We've all seen them - dolls dressed provocatively. And the toy maker's target audience? Our little girls. So, what do you think? Harmless child's play of harmful messages? Do you buy these dolls for your daughter, or do you refuse?

Our daughter has some Barbies (just the regular ones and a couple from the fairy type movies) but she knows we do not buy the "trampy" ones! I just don't get it really...what is the point really? I remember Caeli was only around 2-2 1/2 when Brats came out and whenever the commercial would come on, I would say ewww..we don't like those dolls....well my hubby's dad (who we don't really see very often) sends her this Christmas package with all Brats stuff...2 dolls, a hair salon, all this stuff. She was so excited when the package got here and then she opened it and saw what was in there and immediately looked at me to see what I was thinking...so knowing how excited she was to be getting anything from him..I say..Oh wow, look what you got! She was just so happy about it....now she could really care less about them.Now that she's 7 we've had the conversation about dressing appropriately and how you present yourself to people is important.....let's hope it sticks..haha

I think you are definitely right to talk to your daughter about dressing appropriately, especially when she sees other girls dressed *other* ways. I'm sure my DD sees a lot at school. I have to make sure to do my job and give her the right foundation at home so that she won't seek out attention in other ways. I think that is often times the root of the problems with young girls.

My daughter has plenty of regular Barbies. I don't allow her to have any of the Bratz dolls or other dolls like them though. It's not just the way they dress, but the way they look as well. Little girls are very impressionable. To hand them these kinds of "toys" and then tell them it's not ok to dress like them or act the part is double speak. My daughter's grandparent's know that we don't like Bratz dolls. In fact Jordan was looking through a TRU catalog before Christmas last year. She gets to the Bratz page and she points to a doll and tells her grandmother "A girl in my class got one of those dolls and she turned into a Brat!" I know I shouldn't laugh, but I thought it was kind of funny.

I don't like the bratz dolls either. My daughter has lots of barbies and princess barbie dolls.
I agree the the bratz look to trashy.

Casmly, that is too funny what your daughter said! Well, you won't find any Bratz dolls in my DD's room. But what really strikes me is that the toy companies are only doing what sells. And who do you think is buying these dolls? Mhm. The parents. I only wish that lack of sales would have had to force them to stop selling the dolls. Too bad it was the other way around!

I'm sure there are certainly a large number of parents that purchase these for their daughters. But, I have to wonder about grandparents as well. My children's grandparents all hate them and know not to purchase them, however...I know that they are often times too eager to please my children. My kids come home with candy or "junk" that was purchased at the store while they were spending time with their Grandparents. Then of course I feel it would be too rude to approach them and say don't buy my kids junk. I just wish our society wasn't so material. How many toys can two children play with anyway? Let's just say that I'm using our possible move as a time to purge as much stuff as I can=-)

I guess I'll be the "radical" mom here. My 3.5 year old doesn't know what Barbie is yet and I'm going to try to keep it that way for at least a little longer. Bratz, ugh. She plays with baby dolls and stuffed animals. Her baby dolls run the gamut from thrift store plastic to high end waldorf doll and she names them. I really want to try to let my little girl stay little instead of confronting issues like this so soon!

MM:
I think we are on the same page, then. I don't buy Barbies or Bratz (you're right..ugh!) She gets Barbies from Grandma sometimes and I don't freak out. But she doesn't seem too interested in them (maybe that's b/c they mysteriously disappear)

hehehe..batteries disappear around here, so I get that. I am lucky that I just tell my in laws what to get for her and they do that. My parents are gone now so that's a non issue, though before my mother died she bought sophie a huge cabbage patch kid and now i'm glad we have that thing just so she has something from her nana.