Yesterday evening, a friend's daughter (Dani) made me play dolls with her.
She told me Barbie is going on a date and has to look nice. I was slightly spooked when she made me undress the doll (Yewww! perfect plastic boobies!). It must have been more than 20 years since I last handled a Barbie doll. I forgot how tiny everything is; I have to twist the doll to get her in and out of those tiny velcro-strapped outfits. But I must say I am absolutely amazed at the variety of dresses they have these days. The one I picked was a sequined turquoise number with sparkling silver spagetti straps . I seriously don't mind having this outfit for myself. Some more, it comes with matching green heels which was a challenge to put on Barbie's puny feet. I caught myself apologising to Barbie as I was squeezing her into those ill-fitting heels.
After I painstakingly dressed said Barbie, Dani showed me her other 4 Barbie dolls (!??@!). I asked Dani's mum why on earth does one child need so many dolls that look exactly the same. Her mum just rolled her eyes at me and told me that she herself had 20 Barbies in her childhood. (Am I the only girl who only had 1?)
Dani later threw at me, the Ken doll who will be going on the date with Barbie. That's when I found out that there is only 1 Ken doll to the 5 Barbies. Dani says they take turns dating Ken which prompted me to ask many questions: What is the selection process? How does she choose which Barbie goes out with Ken? Does Ken date more than 1 Barbie at the same time? How long does Ken date each Barbie? Does she give each Barbie a different persona such that Ken dates them for different reasons? Who gets Ken officially in the end? Fine, these may not be appropriate questions to ask a child but I am concerned her playing methods might translate into real life later. What if she grows up thinking that it is okay for 1 guy to date 5 different girls?! But Dani ignored my questioning and her mother rolled her eyes even more. I am officially a retard when it comes to playing dolls with a child.
The session ended nicely though, with Dani coming up to me later saying, "Auntie Frou. I like you. You have very pretty hair."
Phillip: Awww. So young and she already know how to lie to make people like her. Good for her!
Frou: KIDS DON'T LIE!!!
She told me Barbie is going on a date and has to look nice. I was slightly spooked when she made me undress the doll (Yewww! perfect plastic boobies!). It must have been more than 20 years since I last handled a Barbie doll. I forgot how tiny everything is; I have to twist the doll to get her in and out of those tiny velcro-strapped outfits. But I must say I am absolutely amazed at the variety of dresses they have these days. The one I picked was a sequined turquoise number with sparkling silver spagetti straps . I seriously don't mind having this outfit for myself. Some more, it comes with matching green heels which was a challenge to put on Barbie's puny feet. I caught myself apologising to Barbie as I was squeezing her into those ill-fitting heels.
After I painstakingly dressed said Barbie, Dani showed me her other 4 Barbie dolls (!??@!). I asked Dani's mum why on earth does one child need so many dolls that look exactly the same. Her mum just rolled her eyes at me and told me that she herself had 20 Barbies in her childhood. (Am I the only girl who only had 1?)
Dani later threw at me, the Ken doll who will be going on the date with Barbie. That's when I found out that there is only 1 Ken doll to the 5 Barbies. Dani says they take turns dating Ken which prompted me to ask many questions: What is the selection process? How does she choose which Barbie goes out with Ken? Does Ken date more than 1 Barbie at the same time? How long does Ken date each Barbie? Does she give each Barbie a different persona such that Ken dates them for different reasons? Who gets Ken officially in the end? Fine, these may not be appropriate questions to ask a child but I am concerned her playing methods might translate into real life later. What if she grows up thinking that it is okay for 1 guy to date 5 different girls?! But Dani ignored my questioning and her mother rolled her eyes even more. I am officially a retard when it comes to playing dolls with a child.
The session ended nicely though, with Dani coming up to me later saying, "Auntie Frou. I like you. You have very pretty hair."
Phillip: Awww. So young and she already know how to lie to make people like her. Good for her!
Frou: KIDS DON'T LIE!!!
Auntie Frou with nice hair...
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