AIBU to want to sell my daughters Barbie dream house?

[Lilacbluewaters]

Bought said Barbie dream house two years ago, she has played with it approximately 5-10 times and that is when she has had friends come round. We moved house so now she has a smaller bedroom, there is no where to put this huge thing!! It’s currently in her brothers bedroom, I have spoke to my dd (age 6) and said we should pass it on to another little girl now, I’m sad that she’s only 6 and not interested at all in imaginative play but also can’t force it. (She prefers creative things, Lego, hama beads, slime, arts crafts, being outside on her bike etc) She is refusing to let it go though, but honestly she never touches it!! This whole year so far she has no touched it once😭
what would you do? Am I being really mean to get rid of it?

I agree with the high sleeper. (My daughters was £15 on facebook) Although..... it was mid sleeper and still not tall enough for a barbie dream house. .....I tried!
My kids sometimes sell things if they get the cash. Although u wouldnleave this for now. Seems like there has been a lot of change for a little girl. New house, new brother(?)....this might just be a constant that she needs to feel secure for now.

Oh no, I'm autistic (undiagnosed until age 45) and my mum wanted to get rid of my toys because she didn't think I was playing with them too. I had a Mr Man village scene with cardboard cut out characters that I spent ages arranging exactly where I wanted them and then left. Because I wasn't playing with them "imaginatively" by moving the pieces around and talking she thought I'd lost interest, whereas that was my version of play and gave me great satisfaction to have everything laid out as I wanted it and to imagine (in my head) the characters interacting with each other on the way around their village. She persuaded me to pack it up eventually and I don't know what happened to it after that.

Doe her brother have a bigger room? If so she is probably entitled to keep it in there.

Dd1 and dd2 had a loving family Fisher Price dolls house and they did play with it a lot - I bought them all the accessories- but as they got older it just took up space so when they were about 8 or 9 I put it in the charity shop. They didn't notice it was gone but one day we went to the charity shop and they saw the house and said we've got one like that! I wish I'd kept it now as I had another dd about 6 years later and now have gd but we didn't have the space. I don't think they hold it against me.

I agree.
My own parents had a fairly old fashioned view of parenting, but one good thing was that what went on in my own bedroom, and what was in it, was down to me. If I wanted to have some elaborate multi-scene imaginary play set up spread across the floor for a couple of weeks, then fair enough.
They'd never have sold or got rid of toys without my express permission.

My DD sounds a lot like yours OP. Never been hugely into imaginative play. Never wanted a baby doll, toy animals, my little ponies, playmobil etc. The ONLY imaginative thing she has enjoyed is Barbies. Like yours, she's more into arts and crafts and her sports. I find it odd, as I LOVED imaginative play as a child.

"She's six. She can't refuse anything"

That's quite a frightening thing to read.

Let her keep the Barbie house and don't buy her any more stupidly large stuff until she agrees to get rid of it and make space for some new plastic rubbish.

If she says she wants to keep it, and even offers of being able to buy other toys won't tempt her then she values it even if she's not playing with it.

I think there is a risk she will always have a bad memory of her parents getting rid of something that she wanted to keep if you get rid of it before she's ready

A high sleeper sounds like a plan, and would work when's she's older to give a bit of space for a desk and storage.

I’d say sell it. However I have had my daughters for sale for 2 years now on marketplace and nobody wants it!! So consider how easy it is to sell anyway.

Hey if my house was big enough for a walk in wardrobe DD can have TWO barbie dreamhouses im sure 🤣

Same here

Probably a bloke! 😏

Our giant dolls house lives in the living room as we can't even get the sodding thing up the stairs! I totally sympathise, my children don't play with it but my lovely old dad made it for them, and it's so sweet and thoughtful of him. We will obviously never sell it but if it wasn't sentimental for us, it'd be gone tomorrow. Can you discuss more with your daughter - would she be able to buy her own toy with the proceeds, would she play with it more if she had more barbies etc. Would she grow into it, in my head I was more 8 ish when I got into them (the clothes, hair styles, playing boyfriends and girlfriends) but maybe I'm missing remembering!

Sorry if this has already been mentioned @Lilacbluewaters but if you have a garage/loft/room of doom where it could be stored out the way, I'd maybe leave it a few weeks, no mention of it at all, then move it to that space. If she wants it, it's there. Out of sight out mind might help and a bit later in the year she may be more open to moving it along.

But no I wouldn't just get rid entirely if she's expressly stated she wants to keep it.