Little girls' toys aren't for little girls anymore. We recently asked DD what she might like for her upcoming birthday. She desperately wants a Bratz doll...*ugh* I've been opposed to those Bratz dolls since they first came on the scene: number one because of the name, which implies that it's cool to be a bratty little kid; number two, because of those skimpy little outfits; and number three, because of the ridiculous cartoon of the same name.
Not that Barbie is much better, but come on... then I saw this article today, which affirms my original parental instincts. The bigger question is: how do we protect kids from these kinds of influences, but educate them to know why they are bad influences - - throw out the tv (I wish, but DH would go into convulsions). We struggle with this every day.
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4 comments:
i also cling to the tv. we almost exclusively watch the program house and pbs. tabitha has lobbied for quitting tv too. in fact we have gone on mini sabbaticals from it. the kids behave better after the initial shock of a few days. but, we always digress after a little while.
we struggle with the same things that you describe and have yet to find the perfect answer. when you do let us know.
As a mom whose daughters have a trunk of Bratz under their bed...I used to have the same concerns. And then one day, as I launched into one of my mini-lectures about said concerns, one daughter (don't remember which one) rolled her eyes and said, "They're just dolls, Mom. They're not real."
So. Point taken. I've mellowed considerably since then. But I think I've just always tried to instill some common sense in them for dealing with the things of the world, rather than shielding them from some of those things.
We have the same TV dichotomy at our house. As much as I'd like to throw it out, DH would start twitching. (Worse yet, our 17-year-old TV just died and now we have a Big Screen. But wow, The Sound of Music is AWESOME on that thing :)
So I take the opportunity to point out to the girls the techniques advertisers are using to try and make them want something. And now they recognize and laugh at advertising tactics.
And they think the teenage girls they know that do dress like Bratz look slutty.
(Rafe likes to play Bratz, too, but his Brat inevitably ends up tranforming into a flying superhero, which makes the girls mad and he gets kicked out of their bedroom.)
Sorry to turn this into a novel. But I'd forgotten about that little memory until I read your post. Thanks for jogging my brain :) I remember thinking, "Wow, something I say has actually registered!" It was a Good Mom moment :)
This is such a tough one for us as well. We do not have girls, but even with boys I cringe when a Victoria's Secret commercial comes on or anything of the like. Im hoping the TV falls off the moving truck so that I can just get rid of the darned thing. Hang in there and don't give in!!!
The Bratz dolls make Barbie look like the girl next door. We haven't had a problem yet cuz my almost five year still listens to mommy on matters such as this but I know the day will come when I start getting push back.
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