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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to be upset at barbie?

176 replies

thatcrookedsmile · 14/04/2023 15:19

My daughter has just come in crying from yet another broken barbie.

This is because companies purposely make their products inferior to their older designs in order to ensure their product breaks or doesn't last. It's called planned obsolescence and its a bloody joke! when I was a child (90s-2000s) we used to be able to pop a barbie head back on. Now we can't because they've purposely changed the design to stop that, so you have to buy a replacement.

Well they've lost themselves a customer, after After years of buying barbie for my children and for other children as they are a good, sturdy toy, I'll have to stop. Despite her dirty face this barbie is only a couple of weeks old and the 5th since the last birthday (1.5 years ago) to snap, only to be binned.

I'm really annoyed, I've sent my first angry email.

OP posts:
Original poster
thatcrookedsmile · 14/04/2023 15:20

Angry email:

I have bought my daughter 5 baribie dolls over the last year or so and every single one has had its head come off. You used to be able to pop the head back on but now you can't. I will no longer be a customer, despite loving the barbie brand and buying barbie dolls for friends and family gifts. I'm afraid the life of a barbie doll went from years and years to less than a few months.
Please consider putting the heads and neck the way they used to be. Me and my sister used to play 'barbie ghost' by popping the heads off our baribies and putting them back on when we were finished, now even normal play is too much for barbie and its very sad.
The concent of planned obsolescence is becoming well known to you customer base, I would consider sorting out your products. We aren't that stupid.

Thank you

OP posts:
Lamelie · 14/04/2023 15:20

I’d superglue that back on.

PortiasBiscuit · 14/04/2023 15:21

Why is your child ripping the heads off her Barbies?

mumofgirls87 · 14/04/2023 15:22

Could you buy the older versions off ebay?

Original poster
thatcrookedsmile · 14/04/2023 15:24

PortiasBiscuit · 14/04/2023 15:21

Why is your child ripping the heads off her Barbies?

Because she's actually a 6ft 4 man who eats them for breakfast....

OP posts:
Tinkerbyebye · 14/04/2023 15:25

Why is your child snapping the heads off? That’s the issue here. We have had loads of Barbies for years, not once has the head been snapped off

givemushypeasachance · 14/04/2023 15:25

Spot of glue and tie a nice green ribbon around her neck, job done.

Original poster
thatcrookedsmile · 14/04/2023 15:26

mumofgirls87 · 14/04/2023 15:22

Could you buy the older versions off ebay?

I am actually looking now on Facebook marketplace , second hand, better for the environment and not supporting a silly company putting profit before a good product.

OP posts:
mumofgirls87 · 14/04/2023 15:28

And for the other posters thinking there's an issue with a child snapping the heads off...I had a collection of my little pony's when I was little. All looked after and then when I was older I donated them to a local pre school. A few weeks later I went there and half of them had their hair ripped off and heads ripped off. Some kids just play rough, doesn't mean they're going to grow up and be serial killers ffs.

mumofgirls87 · 14/04/2023 15:30

thatcrookedsmile · 14/04/2023 15:26

I am actually looking now on Facebook marketplace , second hand, better for the environment and not supporting a silly company putting profit before a good product.

Show quote history

Good idea. I often wonder why companies ruin it for themselves. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I doubt she would notice the difference. Although if she insisted on a new one because of the clothing maybe buy it but just take the clothes off and put on the second hand one.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 14/04/2023 15:30

I hate to break it to you but there used to be dolls made out of china….

On the one hand yanbu because it is crap and bad for the environment the way things are made more and more cheaply and disposably. But on the other hand it is down to you to teach her to play with them more carefully. After the first time she should have learned that you need to be more careful with them and it’s entirely possible to play with a doll without breaking its head off!

Needmorelego · 14/04/2023 15:31

You'd have to be very rough with a Barbie to do that. I can't imagine it would break accidentally.
Don't buy her any more (new or secondhand) if she doesn't respect her toys.

SaltyGod · 14/04/2023 15:36

We've never had any broken Barbie heads. Perhaps your child is being quite rough with them, or playing at some Henry VIII game and the poor Barbies are his unfortunate wives Grin

IClaudine · 14/04/2023 15:37

Me and my sister used to play 'barbie ghost' by popping the heads off our baribies and putting them back on when we were finished

This bit made me laugh.

FlounderingFruitcake · 14/04/2023 15:39

Can’t say this has ever happened to DD’s barbies. Is yours very young, like younger than the recommended age for them? I can imagine by 2YO DS who is quite strong for his age and has somewhat destructive tendencies when he gets frustrated trying to snap barbies head off. But with an older child, it should be the kind of thing they might do once like you playing ghosts but then they realises it breaks the toy so they shouldn’t do it again. It wouldn’t happen during typical play, you’d have to be really trying to do it to snap plastic like that. So if it were me I’d be pretty disappointed in her for deliberately breaking it, on purpose, again, and she wouldn’t be getting yet another replacement.

WhatAmIDoingWrong123 · 14/04/2023 15:45

I’d probably be looking how my child plays with them before going to the company over it. My niece has loads of Barbies and I don’t think this is an issue in their house.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 14/04/2023 15:51

You should have put a Trigger Warning for that photo. I found it quite disturbing. 😱

DiscoDragon · 14/04/2023 16:00

Needmorelego · 14/04/2023 15:31

You'd have to be very rough with a Barbie to do that. I can't imagine it would break accidentally.
Don't buy her any more (new or secondhand) if she doesn't respect her toys.

Not really, my daughter once asked me to tie one of her barbie hair back into a ponytail and as I was pulling the elastic band tight the poor barbies head snapped off! The older style barbies were much better, although my daughter really likes the poseable ones with arms and legs that bend!

Smokingonthestairs · 14/04/2023 16:04

Ha I had lots of sindy, because family thought she was more wholesome. I always thought her head would look good on barbies body 😂

lostinfusion · 14/04/2023 16:06

another Sindy fan here, she was far superior in her lovely town house to Barbie who was a bit trashy

TeenLifeMum · 14/04/2023 16:09

My youngest play rough and have never done that! I feel this is user error.

AmyDudley · 14/04/2023 16:09

Could you pop her in a Tudor dress and call her Anne Boleyn Barbie ?

blacksax · 14/04/2023 16:10

You need to tell your child that they will get no more Barbies until they learn to look after them properly.

RobinHumphries · 14/04/2023 16:10

It was Sindy you could pop the heads off. When I was a child in the 80’s I tried doing it to barbie thinking she was the same and I broke her. Barbie you could never pop the heads off

blubberball · 14/04/2023 16:11

Toys did used to be better. Sometimes charity shops have old Barbies and Sindys. Could be a fun project to brush their hair and clean them up to play with.