Bratz dolls

[Jamie]

Re: Bratz dolls

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Jodie, what makes you feel differently about the Bratz dolls and the baby dolls?

[Eager Dad]

Re: Bratz dolls

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As a great fan of toys I don’t really understand the reasons why you would want to exclude Brats dolls from your children’s repertoire of play things. As a young boy I played with Barbie dolls and over the long term I don’t see how they effected my feminization, temperament or gender orientation. I certainly haven’t grown up dressed stilettos and my knee joints still operate perfectly well. Bratz dolls for me are merely a modernization of the Barbie doll, incorporating the pop influence of Japanese anime culture. The fact they may appear as ‘trashy’ to some of you is merely a reflection of contemporary fashion. I personally believe fashion to be a great source of creativity for young females and I will certainly encourage my young girl to experiment with what she wares and the makeup she uses. I see fashion as something that empowers women, defines their sexuality and sets their gender apart from men in a positive way.

That said, I think the larger variety of toys the better. Toys are large part of our learning as children and the greater variety the better in my opinion. As adults we are confronted with a mish mash of cultural and social influences, both negative and positive. The more we are exposed to the more rounded people we can become. I think the same applies for children and their playthings.

[hanabi]

Re: Bratz dolls

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I don't feel differently Jamie. She can buy what she wants (what she can afford!) but I'll draw the line at a vast collection of the same toy over and over. That's all. We've got a few already and we don't need any more baby dolls.

[SusanD]

Re: Bratz dolls

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I dont have any issue really wiht the dolls, both my girls own them, they have been given them by friends and yes also from myself as a requested/hoped for birthday present. They also own a wide range of toys from wodden to plastic and everything in between.

As I type this my 3 yr old dd is playign behind me, with make up (kids, yes we bought her that too ) she just finished brushing my hair and is singing a song to her doll. Now i could not allow these things and make sure she has only things that are educational or help stimulate the mind but really doesnt everything they play wiht stimulate the mind? Plus most of all she is haing fun, I am certainly not going to spoil that

[emma]

Re: Bratz dolls

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The recent i would prefer my kids don't have baribies, bratz dolls etc is mainly because i believe children need to use toys that maximise their imagination. A simple doll that can be sad or asleep or aboy or girl and so on. Obvioulsy these type of dolls also reinforce society's stereotypes about women. Got to hate that barbie where the babies comes out with the tummy split open. Finally i prefer toys to be made of natural products, much more enriching

[hanabi]

Re: Bratz dolls

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Enriching for whom Emma? You or your children? And how can you really know?

[Eager Dad]

Re: Bratz dolls

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“The recent i would prefer my kids don't have baribies, bratz dolls etc is mainly because i believe children need to use toys that maximise their imagination.”

Dolls are used for roll playing, in much the same way dress-ups are. Roll playing in my opinion is all about being imaginative.

I find the toys children have to play with are more often than not a reflection of the parent's views, rather than the child's.

[Jamie]

Re: Bratz dolls

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Thanks for your reply Jodie.

Re: Bratz dolls

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I'm interested in my child (at an appropriate age and 5 might be ok for Conor, who knows?) understanding about how some of those toys are created and that is the prime reason I don't buy them. When I asked for Barbies as a child, my mother explained that the women who worked in the factories making Barbie (Taiwan at the time) were not paid enough, had bad working conditions and didn't earn enough money to be able to buy those kinds of toys for their own little girls. So we bought toys that came from workers' collectives and I learnt some valuable lessons.

And for the record, fashion ain't empowering for women. If it was, anorexia would lead to careers in something worthwhile, not death.

[bunty]

Re: Bratz dolls

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I don't have girls and my boys are not the remotest bit interested in dolls of any sort. It is a bit of a relief .


In a sense I think the Bratz dolls are better than Barbie, because they are so comical looking that they probably wouldn't be considered a role model to a young girl. I have a close friend who vehemently disagrees with anything Barbie or Bratz. She feels they are all bad role models for her very tall, red-headed freckly 6 year old, who she says will never fit that 'doll mould'. I did buy her DD a Madeline doll which is the most loved object she owns .

I guess I still censor what my children want. It is controlling isn't it? I just think some toys are appropriate for certain ages, so we don't do Spiderman or Batman or any of those types of theme. They certainly haven't seen the movies that go with the toys. Now I am getting OT.

Would I buy a Bratz doll if I had a girl? Probably not. Would I let them buy one with their own money? Probably, but I might aim to visit a toy shop that doesn't sell them .