What age for American Girl?

[tanyaandallie]

I know I saw a thread about this a while back but cannot find it!! Anyone that has purchased one for their child, what age were they and did they like it? I thought I would buy one for my dd when she turns 5 but then read on their site that they are recommended for ages 8 and up. Would a 5 year old like it or should I wait? I'm not opposed to waiting at all! I don't want to buy her something that expensive is she will not LOVE it.

 

[ZanneMarie]

My DD got her first one when she was 4 and another when she was 5. She LOVES her dolls and plays with them pretty often. She does not take care of the hair very well and it doens't look the best but she is still very happy with them. She also doens't keep track of the little items like shoes as well as I would like but we did get her a storage cabinet for Christmas that seems to be helping some.

 

[Beehn]

My DD5 has the Bitty Baby and the Bitty twins. We haven't done one of the full blown dolls yet. The twins have hair, so I thought that might be a good first step. My little girl really isn't into dolls, so all the little parts and outfits just get strung out all over. But every girl is different.

 

[TaraZ]

My DD 2yo has a Bitty Baby and loves it. Perhaps either a Bitty Baby or Bitty Twins? They have fashions, strollers, accessories, etc. If you think your DD will appreciate the bigger dolls, I say go for it. I'm sure we'll have at least a few at our house by the time my DD is 5!

 

[momto2greatgirls]

My DD got hers when she had just turned 6, LOVED it then, loves all 3 of hers now (age 9). I wouldn't wait if you think she'll like it. I will also say it got her totally interested in reading (more than simple 1st grade books) the books that came with the dolls.

 

[daisyduck123]

At 5you, I recommend Bitty Baby.

My DD got Bitty Baby for her 5th b-day & played with her everyday for a couple of years. IMO...the regular dolls are for slightly older girls. Why rush them?

 

[2moms]

My DD got hers last year when she was 3 (almost 4) and loves hers. I do have to say that I put it on top of her tall dresser for awhile, but she really got back into playing with it before Christmas this year. I have to agree with a previous poster who said that some of the smaller items are hard to keep track of (shoes and other accessories), but I took them away after picking them up for the millionth time and she hasn't really seemed to notice.

Maybe start with a bitty baby to see how she likes it? My DD wanted a "big girl" like her cousin was getting...so maybe if she picks it out herself she'd have more of an attachment to it...

Either way, they're great dolls so you can't really go wrong.

 

[_queenie_]

My DD3.5 has one, but obviously right now she's just playing with her (not into the the books). I would say it's not really the dolls themselves that are for ages 8+, but the books that come along with them, my DD13 didn't really get into them until she was in second grade.

 

[katie111]

I agree that it depends on the child. My DD5.5 got one for Christmas. She didn't really know much about them, we just started getting the catalogs in the mail. Mostly she wanted the Christmas dress & a doll with the matching dress. Well, that was her big present for Christmas. She loved it Christmas day but since then hasn't done much with it. Occasionally she'll put it in her PJ's but thats about it. Kind of a disappointment but she's never really been into dolls so I don't know what I expected.

 

[Lady V]

My daughter got her first one when she was 5. She got her next one when she was 6. For her seventh birthday we went to the American Girl Cafe and Bistro in Atlanta and had lunch and she went major shopping!! it was awesome. and they have a hair salon there to fix and restyle the hair. My sister is friends with the manager there so the hair was free!! yea!! (would have been around 25 a doll) My daughter loves her dolls so much. she calls them her children and I am their Grandma!

 

[dreamer17555]

My daughter got her first one when she was four (she was about to turn 5 a month later) Honestly only recently does she really play with them. She just turned 6. I like the historic girls and we read the stories together. They are a great toy but I would wait until she really wants one. Dressing those dolls is expensive!

-Becca-

 

[Ariel8676]

HI..i got my dd her first Bitty baby when she was 1..she now has the Bitty baby and 3 American girl dolls, she's 6.., My 5 yo has a BB and 3 American girl dolls and my 2 yo has BB and BB twins...they all love them and take good care of them, and play with them all the time

 

[tanyaandallie]

OK, so it's not necessarily the doll itself that is recommended for 8+ it's that the doll is more than a doll and comes with a book? I didn't realize that. Can someone explain the book thing?

My dd is just LOVING having some clothes to dress up her dolls. She is perfectly happy dressing up her $10 doll from Walmart but I have seen so much hoopla over the American Girl I am just pondering. Any other comments welcome!!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Honestly, if your DD is happy dressing up a $10 doll, I would just stick to that until she asks for AG. AG dolls, accessories and outfits are expensive. Plus, they are really addicting for moms who could only dream of having such a nice doll with such neat accessories as a child ... . Stay away as long as you can!

Seriously though, my DD got a AG doll for Christmas when she was 5 from Grandma. She liked the doll, but her giant baby from wal-mart (huge, ugly $10 baby in a box that came with 3 outfits) actually got a lot more play time.

Now, I could sit and style her AG doll's hair for hours, but that is another story.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Can someone explain the book thing?

The historical dolls and girl of the year dolls have books starring the particular doll. You can buy the books at regular book stores or at AG. The books are geared toward girls a bit older than 5 (from my understanding ... we don't have any of the books and I haven't read one).

 

[mickeysmyboy]

My DD got her first one for Christmas 06. She was 5 at the time. She loves them and all the close and stuff. She their hair, dresses them up, etc.

If your not sure maybe you can her a My Disney Girl (same size as an American Girl Doll and looks pretty much the same) or one of the American Girl Doll like dolls they sell at Target. That way you have spent all that money for nothing.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our DD is 4. She has two Bitty baby's, the blonde Bitty twins and two AG dolls. She has Marisol and Nicki. Mia is next on her list.
She is our only girl. I live through her...lol.

Anyway, she loves them. She plays with them often and takes really good care of them. Nicki's hair is a little tough to keep neat but, I help with that.

It is a rather addicting hobby.

 

[PA Princess]

We ahve two girls ages 7 and 3. Both of our girls are really into doll play and will play "babies" for hours on end together. We started looking at the AG catalogue together last year and having conversations about whether they would be interested in any of the AG dolls.

DD7 had little interest most of the historical dolls. She did really liked Julie (the new 70's doll who did not look historical to dd since 70's stuff is so in today). So for Christmas dd7 received Julie and dd3 (actually turned 3 only 5 days before Christmas) received the dark haired bitty twins.

All the dolls and things were fussed over and adored on Christmas and for a few weeks after Christmas. These days Julie sits on the shelf more than she is played with, but those Bitty twins are played with constantly! Both of my girls just love those twins...and they are really cute! My 7 year old has even asked for the blonde twins for her

 

[collcass]

I would start with the twins. It isn't just the book that makes the dolls recommended for age 8.

They used to have a smaller doll line called Hopscotch Hill. DD got those at 4,5&6. At 7 she Samantha and has one each subsequent year.

We got my niece one last year for her birthday. (5yr old) I thought she was way too young but she really wanted to be a big girl. I also got my 3yr old niece a bitty baby. She likes it, but plays with other (far less expensive) dolls more often

 

[MichelleinMaine]

They're extremely cheap and the hair is -horrible-.

If you have a Tuesday Morning store nearby, check there for Goetz Precious Day dolls. We got ours there $30 (so comparable price to Target, but much better quality.) The Goetz company made the original AG dolls.

To answer the OP, DD is 7 and asked for a "big kid" doll (eg not a baby doll) for Christmas. She adores that thing! She chose a brunette and we've been readint the AG historical books. Long brown hair qualifies her to be both Molly and Samantha. I sew her appropriate outfits for each.

Check etsy . com for more reasonably priced clothes too. Cute stuff there!