Would You Allow Your Son To Play With A Barbie Doll?

[JamesSavik]

Most little boys REALLY end up with the toys their father would like to play with.

 

After all- who has the debit card? The adult or the 3 year old?

 

It would have never occured to me to play with a Barbie Doll. I wanted to play with my Dad's tank and run over things.

 

 

Now we're talking!

[Nephylim]

Does it have anything to do with the fact there's a big gun on the front and sexy men going in and out of a hole on top.

[JamesSavik]

not really- it's big, it's loud, it runs over cars and houses and it shoots through schools

[DragonMando]

If they were at a friend's house or if someone gave it to them, but no, I wouldn't buy one for them. Barbies are far over-priced for what they're capable of, so I'd rather spend the same amount of money and buy him some LEGO and paint them pink for him

[D_of_Hazzard]

I think i might have played with dolls as a kid, I honestly don't remember

In any case, I turned out alright....and gay.

[Cia]

My girl played with ponies and barbies and stuffed animals. She also liked/likes hot wheels cars, fishing and her bow and arrows. My son likes his boy toys, bakugan, cars, action figures but he also plays with her barbies and stuff too. He used to wear jewelry and her play dress up shoes and the one baby doll she had and didn't like became his. He called it 'baby foof' and it went everywhere with us when he was 2/3 for a while. Baby foof would have to use the potty in stores when he did and everything. It's safe to say I let both my kids play with what they want and be who they are. My hubby would shake his head at the jewelry and stuff but he didn't say a word either.

 

Kids are kids, they get enough pressure outside the home to conform to expectations of what they are supposed to do/be in life. Their home should be a safe place where they don't have to worry about not being allowed to be who they are, no matter who that person is. I understand the urge for parents to tell their children to be careful in public, no one wants their kids to be hurt by the stereotypes of others. No matter how confident you make them teasing can still hurt. My son is 4 and wants earrings like the rest of us (yes, including his dad) but we told him he would have to wait until he was older and can better weather the possible fall out. There is a line, imo, but toys don't cross it.

[methodwriter85]

In the interest of full disclosure, when I was a little boy, I used to take my sister's Skipper doll and make her enact Paula Abdul's choreography in Cold-Hearted Snake.

 

[Former Member]

heh he was making a "political statement" about the unfairness of the school rules because in winter the boys must wear long pants but the girls can wear skirts that come above the knee (so long as they are past the finger tips when standing) at any time of the year.. we have warm days like 70 degress sometimes in the winter and the heat is on in the school, several of the boys protested...

 

I heard about that earlier today on another forum when we were discussing this threat topic.

Good on the lad, I say.

 

I heard about that earlier today on another forum when we were discussing this thread's topic.

Good on the lad, I say.

 

[Former Member]

heh he was making a "political statement" about the unfairness of the school rules because in winter the boys must wear long pants but the girls can wear skirts that come above the knee (so long as they are past the finger tips when standing) at any time of the year.. we have warm days like 70 degress sometimes in the winter and the heat is on in the school, several of the boys protested...

 

Actually I think I misread your comment.

I heard about a boy in the UK who wore a skirt to school because boys weren't allowed to wear shorts at his school during the summer. He wore the skirt because there were no mention of boys being unable to wear skirts (for obvious reasons) so took advantage of that.

[Former Member]

Yes if i had children i'd buy them any toy. Not spoil them or nothing like that though.

 

Growing up this is going back when i was like 4 and for awhile even older, me and my Sister would play with her barbie dolls,my matchbox cars,my tonka trucks. We were the only kids on our street for awhile, and at home me and her would play with each others toys.

 

I'm now 25, and just a few weeks ago one of my little cousins was over and brought her my little ponies, she hands me one to sit down on the floor with her and gives me a Blue one and matching blue brush,her idea because i'm a boy. Was pretty funny, so for awhile we played with our horse's taking them to various spots around the living room "let's go to the beach" "lets go to the mountian" then have to brush their hair. Was pretty funny and i actually had fun.

[Rizan]

I'm not a advocate for conformity, and sometimes being ridiculed for being different is innocuous if you ask me, but imho there are always points in people's lives when the expenses one suffer from being out of sync with society become greater than the benefits one receive from remaining unique. At other points, that scale tips the other way. Thus, I believe that people who do best in life are the ones who are keen and flexible enough to know when to do and be what to best satisfy themselves and the rest of the world.

 

I can understand wanting to force your child to conform as to better their future, but at the same time you're enabling something you may not believe in. If you just do what may be best for their future, or what will give them the most friends, you're just helping in continue that conformity and that mistreatment of people that are brave enough to do what makes them happy rather than what makes them popular or accepted.

 

As for myself, when I was younger I would play barbies with two of my cousins. My mom never seemed to care much though. That might be because I also road dirt bikes, played basketball, and slammed my older brother's head into a concrete wall. So yes, I would allow my kids (that I will never have) to play with barbies.

[Y_B]

I can understand wanting to force your child to conform as to better their future, but at the same time you're enabling something you may not believe in. If you just do what may be best for their future, or what will give them the most friends, you're just helping in continue that conformity and that mistreatment of people that are brave enough to do what makes them happy rather than what makes them popular or accepted.

 

Clearly you didn't read what I wrote closely.

I don't believe I implied anywhere that "I'd like my child to conform" or "I will know what's best for my kid".

I did and do however, state that I'd like my kid to be able to keenly discern for himself what's good or not for him, and that includes knowing when to deviate from the norm and when to follow suit.

 

Also, you're making a hefty assumption in that popularity and acceptance cannot also be criteria to some people's happiness. As far as bravery goes, that term can only be accredited to those who abide strictly by personal satisfaction and also receive net benefits from it in the long run. If merely acting upon one's own pleasures ultimately leads to greater expenses, "bravery" quickly and easily becomes "recklessness"

[MarkSen]

If I had a son, I wouldn't buy him a Barbie doll. I find the very sight of Barbie dolls to be very sexual. They have physiologically impossible proportions. If I had a daughter, I wouldn't even buy her a Barbie doll. Other dolls that are not like Barbie would be fine, though.

Edited May 14, 2011 by MarkSen

[Marzipan]

Maybe I am "confused" as an adult because I used to play with Barbies when I was a kid. I think I had ten Barbies. I never had a Ken and it made me crazy. Few of my Barbies had to play the male role then :P Also I bite the poor doll's hands and feet and even noses - hmm, that is another story :wacko:

 

I would give what ever toy to a kid as long as it would not hurt him/her. I was using myself as an example, kids will find ways to 'bend the rules' with their imagination and I feel that is not something that should be scary to adults.

[Phoenix1977]

Might come as a shock to most parents but children themselves decide what toys they like. Trying to get them to play with toys the parents like or approve won't change the thing they want to play with and the things they will play with, either because they spend their allowance on it or because they have friends who do have the toys they like.

 

So the question shouldn't be: "Would you allow your child to play with a doll?" but: "Are you comfortable with your child playing with toys you don't approve of?". If the answer is "no" it would be better for everyone if you get comfortable with it.

[phana14]

Maybe I am "confused" as an adult because I used to play with Barbies when I was a kid. I think I had ten Barbies. I never had a Ken and it made me crazy. Few of my Barbies had to play the male role then :P Also I bite the poor doll's hands and feet and even noses - hmm, that is another story :wacko:

 

I would give what ever toy to a kid as long as it would not hurt him/her. I was using myself as an example, kids will find ways to 'bend the rules' with their imagination and I feel that is not something that should be scary to adults.

 

"Also I bite the poor doll's hands and feet and even noses....."

 

Soooo--you have met 'Nephylim'!

 

tsk!

[Prince Duchess]

I would allow my son to play with barbie dolls, ken dolls, sour patch babies etc.

 

Why because I see no problem with and plus I did as a kid, and its just a toy by the time he hits 6-10 he'll be done with them.

 

So yes!

[AFriendlyFace]

I thought it was pretty interesting. And it begs the question- if you had a son who wanted to play with dolls, would you buy him one?

 

Absolutely, I fully intend to expose my son and/or daughter to toys and hobbies that traditionally appeal to both genders. Best to let them choose their interests and hobbies while I simply facilitate a supportive environment.

[JohnN53]

I had a doll as a tyke which everyone was against (this was the 1950s). They didn't like it until they found I'd named the doll Gracie after a beloved next door neighbor. Then everyone thought it was so cute.

 

As was said upthread, I outgrew the doll stage and went onto a bike and toy train era.

 

Freud should have said sometimes a toy is just a toy.

[Houdinii]

This one killed me, I played with G.I. Joes growing up and I've been in a committed gay relationship for 8 years on the femme side of things, and my now 13 year old nephew bought himself 3 barbies on my dime (much to his mother's dismay) when he was 2ish. Chick magnet. Had to have the talk 4 times with him already....

[Zolia Lily]

I used to sleep with my Tonka Truck. I loved it that much. Of course, i also had Barbies, Barbies, Barbies....

And i had a cousin. He used to wear pink frilly girls bathers and had dolls and got terribly picked on at school. Now he's tattoed, rides some sort of motor bike, has a reptile obsession, a steady girlfriend and plans to marry her, is happy, healthy, all grown up, and one of the nicest turned out young men in my extended family. Didn't exactly inflict any psychological damage.

 

I've read that it's good for boys to have at least one doll as a child- NOT Barbie, however. She's too sexual and disproportionate etc etc etc. Instead, something like Dora the explorer is more neutral, but also teaches boys about nurturing and caring. Much as it's fun to play with trucks (and tanks), I think that's an important thing for children of both genders to learn.

 

 

[Arpeggio]

I found an article similar to this, now I can't find it. >_< Will edit when I do.

Edited May 29, 2011 by Arpeggio

[Curti]

My brother and I both played with barbies when we were children. My brother is straight and perfectly happy in a marriage with two children. I'm gay. lol although I think the reason we played with dolls was due more to the fact that we had eight sisters then our sexuality.

[Cailen]

Sure I would, at the age where kids are playing with dolls they don't attribute things sexually anyhow so it really doesn't make a difference.

[Circle]

My parents showed indifference to the idea that I was playing with Barbies when I was a kid. It depended on how I was playing with them, of course. 100% of the time, the Barbies were refugees being pursued by toy soldiers and, after a lengthy chase, were completely ran over by tanks and the doll house was destroyed by F-15s and artillery fire. The Barbies had their clothes stripped and their bodies buried somewhere.