To complain to ELC about the misogynist attitudes in Happyland?!?

[Bramshott]

DD2 was given a Happyland Rose Cottage for Christmas, which is great and she enjoys playing with. So far, so good. But I was at the packing which trumpets:
"Mr Barley teaches geography in Happyland"
and then
"Mrs Barley keeps the cottage tidy and clean"

Am I turning into a grumpy sod in my old age, or is this a really bad message to be sending out to young girls? Obviously DD2 can't read it, but DD1 (6) can.

I'm going to email them I think (quick, before you all tell me I am being unreasonable and need to get a life !)

lol - looking forward to hearing ELC's reply!

There are black, or at least non-white people in Happyland, and not just the set you talk of. I think it is the bridal couple - white bride, black groom.

Hulababy - interesting what you say about your dd. Ours is the opposite - she likes bricks, trains, vehicles (and happy land stuff, as long as that includes trains and planes). She complained that DS got clothes with rocket ships on and she doesn't. (She looks quite girly though, but doesn't like pink much.)

DS will fight to get the barbie in the doll's house though

so these parents who refuse to allow their children to have guns and the children go ahead and use sticks/their fingers/other objects to "shoot" one another with - the parents are still influencing them?

I would be surprised if elc bother to reply. They'll probably have a good laugh though.

Just as overdoing the PC stuff can be too much I think overdoing the gender stereotyoing is just as bad. Like everything to do with child-rearing, imo, there is a happy medium. I too wouldnt have gone to the toruble of emailing but I would have thrown away the packaging before my dc could read it. They are very impressionable and whilst one incidence of "the woman is doing a trad woman role" would have bugger-all impact I would have thought, it is the constant and relentless bombardment of it from advertising and the media that, imo, can influence them. I want them to make their own minds up about how they play and their place in the world.

And lets not turn this into another Workimg/SAHM yawnfest, please, that really is not the point. Just as all women have the right to whichever role on that spectrum they feel is right for them and their family (FTWFH for me), surely children have a right to use toys in the way they see fit too, not just one particular viewpoint rammed down their throat all the time.

I know what you mean about the overly PC but I think there is the underly-PC too.

From current ELC site:

Emergency services set - female doctor and female nurse; two non-white characters

Construction set - female worker

Camping set - non white character

Vet set - non white character

Also:

Happyland church - white bride, non white groom. Bridesmaid also non white.

So I do think ELC are trying here, and they do definitely have non white characters, other than the culture set.

Chaotica - so it just goes to show - it is personality then.

I am reminded of this article I read recently about girls and Barbies.

I quote:

"The academic Agnes Nairn has carried out research into how brands are perceived by seven- to 11-year-old schoolchildren, and found that many of the girls see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity - and think nothing of pulling off her limbs and putting her in the microwave. No other toy provoked such a negative response."

I know I did this to my dolls when I was that age (not the microwave bit - they hadn't been invented!). A sign that girls do crave more active play?

Actually DD adored Happyland and spent hours playing with in when she was younger. She would lose herself in independent play for literally an hour or more at a time. We had loads of it - got lots when it was 3 for 2 prices. We loved Happyland. Have to say I never analysed the different gender roles at all - and DD was certainyly never restricted by them.

Last time I was in ELC the doctors kit was blue and had a boy on it and the nurses kit pink with a girl which I thought was dumb given that women now outnumber men in medical school but heigh-ho, I guess the toys all come from different suppliers some of whom are more enlightened.

Out Happy Land set only has animals so no concerns yet

Do you lot that don't get riled about this really not feel annoyed when advertisers tell you you should be grateful for a night off from slaving over a hot stove if your DH goes out and gets you a take away?

Doctors and nurses

xfabba - no, not really. I really don;t get upset or bothered by that type of stuff. And in MY house it is me who does all the cooking - for many reasons, and mainly cos I want to do it. DH does plenty of ther stuff - like the ironing - so it all works out. Advertising doesn't bug me. I know what works for me and my family, so rest isn;t that important.

Vanity unit

Apparently 'This toy helps your child feel secure and happy, and enjoy good self-esteem.'

yes same here - i do all the washing becasue I don't shrink things and DP does kitchen duties because I am crap at it, that is what works for us. We have worked it out as time has gone along though, it wasn't dictated to us. I know we can just laugh it off but dont you think children are a bit more succeptible?

Maybe it really doesnt matter - my dc are too young to say really, it does kind of bug me though. I dont want my boys being so limited and inflexible as adults eg wont change a nappy like a male friend of mine - I dont want to inflict that on their future partners (of whichever sex blah blah)

Funnylittlefrog - I'm loving these examples And the microwaved barbies

(BTW before people think I'm a complete pc ogre - DD has dolls, she just ignores them. Or DS borrows them.)

Most men I know get pissed off by the gender stereotypes of advertising...

The kettle bothered me as it was Mummy and Me - DH does occasionally use a kettle. Why does it need to be Mummy and Me? It doesn't need to be any person

oh my god you obv have too much time on your han

Seriously get a life
Agree with wannabe

YANB at all

I can't belive how naffing bad toy shops are.

I can't believe people actively buy into it all so much as well.

Toys r us are the worst offenders with their frigging pink aisle, it makes me what to throw things.

I would have hated any 'girl toys' as a kid. I had to go to 3 shops to find a baby that wasn't pink for DS2. (he already has a pink one)

The John Lewis catalouge was horrendous too. Selling frigging make up to 8 year olds and the their 'heroes' where all pop singers grrrrr, whilst the boys all had builders etc.

I would complain.

agree with wannabe.
its ridiculous to get strung out about this.... its a childs toy.
its make believe fgs.
if you want to, why not just change their roles and tell your dd the wife goes out to work. then i am sure you will feel better

however the kettle from marks and spencers, is just wrong full stop.. regardless if it says mummy and me or not!!!!
that's an awful accident waiting to happen imo

people are extremely naive and tbh ignorant
if you can't understand how this kind of marketing shapes gender roles then you really should read some basic gender studies stuff

matilda
it is a toy kettle

too right franny

i got a bit huffy there didn't i
ruddy women always arguing
and putting the kettle on

lol i know that franny, however i think kettles and irons and hot kitchen items should not be replicated into toy form.
my oldest dd, for example had a wooden iron, and at the age of 2 burned her hand on the real iron. she was too young to know the difference. so in my opinion i think that these toys should be only allowed after say 5 years of age, or thereabouts

right
so you would be saying that toys are extremely influential in children's lives, in fact in your opinion they are incapable of distinguishing between play and real life

however they can put what bollocks they want on the packaging as it doesn't make any difference

gotcha