[quote author="Nude" date=1258599672][quote author="Cubic Zirconia" date=1258596995]Little girls still want a pony nude, only when they are below six.
While I agree that American place is another rip off, I don't see anything wrong with letting kids indulge a little once in a while. I used to be dead against buying Barbies when she was little, and didn't buy her any till she was four. Surprise surprise! All she got for her birthday were barbie dolls partly because her friends thought it was unfair that she didn't have any. She did enjoy dressing them up for a few months before the hands and legs came apart, and thankfully doesn't think girls have to look pretty like Barbie. So these days instead of stopping her from doing everything I disapprove of, I let her try a few things and decide on her own.
I did see the details- they have a chair for the doll @ Bistro. I don't know what girl 6+ still feeds her dolls. But yeah, like I said, if it's a way of life, then I will raise my objections. As long as it is a birthday treat, or something she gets as a reward, I don't mind. As it is I am a cruel mother making the kids eat all organic stuff, don't let them stay up past bedtime and making them read books instead of watching TV.</blockquote>
Again, I am sorry if I came across as judging you. Until I saw this link I was unaware of this store's existence and my post was mostly off the cuff. I'm not against treating kids on their birthday and my nephews and niece can pretty much get what they want, from me, on that day. I'm certain that you are a loving parent with a desire to see your daughter succeed in whatever she wants to do in life.
I don't even object to the dolls themselves so much as the way they are being marketed and the services offered in the store. I was raised by a single mother and taught to respect people regardless of their sex (or race or religion, etc.) and I hold a fundamental belief that people should be allowed to find their own place in the world, but this "store" flies in the face of all of that. It smacks of indoctrination and sexism disguised as a childhood experience, reinforcing the idea that women need to do little more than look good and spend money. This is a "tea party with dolls" turned into a commercial event, complete with tables, wait staff, and stylists, and clothes shopping. What was once done with imagination and tiny plastic tea sets is now given a stamp of validity and realism that can't help but negatively reinforce stereotypes that extend the misogynistic view of women as gold diggers. I mean, kids don't even need to use their imagination anymore, they have a full staff of adults indulging their fantasies right there in the mall! Seriously, if a child's peers are telling her that this is 'cool' either directly or by example at age 5+, what chance do parents have of setting more positive examples and exposing them to real role models like the Secretary of State or the Senator from Texas or the Wall Street analyst or the Software/Civil/Electronic Engineers or the Civil Lawyers or the Police Sergeant?
Sorry, I'll stop hijacking your thread and go back to other areas of the forum
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Nude, if you had told me all this when kiddo was five, I would have freaked out
Now I am at a stage I know that playing tea party, or even making a fancy tea for mommy wouldn't come in the way of becoming an engineer or a doctor,or even the Secretary of State when she grows up. I have played similar games, and so did many of my cousins and friends. None of them ended up being a trophy wife.
Hijacking is fine- feel free to as long as we are still talking about parenting. I would be very interested to know your views on Webkinz.
