed and only let them wear modest clothes. I feel the same way about Bratz too. My children know I don't like them and so stay away from them at the store.
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Bridget
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We don't have Barbies. I have enough trouble keeping clothes on my children, much less Barbies. I remember how uncivilized my brothers were with mine as kids. Hopefully, homeschooled boys would behave more gentlemanly.
I do remember reading somewhere that Barbie is a highly requested item of prison inmates.  Don't know how true that is...
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My daugther has several Barbies, all of the "princess" variety--no beach bimbo Barbies in our house. However, she literally never plays with them. I think by the time she is eight, they will be gone. A brief blip in her childhood. My daughter much prefers animals over dolls, for some reason...we don't even have any pets. On second thought, maybe that's why she likes stuffed animals. We have babies, but no pets...LOL!
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Michelle in IL
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I REALLY don't like Barbies. I did NOT play with them as a kid--I was a total tomboy. I definitely did not like her proportions and flighty, frivolous ways. I decided long before I had kids that we would not be doing the Barbie thing. When my daughter was barely 2, I taught her to say "Barbie destroys your self-image". It was very cute. To this day we all cringe and say, "Yuck! Barbie!" when we go near that aisle at Walmart.
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Kathryn UK
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Dawnie wrote:
| I would be interested to hear of other's experiences in playing w/ Barbie dolls that *did not* involve s*xual role play. |
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Some Barbies drifted in here, but they were only ever used for gymnastic competitions, with long lists of moves they had to perform and complicated score sheets. I think they were often naked because clothes obstructed splits and flips! Eventually the Barbies broke or disappeared. There was never any real enthusiasm for Barbie as Barbie.
Baby dolls got a lot more use, mainly from my elder dd who loved her babies dearly.
Polly Pockets were popular for a while, mostly used for setting up houses (we had some PP furniture).
Bratz are a no go, and neither of the older girls has wanted them.
$
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Cici
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Chiming in with my .02...
I'm not a big fan of Barbie. BUT i don't think I would say no to her. Someone bought my dd (4.5) a Cinderella princess Barbie last year for Christmas and she rarely comes out. She is definitely more of a babydoll/stuffed animal kind of girl. My family knows I'm not a big Barbie fan - for no concrete reason, really - but I don't ban them.
Now, BRATZ dolls - absolutely no way. Everyone else knows too!
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MarieC
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Kathryn UK wrote:
| There was never any real enthusiasm for Barbie as Barbie. |
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This is what happens at our house. We have a lot of weddings and families with the Barbies.
The girls are very good at getting rid of immodest clothing. I think in some ways it has provided a good way to discuss clothing w/ my girls w/o pointing out an actual person's poor choice.
However, we have a lot of baby dolls and they are played with a lot by the younger girls.
My big problem w/Barbie is the mess. All those pieces and parts. Little bitty shoes. Barbie is one of the few toys at our house that you have to ask permission to play with. And I frequently say no! We recently got rid of a lot of stuff and I throw out shoes I find.
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momwise
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stefoodie wrote:
| i split her mouth with a razor blade because i was playing doctor with the IV stuff my mom took home from the hospital (clean and unused but for some reason she was always getting free stuff, maybe because she worked there for a number of years), and the face was the only soft part of her that i could put the IV needle in (yes, i was allowed to play with needles, etc.). |
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Oh my goodness Stef, you gave me a great laught this morning.
You too Pattie with the joke.
My mom never let us play with Barbie. For that reason alone I never allowed Barbie, even before I really understood why...thanks Mom.
I turned out my Mom wanted dolls to offer a positive view of motherhood. She bought my little sisters and I the Sunshine Family, similar in size to Barbie, different body shape and came with husband and kids. Anybody else ever have the Sunshine Family?
EDITED: Stef I just came back to say I hope I wasn't laughing at a bad memory or anything. My grandpa was a Dr., so my grandma used to let us give shots to dolls and grapefruits. 
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momwise
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Oh, I forgot to mention Bling Bling Barbie is now on sale:
From the Amazon description
Doll is dripping in faux diamonds and faux jewel-encrusted clothing from head to toe
Comes with a hot outfit, a glamorous side fashion, and tons of bling-themed piece count like a fun purse, a cell phone, and make-up
Each doll comes with a totally sparkly bling ring for the girl
My Scene Collection
Kathryn UK wrote:
| Some Barbies drifted in here, but they were only ever used for gymnastic competitions, with long lists of moves they had to perform and complicated score sheets. I think they were often naked because clothes obstructed splits and flips! |
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Still laughing...oh I have to dry my eyes!
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Barbie
