Girls & Dolls

[happybratpack]

I don't know how to make this politically correct so I'll just throw it out there.

Does your child have or want dolls that look differently from them? Anything - hair/eyes, race, etc. I'm asking because my SD really has no interest in a doll that isn't blonde/blue like her. Where she lives and goes to school I know there's not much ethnic diversity; I would like to see her branch out more but she has zippo interest. Is this stupid to worry about from an 8 year old? I can't help it, it bothers me.

Just looking for input. Another exciting Saturday night around here.

 

[justaquestion]

I don't know how to make this politically correct so I'll just throw it out there.

Does your child have or want dolls that look differently from them? Anything - hair/eyes, race, etc. I'm asking because my SD really has no interest in a doll that isn't blonde/blue like her. Where she lives and goes to school I know there's not much ethnic diversity; I would like to see her branch out more but she has zippo interest. Is this stupid to worry about from an 8 year old? I can't help it, it bothers me.

Just looking for input. Another exciting Saturday night around here.

She likes them because she identifies with them. If she were Hispanic, those would be the dolls she gravitates to.
I really don't think it means anything in relation to the person she will be.

 

[MariDisney]

My DD7 is interested in other cultures, so she does like dolls that don't look like her (e.g., some of the American Girl dolls). But, I do think it is perfectly natural/developmentally appropriate for kids to primarily gravity towards those toys which are most representative of their actual experiece.

 

[lindalinda]

I think its very nice that you are concerned. I think finding books, movies, etc that have different ethnicities would good and then reading them with her. Maybe a collection of the dolls from different countries? That way even if she wasnt playing with them she would have some reference to them.

 

[happybratpack]

Thanks guys, I was just curious. I don't think it's a reflection of who she will be, justaquestion. We just live in a diverse world and I'd like her to be aware of things.

 

[PaulaSue]

My DD's love and have dolls in all the "colors". Of course where we live, they have many friends with different skin tones. Maybe that is why?

 

[kirbsam]

must be a really slow night.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I know when I was growing up, I wasn't really interested in Barbie dolls at all. Until I found out that Barbie had a Hawai'in friend. Now, I am not Hawai'in but I do have olive skin, dark eyes and dark hair which is why I ended up getting that particular doll. She was the only one I knew of that looked like me.

TOV

 

[LadyBears]

My DD7 hasn't learned to see color. We are white & come from a not very diversified area. DD is friends with the one girl of color in her class. I think there are only a handful of non whites in our entire school system.
We were reading books about Kwanza & being black. She said something about wishing she knew someone she could say Happy Kwanza too. I had to remind her that her friend "F" was black - she could just say it to her.

DD looked at me & with the straightest face in all seriousness said to me "F's black? Yeah, I guess you're right, her skin is browner than ours." I am very proud of her for truly not seeing color, just her friend. I hope she stays like this as she gets older.

Anyway, with that being said, she has various dolls & action figures in different shapes & sizes & colors. She can tell they are different, but she truly doesn't discriminate by choosing one over the other. She plays with them all. Actually, I think she plays with the blue-eyed-blonds like herself LESS than the brunettes & redheads! She just got Mall Madness for Christmas & third time we played, she chose to be the game piece with the black girl.

Now some of her friends - the dolls that they play with the most are the AG dolls that look exactly like themselves.

 

[JoyG]

We were reading books about Kwanza & being black. She said something about wishing she knew someone she could say Happy Kwanza too. I had to remind her that her friend "F" was black - she could just say it to her.

Just a side note here...most black people do not celebrate Kwanzaa, so it's possible your daughter's friend would have no idea what she was talking about. I teach my 3rd graders about Kwanzaa every year, but in reality I have never met a family in real life who celebrates it.

 

[aprilgail2]

Only dolls my daughter wants are blond and blue eyed like herself, she has no interest in any other types.

 

[LadyBears]

Just a side note here...most black people do not celebrate Kwanzaa, so it's possible your daughter's friend would have no idea what she was talking about. I teach my 3rd graders about Kwanzaa every year, but in reality I have never met a family in real life who celebrates it.

Thanks, I didn't know that! She was so excited about being able to say Happy Kwanza to, too. I always thought that because Kwanzaa was around now, that they all celebrated it.

Now I am confused -mind you Kwanzaa didn't exist when I was a kid, so I only know what I have read with my DD - if from your experience that most black people don't celebrate it - why is it in the public eye in such a way that it is supposed to be equal to Christmas & Hanakkah?

 

[JoyG]

Now I am confused -mind you Kwanzaa didn't exist when I was a kid, so I only know what I have read with my DD - if from your experience that most black people don't celebrate it - why is it in the public eye in such a way that it is supposed to be equal to Christmas & Hanakkah?

Here's what I know about Kwanzaa...

It was started by in the late 1960's by an American man, not an African as sometimes thought.

Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday at all. It doesn't have anything to do with God.

Kwanzaa is a time to reflect on our heritage, race and communities, to think about where we've come from and where we're going. There are principles related to that which are celebrated each night.

Like I said before, I personally haven't met anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa. I'm not sure why it seems like it is as big as Christmas or Hanukkah; it's much different especially since it doesn't have anything to do with God.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Now I am confused -mind you Kwanzaa didn't exist when I was a kid, so I only know what I have read with my DD - if from your experience that most black people don't celebrate it - why is it in the public eye in such a way that it is supposed to be equal to Christmas & Hanakkah?

1. Because many people do celebrate it. (My family only celebrates Christmas)

2. Some people just go over board with the PC stuff. Instead of just saying it's a holiday that some black people celebrate, they say we all do.

 

[LadyBears]

I didn't realize it started in the 60's! I was born in the 70's & we NEVER heard about Kwanzaa. I guess that could be because where I grew up there was only MAYBE 3 black families in town???? Now we are like 96 % white, 4% anything else

I knew it wasn't a religious holiday. Maybe with everything trying to become more PC than ever & in trying to teach our kids to be more diversified & accepting of others over the last ten years that it has been pushed into the headlines more??

Thanks for the info!

 

[Aidensmom]

I think kids just gravitate to what they are used to. We live in a pretty ethnically diverse neighborhood, and when my son was in preschool, most of the dolls were african-american, as the majority of the children who attended were. Well, my son is blonde-haired, green-eyed, but when he wanted a doll, he wanted an african-american one, or as he calls it "a brown-skinned" one, as that is what he played with at school. People just tend to be creatures of habit I think. There is nothing wrong with a child wanting a doll of a particular race, be it their own or that of another, it is just what they are used to.

 

[Aidensmom]

Just a side note here...most black people do not celebrate Kwanzaa, so it's possible your daughter's friend would have no idea what she was talking about. I teach my 3rd graders about Kwanzaa every year, but in reality I have never met a family in real life who celebrates it.

My son learned about Kwanzaa in school (and he actually taught me a lot!), but I asked him if anyone in his class (which is probably 90% black) celebrated it, and he said no, they do Christmas. I haven't met anyone who has said they celebrate it either, though I am sure there are people who do. Maybe it is just not celebrated as publicly as other holidays, so we don't realize who celebrates it?