Ok, so the title of this post would probably send me into a long debate with my daughter who LOVES barbies! Since she turned 4 she thinks Barbie is the best thing in the world! But I think showing this post to Leah and maybe making a few of these ideas could make her think twice about those long-legged plastic dolls of hers! Take a look:
Japanese Paper Dolls, from Omiyage
Bead Dolls, with New Nostalgia
Printable Lace Up, from Yellow Mums
Corn Husk Dolls from Unschool Me
Wood People, from Serving Pink Lemonade
Magnetic Dress Up Dolls, from The Mother Huddle
Felt Dolls, from The Life of Jennifer Dawn
Fairy DressUp Dolls, from Babalisme
Flat felt dolls, from Moda Bake Shop
Leaf Fairies, from Puppy Love Preschool
Magnetic Paper Dolls with One Pearl Button
Felt Doll Dress Up Book, from Thrillingly Thrifty
If you read the history of both Mattel and American Girl., you’ll learn that both doll designers intended their primary product to be for girls age 7 and over. There is a really good reason for this. Developmentally, that is when girls play the sort of play these dolls were designed to encourage. What is wrong with jumping the gun? Girls who are not yet at that stage, do not play with the dolls in a way that encourages imagination – even once they reach the target age. Barbie was intended to intorduce girls to fashion and encourage them to design and make clothes, which they did – back in the 50’s and early 60’s. But as younger and younger girls got into it, the older ones stopped making – or even drawing clothes for their moms and grandothers to make for the dolls. Don;t you think that’s SAD? I sure do.
What happened, is both women were concerned about this. They tried several things to discourage parents from buying the dolls for younger girls, including introducing dolls for that younger group ( Skipper and Bitty Baby). It didn’t help. Mattel gave up and made their Barbie more ‘sophisticated” not in a nice way) and mom’s just followed suit ( GRRRRRR – what is WRONG with women?) . American Girl introduced the Girl of Today because girls who were too young to have in interest in hisotry could play with that, and then later get into the historical dolls. Guess what? Those girls never did make the transition. THEIR INTELLECTUAL GROWTH WAS STUNTED BY THEIR PARENT”S POOR DECISIONS.
Eventually, Mattel and American Girl both stopped producing a quality product. They both make GARBAGE, and parents, who are now a generation that were themselves forcefed these dolls early, don;t even notice.
My daughter always hated Barbie, so that doll was never an issue at my house. She played with Playmobil instead ( another company that once made FABULOUS toys that encouraged tons of imaginative open ended play, but has cheapened itself lately) and at age 7 got American Girl’s Kit, and from there developed such a passion for history that she began doing living history presentations at local museums and devoured history books. She and I also were invited to join an adivisory panel for the AG company, where we judged new products in advance of production. I am SO grateful these products were still available when she was growing up. She’s a typical 17 yo girl now, who’d rather be on a horse or sailboat than a museum, but she got that wonderful background, which she will return to, and she was also introducted to goals at an early age. She plans to go into sustainable architecture – something mos kids her age (and the teachers who advise them) have never even heard of.
The toys my children played with are no longer available, because few parents supported them, and the companies discovered they could get away with fr less expense and effort. That means that good parents don’t even have the option of buying toys with good play value. If you think this isn’t a big deal, you really don’t know the history of toys and the things your grandparents played with – electronics and chemistry sets that made them truly understand science. Miniature kitchens that had real working parts – books on crafts that few adults could figure out how to make now. Girls and boys built miniature furniture, made their own dolls and stuffed animals, etc.
As a parent, you want the best for your children. Please remember that toys are tools of learning, and they DO train children to think a certain way. Do you really want your young child constantly thinking about hoochie mama shorts and dating? or would you like them to be thinking about a future with some substance? It’s YOUR choice. Please make it consciously.
now if I can just decide which one to do for my daughter. way cute!
I was never a Barbie fan either, always thought she looked too fake. I was into porcelain dolls that looked real! I think the leaf fairies are really great, and so appropriate for the approaching Autumn season. If they were sprayed with some kind of gloss preserve, they'd probably last forever or look really good in a frame as a seasonal decorations for someone who is into fairies.
cute post! Thanks so much for posting my Flat Dolls!
Thanks for posting about my leafy fairy dolls 🙂 I lovelovelove your blog!
Everyone's ideas are great! Thanks for including my Felt Paper Dolls.
Wow! What a wonderful round-up of dollies. Thanks for including our Japanese paper dolls in the bunch 😀
Cheers,
Marisa
Love the Flat Felt Dolls and the Felt dress up book! Barbies were always frustrating to me because it was too hard to get their clothes on and off and my little girl always needed help! UGH!
Cute ideas! Way more original then barbie!
Well,this is great! And me and my daughter can make some dolls together!
I was a huge barbie fan! However, I did love paperdolls too. My favorite thing was to make clothes for my Barbies! I have to agree that that felt doll book is great. It'd be perfect for road trips!
I love the felt doll idea. I can't wait to make a few for my daughter.
Can I tell you that those magnetic dress up dolls have been a favorite around my house, both my boy and girl love them!
Thanks so much for including them here, your a dear!
I hope my daughter- 11 weeks old (And son -3- for that matter) don't ever get into Barbie or GI Joe (my hubby is in the military..I may be fighting a loosing battle to GI Joe) not because I don't like the 'message' they send but because they are A) plastic and B) not very imaginative. I love paper dolls, magnetic dolls & puppets!! They are fun and offer some more imaginative play! 🙂
-Kristi
@ Creative Kristi
I used to love Barbies, but I have tried to keep my daughter from playing with them as long as I can. She's 6 and so far, I've been able to. I loved making dolls when I was 9 (they were pitiful, but I still have them!) and I hope to pass that love of creating your own toys on to her. Thanks for posting all these awesome examples of making your own dolls!
Some super ideas in that batch.