does anyone have an alternative to the barbie doll for children to play with? i want my daughter to be able to do "role-playing" but am very much anti-barbie. suggestions please! big love jami
oh yeah!!! here's feral cheryl! she's an awesome doll. http://www.feralcheryl.com.au/ she's a bit pricey though. my daughter and i just made one today from an old doll of hers. she really is the anti barbie. kathy
Littleleftie has a tshirt that says barbie is a doll not a goal. Really cute. So far my son has had no interest in any females except Dora. Kathi
when i was a little girl my mom and i made dolls together we made dolls of what i thought were pretty i dont remeber how we made them but there all kinds of places that an tell you how to make dolls... i remeber being so proud of my dolls because no one else had them but i was also an odd child some chldren want waht the other children have... anyway... making dolls together can be fun and something you can do together... you can also find out more about your child... ask them how they want there dolls to be and you will see what you child veiws as what the world should look like...
Paper dolls of children are great. The kid can change the clothes, but they are children, and look and dress like children. I, personally, don't mind Barbie (but understand that people do) but I HATE the Bratz! (Sage was at a birthday party for her little freind and one of the "fluff mamas" gave this child a Bratz doll, the birhday girl's mom, who is pretty all natural ect, just had this look on her face "Oh, look, a Brat......." Oh, I felt so bad for her. I said nuthin.....It's amazing. I was looking for IMAGINATIVE toys for this little girl (procrastinated, so I didn't order from a catalogue) and I went to Targay, and I could NOT find Food Toys. I asked where they were, and I was told, "Oh we have those at Christmas, those are Seasonal items." Kids only play kitchen around Christmas? YET, they had an entire AISLE of Bratz. I made a comment to the sales guy, (I think I used the work 'prostitute" in description of the dolls :& ) and he just stared at me like I was crazy. (I think he drooled a little, hey, dude, WIPE that!) Sigh. We had a really cool toy store around here, all natural, wood, imaginative toys ect. It went out of business. Sage is constantly asking to go there. All we have around here is Toys R Us, Target, K Mart and War mart (as my baby calls it.)
I played with Barbies, but I really prefered regular, full sized dolls. I think a lot of kids do. They're more fun to play with and they're nicer. I always played with American Girl dolls growing up. They're neat because they're girls at various different points in history. I'm sure some of you remember the books. I had a Kirsten doll and my friend Hannah had a Samantha doll. They're beautifully made and they last forever, but they're also very expencive. I was lucky, my parents got me two. (about five years apart from eachother. I was still playing with dolls when I was 12) The mini-dolls are pretty reasonable, though. http://store.americangirl.com/pls/ag/ag_agc_splash?catid=109588
I was going to mention Feralcheryl, she is just so cool. Might get one for me to play with Totally agree with Maggie, it's tragic the state of children's toys these days. No wonder they're screwed up. Bratz really are vulgar. I used to love paper dolls too, would even make them outfits myself. I did used to have Barbies, never played with them 'properly' though, actually had more fun with Actionman stuff. My favourite dolls were baby dolls (specifically Tiny tears). Those weren't as good as my dollshouse though. Every girl should have one. I ended up with an insane amount of Sylvanian (sp) families junk. (The brand's still going too.) Of course nothing can beat special homemade items (Grandad and I created and furnish a whole house between us) It's such a wonderful toy because it encompasses so many activities; art/design (making furnishings), history (if you get old fashioned items), and just your basic roleplay. In fact I now have a 'grown up' dollhouse or two. So yup life long fun
I always had my Barbies having sex with each other. Oh, and with GI Joe, too, they always liked him more than Ken. (Ken is the kinda dude who takes you shopping, not screws with you.)
i started playing with barbies cause there was nothing else and the teenage mutant ninjas turtles must have got boring.
michael - dora is okay for the wee ones. maybe 2-5 years? a lot of older kids find her annoying. my sister used to torture our barbies too. she put them in front of a firing squad (imaginary, of course, lol) and shoot them off the stairs! maggie - we also made them have sex. and we drew nipples on them too for some reason, lol! I can't imagine my girl playing the games we did, lol! sage - i want a feralcheryl for myself too! i love those american girl dolls! very nice! my 10 year old would love them too. she collects china dolls as well. kathi - i like those shirts at littlelefties. very cute! my girl loves her dolls, but the thing she plays with the most is the craft things. same with my boy. paper, scissors, glue, tape, anything from the recycle bin, fabric, yarn, glitter, paint., etc. they are always creating. i love it even though it's so messy! kathy
When I was a kid (a zillion years ago in a more progressive time) there was an alternative to barbie called the Sunshine Family.The momma doll had no make up and the dad had sideburns and there was a baby and a really really groovy pick-up truck camper thingy they lived in.My mom bought them for me but sort of hated them,she called them "those hippie dolls"(like it was a bad thing!) You can actually still find em on Ebay,but pricey as antiques or collectibles or whatever they call em. I do allow Kali to play with Barbie but we've discussed things like her unrealistic proportions.Luckily I have raised her well enough she won't go near those bratz,says they look skanky. DH says they look like chicks from the Bronx who roll you for blow,memories of a wasted youth..
I was determined to not allow Barbies in my house, but somehow, we got a ton of them! All Maddie plays with are the horses and the pets, though! But, lately, since she started reading and writing, she's been making her own books! She glues the pages together, writes the stories, draws the pictures, everything! It's so cute! I hate the Bratz, too. I think I mentioned in another thread somewhere how the partyvan has a bar with martini glasses in the back! Plus, they just look sleazy.
i had the sunshine family too (i'm 35). i loved them! but when i was a teen i made them into a punk rock family and i still have them, lol! kind of wish they were in their original condition though. my daughter got a catwoman barbie for christmas (from my sister, grrr). my daughter and i both hate her! she looks like an s&m fetish barbie. we destroyed her together, hee-hee! my daughter does have barbies but she noticed how unrealistic her body is too. I sorta like the fairy barbies though. anything with fairies is cool in my opinion! i hate bratz! they do look very trashy and i hate the bored/spoiled expressions on their faces. at least barbie looks happy, lol! kathy
LOL Oh that is adorable. Do save them as keepsakes. Always wished I'd saved my really early stories. They'll be wonderful to look back on in years time.
To be honest I wasn't really a doll person, I was a stuffed animal person. BUT I did have a Cabbage Patch that I really loved, and a Kid Sister who was fun too. I don't know if they count as dolls because they're big and have soft bodies, but I liked them. And of course, they didn't have all the weird body issues that bratz and barbie have!
My girls love barbie, lol. I played with barbies and I guess I turned out OK without any serious issues. I agree that the Bratz and Divas and other are just too mature for the audience they are marketed to. It is soo hard to find good playthings for children my kids like puzzles and coloring pages, Zoe's favorite thing right now is a barbie of swan lake coloring desk my mom got for her. They perfer the regular sized baby dolls though for playing mama, and their brother has a habit of holding al the dolls hostage for ransom or ripping off the heads, lol. children will be children. We don't allow alot of those light up electronic toys because of what they can do to a developing brain. with all the scary toys out there I guess barbie is my least concern, I'm more concerned over the new "spy" toys which are all the rage with my son's friends. I just don't think that he should be able to listen to my conversations from afar, or take secret photos of people, or any of the other war/spy related stuff that is out there.
i used to love the american girls things...they each had a little series of about 6 book each, and i read all of them! 'each feryl cheryl comes with a little pouch of dried basil..' ahahahaha
I played with Barbies as a child, and you know, the only real problem I had with them didn't have to do with their body. I was jealous of their beautiful stinking hair. I wanted my hair to be like theirs. *lol* My Barbies didn't have a Ken. My mom somewhat discouraged me from getting a Ken doll by offering the choice of a Ken or a Barbie, and Barbie just was way more fun than Ken was, because Barbie had all of the pretty clothes, the little accessories, and that beautiful stinking hair that I could sit and play with for hours. I used my bendable Gumby for the guy, or sometimes just stuffed animals that were crowned as males. I really don't mind Barbies to be honest. We have just one at our house, but I don't know if it's the type she is, or what, but I don't think that her body porportions are all that bad. Seriously, her legs go on for miles still, but I swear that the ones I had as a little girl had a LOT bigger boobs on them and were a lot more unrealistic. My husband says I only think that because I'm older now, and as a little girl, Barbie's boobs looked enormous to me, but I don't buy it. The Barbie we have here (that my daughter doesn't want anything to do with anyway at this point in time) doesn't have as shocking measurements as the ones I remembered. But maybe the Barbie we have isn't an "adult" Barbie. Maybe she's supposed to be a teenager? I don't know. She seems about the same size as the adult ones, but who knows.
I played with barbies growing up, but I destroyed all of mine. They all went down the creek in boats or rafts my brother and I made...lol Our girls don't seem interested in them yet. They really do like the evi dolls they have though. We have the oriental ones and the farm family. They are Waldorf style. I like them because they are well made and open ended as far as make believe goes! Magic cabin sells them: http://www.magiccabin.com/magiccabin/product.do?section_id=2&bc=1004&pgc=209&sv=8500&cmvalue=MCD|2|DOLL%20%20PLAY%20DEPARTMENTS|8500|COLLECTION|8500|8500-P3
