Re: God, Barbies, and Mom
Nathan Whitaker said…
Re: God, Barbies, and Mom
Barbie is banned from our house. I know some are tired of hearing me talk about it, so I won't.
Except for three anecdotes (okay 2, and one basic thought):
1) It has made for good conversations. I've been the driving force. ("Talk to your father," Amy has said from the earliest of days.) I have repeatedly told the girls that truly beautiful women look like their mother or their grandmothers or other real women that we know, not some plastic, impossibly proportioned doll. The disappointment has lasted for about 20 seconds before they forget Barbie and clamor for something else. I allow them to play with Barbies elsewhere ... they just don't enter my house. (Again, my goal has been to start a dialogue - it's not a moral issue.)
2) Despite this, at far too early an age than I thought possible (around 3, as I recall), both girls said separately, "But Dad, Barbie is so beautiful!" (Why would they think this at age 3?)
3) A mom gave a Barbie to Ellie for her fourth birthday. (We've had this happen some, and the girls have learned to graciously accept, and know that we're taking it back to Target for them to find another toy/gift.) This was a first, however, when the mom said to Amy as Ellie opened it, "I'm sorry for this, because I know how you feel about Barbie, but my child picked it and I just couldn't tell her no."
Which is nice, when you knowingly put off the difficult conversation ("No") onto another family.
Posted Mon, Aug 1st @ 10:19am