Warning- A rant about Bratz ensues.

[elizke]

Wow, I though I was the only one who refused to buy those things.

My daughter (7) at times really pested me about my refusal, and I explained to her every time why I did not like them. For me it's not just the clothes and makeup, but the incredibly nasty look on their faces. Heck, the very name of the dolls says it all and I won't buy here anything with "Bratz" even printed on it.

I can't stand buying anything for my daughter that tries to make brattyness seem admirable, and Bratz dolls are certainly not alone. This goes for t-shirts with haughty expressions or, worse, pants with these expressions on the butt. Really, what is up with all that?????

E.

 

[IwasatWDWforamonth]

I like them in fact I have three here on my desk looking at me
I never thought of them like that ,,but now that you mention it I totally see your point.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Okay, this is my morning irony. We seriously are sitting here having this conversation with our almost 6 year old right now. She doesn't understand why we won't let her have them. So we have explained it yet again. She is wearing a light jacket that says bratz in very small writing on the sleeve. My MIL gave it to her. It's the only jacket she has that's the right weight for the weather we are having right now so I've let her wear it. Needless to say we will be going out tonight to get a light jacket that DOESN'T say Bratz on it. I have explained to her why we don't approve of Bratz toys and she is very disappointed. I just don't get it. They appeal to her like nothing else seems to. I just hate the sight of them.

 

[Disney_1derland]

I think the appeal of these dolls, for the adults who buy them for children, is the fact that they do make fun of all the prudish silliness out there.

Perhaps, but my child is not quite 6. They are NOT appropriate for that age group at all. We are probably the furthest from 'prudish' you can get and we do not approve of these things as toys for our children.

 

[LastTycoon]

A doll for those sophisticated six-year-olds who find Barbie too chaste? They look like baby Hooter's girls.

 

[bicker]

I guess your MIL disagrees!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

The fact that you have to pull their whole FEET off to change their shoes creeps me out!

DD7 has a few but doesn't play with them much at all. She prefers her AG dolls and Disney Princess Barbie dolls.

 

[taximomfor4]

Never really minded them for my kids. My oldest dd (8th grade) started out with them several yrs ago-- got them at her dad's house for birthday or something. Brought them home, and when she got tired of them (around 10 yrs old) gave them to next dd (5 at the time). I didn't really care. DD3 plays with them all the time.

And just for the record, dd12 and dd7 both have a strong aversion to revealing too much (clothing-wise). Oldest dd is beautiful and very trim, but even after several years of playing with Bratz dolls, she is definitely one of the most conservatively dressed kids at her Jr High bus stop. Even dd3 is funny about clothing - skirts have to touch her knees, etc. I am confident that they have not been harmed in any way by playing with bratz, they don't choose their own outfits to try to emulate bratz dolls, and they know the difference between crazy bratz clothes, barbie clothes, and their own clothes.

 

[Pixiedust34]

You're not alone. We don't like Bratz, either. We don't own any.

 

[MsLeFever]

However, there was a time a while back when she thought she wanted some thong underwear (wasn't because of Bratz, but because she saw them hanging in Walmart). I gave her a wedgie at home and cleared up that notion right quick.

 

[LisaNJ25]

barbie are not much better these days... look at this one;

http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/product.aspx?product_id=61236&shelfid=150004

Can her legs get any longer..

I dont like the baby bratz.. they look stupid to me. The regular bratz my daughter has had a few of but she is not really in to dolls.

What is worst is the chlothing they make for girls these days.. they want them to grow up to fast.

 

[cepmom]

barbie are not much better these days... look at this one;

http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/product.aspx?product_id=61236&shelfid=150004

Can her legs get any longer..

I dont like the baby bratz.. they look stupid to me. The regular bratz my daughter has had a few of but she is not really in to dolls.

What is worst is the chlothing they make for girls these days.. they want them to grow up to fast.

well, she is a model after all........


I can't stand these dolls either...what ever happened to a regular plain old Barbie doll???

 

[Poohbear123]

Thanks for the morning LAUGH I can actually picture that!

 

[taylor1293]

I think they are really ugly, but both my girls have the regular bratz dolls. I don't see what the big deal is. I don't teach my children that toys are roll models so they don't look up to them as one. And they've certainly never expressed an interest in dressing like them.

They are toys, nothing more. I have to admit that I think it’s funny that some people get in such an uproar over a doll.

Also, I love how the feet come off. Makes it easy to wear the shoes, unlike with Barbie where the shoes continually fall off.

Teresa

 

[mommaU4]

Just thought I'd put in my .02 for what it's worth.

I buy the Bratz dolls. I like them. My DD has about 15 of them and about 20 Barbies. My twins who are 5 and a half just got their own Bratz dolls for X-mas. They got the cowboy ones with the horse. They love em. So far they haven't asked me for a horse or a denim mini skirt. They just play with the dolls the same way they play with anything else.

My DD9 got into them when she was about 7. She hasn't asked to dress like them or go walk the streets. She is a kid and doesn't read into the dolls the same things an adult does. On the package for the Bratz horse it said something like "Hop on for a wild ride." My mom was shocked to see that. I said that's because you are looking at it as an adult. You are reading into it. Disney movies sometimes contain references that only an adult would get or read into. I don't see it as a big deal and will keep buying them. (I don't buy the baby Bratz so I cannot comment on those. My kids don't like those or the petz)

Maybe someday my DD's will be old enough to "get it" but by then I will have much worse things to worry about I'm sure.

BTW, I have two of my own sealed in the box that I am saving. One is a Vegas one. (I love Vegas, guess I'm just evil all the way around. ) The other is a pirate one that I just think is cool.

 

[TheRatPack]

My dd (10) has quite a collection of them. They have not influenced her boy like dressing in any way LOL She has never been one to care what she wears, or if it even matches and Bratz clothing has no bearing on what she wants to buy at the stores.

It may influence some girls, but that is where mom comes in and says "this is a doll, it's not real and you can't dress like that". My dd can't dress like a lot of the Barbies she has either, no wearing a swan princess dress to school this week

As ugly as some of these dolls are, she likes them and she plays with them. There are too many other things in the world that worry me, dolls are on the bottom of my list. My son doesn't dress like GIJoe either...just for the record LOL

 

[mommaU4]

Also, I love how the feet come off. Makes it easy to wear the shoes, unlike with Barbie where the shoes continually fall off.

Teresa

Oh, I know! I hate the Barbie shoes. They are so teeny and always get lost. When we get a Barbie I just throw the shoes away since I know they will soon be gone anyways.

 

[cepmom]

I don't not buy them because I think my DD's will want to dress like them or grow up to look like a hooker, I just think they are a waste of money and I don't like them myself. I don't think a doll has the capability to make children do something they wouldn't normally do, but I also don't want to give money to companies that create such hideous things. I don't understand the mentality in marketing these things to such young girls. (well, besides the obvious $$)

Knowing my DD like I do, I knew they would end up at the bottom of the toy bin anyway. I would rather spend my hard earned money on things that have some better quality or value to them that she will actually play with!

 

[Princess Dot]

I think they are ugly, but we have a bunch of them here bought by my girls, given as gifts from others, and even a couple I bought.

To me they are just dolls. They are pretty easy to dress and I like that the feet and the shoes are attached because it makes it much easier for little hands to put them on.

As for Barbie, my older girls used to play with my Barbie clothes from the 70s which included some seriously short miniskirts. Not that much different from the Bratz. You should have seen some of the outfits my girls put together!

To me that is the fun of dolls. You get to pretend and have them look and dress and act in ways that you would never do. Did we ever wear those poofy ball gowns that we dressed Barbie in? Did we ever have the figure that Barbie did? Not me anyway! LOL!

BTW, they also love to play with Madeline dolls, American Girl dolls, little pet shop animals, Barbies, Disney dolls, etc. Often they have all the dolls playing together!

Every parent of course has the right and responsibiluty to decide what they think are appropriate toys for their families and I do not mean to knock anyone that has taken a stand against Bratz dolls. I too have my limits about other things and are often told the familiar "Everyone elses mother lets them..." so I commend you on your fortitude! Sometimes we just have to pick and chose our battles.

 

[Nancy]

My youngest had them, I had no issues with them, they are a doll and a toy...play time. She lost interest real fast and they were sold at our yard sale.