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Original poster

Appropriate ages for toys and other things?

74 replies

MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:21

Trying to work this out. My DD1 is 5 and I am surprised at the amount of High St Musical, Hannah Montana etc that girls of her age seem to be given. I thought these were for older girls? Last year my DD2 got a Bratz towel (she was five months). A Bratz birthday cake also featured at one point for my (then) four year old. DD1 comes home from school singing Mamma Mia songs and 'I kissed a girl, I liked it'. (This has been banned - am trying to ignore Mamma Mia although not happy about this either) I realise that this isn't a new topic, but what is it all about?
Can't they just be little girls for a while?

Sorry ranting a bit, but would be interested in what people think is the appropriate age range for the following themed toys?

Hello Kitty
Charlie and Lola
High St Musical
Barbie
Bratz
Hannah Montana

OP posts:
Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:23

ps I didn't buy the Bratz birthday cake

OP posts:
NAB3hundredChristmaslights · 27/12/2008 17:23

Charlie and Lola is popular in my house with my sons who are 3 and 7 and my DD who is 5.

Would allow hello kitty (just a cat?) but none of the other stuff.

DD was given a Barbie game by a santa in a grotto and she likes the game but not Barbie.

Kids are allowed to grow up too quick imo.

Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:27

If the five year olds are getting all the things meant fro pre-teens, what do the pre-teens get?!

OP posts:
saggyhairyarse · 27/12/2008 17:27

My Mum bought my DD some HSM PJs and I was like She is 4!

I am with you, C & L, Hello Kitty, My Little Ponies etc are fine. Bratz, HSM etc are not.

base · 27/12/2008 17:27

My dd is only 1 so I'm not much help TBH, but I am steering well clear of anything themed. I dont buy clothes or toys that are TV related or themed.

I will keep this up as long as possible but unfortuntly I think young girls are made to grown up too fast these days and themed items are a sign of that

NorthernLurkerwithastarontop · 27/12/2008 17:28

Hello kitty - I thank that's pretty broad isn't it - perhaps intended for 8-12 yers olds but I wouldn't be horrified by younger girls owning it.

Charlie and Lola - baby (though they won't 'get' it to 9 maybe?

High St Musical, Hannah and Bratz - no idea - my girls don't have any of that stuff as they aren't into it but I suspect that as they are nearly 8 and 10 they are the 'target' range.

Barbie - 5+

I hate things that try to rob them of their childhood. My dd1 got a cd player from grandparents for Christmas - she is overjoyed with this and I think she's the right age for it now - but most of her friends have entire media centres in their rooms! I just don't see the need for that.

Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:41

I realise that I sound like some kind of reactionary old woman, or maybe old fasiouned feminist but do people not THINK about what they are giving. Do they really want their (let's say ) granddaughter having a birthday cake that says 'bratz' featuring scantily clad girls? Although I would prefer Bratz to Barbie, who I loathe even more. DD1 has just been given a Barbie, which I had succesffully managed to avoid up to now... She's left it in the car though. I'm not about to ban anything really (apart from I kissed a girl I like it, or I kissed a boy for that matter - just to clarify it's not the gender of who they are kissing - its an inappropriately sexual song for a five year old and a crap one too) It's the lack of thought about it all that gets to me...

OP posts:
Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:41

fashioned

OP posts:
starbear · 27/12/2008 17:43

Why are all this Teens stuff being bought for little girls? I hated Barbie when I was little. I wanted a Sindy (never got her though). I did get a doll that had cube furniture that you clipped together and struck mirrors and stickers to make it look like a bed & Wardrobe. She also had lovely clothes and house things. Loved it but can't remember her name.

IAmTheNewQueenOfMN · 27/12/2008 17:44

why have you banned that song
seems extreme
think forwards
if you ban things like that when she is 10 or 12 you will heighten the desire for it no end

Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:45

To be honest I think people just behave like sheep - they see it in the shops, think 'that's what girls like' and just buy it irrespective of age.

OP posts:
Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:47

If she was 10 I wouldn't ban it. That's the whole point! She's five!

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IAmTheNewQueenOfMN · 27/12/2008 17:51

but you seem eager to ban
what will you ban when she is 10
I still dont understand why you would ban it and that is why it seems you are eager to ban

I dont understand what is wrong with it

for a start she wouldn't understand the lesbain tendancies or bicuriosity in the song

and even if she did is that so bad

Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 17:56

The thread isn't really about banning that song - it's about what age people think certain themes/toys are appropriate.
Also the banning is kind of tongue in cheek -no pun intended. Sure, I've kissed a girl myself

OP posts:
base · 27/12/2008 18:02

I can understand why you banned the song. I would have banned it myself but I would actively discouraged her from singing it.

It is a sexual song and not age appropriate for a five year old

base · 27/12/2008 18:02

I wouldnt have banned it that should say

muggglewump · 27/12/2008 18:11

Hello Kitty- It's a cat so whenever but I have a pair of PJ's!

Charlie and Lola-Never seen it, is it shown on a Sky Channel? I get the impression it's for young kids

High St Musical- DD is really into this despite never having seen it at home because we don't have Sky. She's seen it at friends houses and I have no problem with it

Barbie-I bought her her first Barbie when she was 4, fine whenever IMO

Bratz- DD got into Bratz just before her 6th birthday, she has loads now, fine for that age I think but she has never seen the TV show at home, again because we don't have Sky

Hannah Montana- Ditto Bratz and HSM.

DD is 7 and at times very much a little girl, and at others 7 going on 17!

I haven't banned any music either. She likes Girl's Aloud, Scouting for Girls. Basshunter, Scooter, Westlife, Rihanna, Katy Perry (I allow it) and all the current stuff.

When I was young I was desperate for a Barbie, I never did get one (or the play doh barber shop ) and I begged to stay up to watch Top of The Pops. DD is very much the same. I don't think a doll is going to make her grow up. She loves dressing her teddies the same as she loves dressing her Bratz.

I try and stay in with DD without encouraging her forward, or holding her back, for me that is very important.

slayerette · 27/12/2008 18:26

My DS is 5 and all his female friends are into HSM to the extent that there was a class outing organised by one of the mums for them to see HSM3! They seem less interested in Bratz/Barbie at the moment but are on the cusp of growing out of Charlie and Lola, I would say.

DS sings Mamma Mia songs because he's had to listen to the soundtrack so many times on the school run He isn't really into/aware of current chart stuff however because we don't listen to it that much. I'm happy that he's still obsessed with Lego and Playmobil and hasn't started nagging me for a Nintendo DS or a Wii yet - I'd definitely like to hold off on that for as long as possible!

Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 18:35

Mugglewump - I know what you mean. My parents wouldn't let me see Grease when I was nine but took us to Death on the Nile instead. So sex = bad, but death and violence ok! Maybe that's why I'm such a prude (and axe murderer)
Charlie and Lola is on Cbeebies. I think being led by the child is right and in all seriousness I wouldn't really ban anything...forbidden fruit and all that

OP posts:
Original poster
MirandaG · 27/12/2008 18:38

off to get the children's tea now. thanks for responses - will log back later

OP posts:
smartiejakeonachristmascake · 27/12/2008 18:41

I know it's sad but actually many girls over 10 or so wouldn't be seen dead anywhere near anything to do with Hannah Montana and HSM.

My DDs are 10 and 12.5 and they barf at the mention of either!

However I do think 5 is too young for these sorts of things. DD2 was still watching CBeebies when she was 5!

Hello Kitty is fine (just a sweet cat theme)

Bratz and Barbie perhaps 5 and up although I remember still playing with Sindy dolls at the age of 12. WHen I was little we only had one doll and just bought lots of litte dresses. They didn't have all these bride/ princess/ teacher/ ballerina/ mechanic/ nurse/ doctor etc. Barbies like they do now or all the thousands of other crappy plastic junk that breaks within 1 hour of it being opened accessories to fill up your house!

The one I think is really abhorrent is the playboy stuff. Kids think it's a cute bunny motif- they have no idea what it really means

muggglewump · 27/12/2008 18:53

Ah, that's why I/we haven't seen Charlie and Lola. DD watches CBBC, she's not really interested in CBeebies and hasn't been since she was about 4.
We both enjoy Get 100 and Blue Peter, and she loves Raven. She was never a big fan of the young kids shows, even when she was little, although C&L wasn't about when DD was small.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about them growing up too quickly with toys or TV so long as you keep it roughly within the age group. I actually think holding them back could do more harm.

chloemegjess · 27/12/2008 18:55

I think it is ok IF it is what the girl is already into/wants etc.

My DD is 1 and got at least 10 presents that were "in the night garden". I don't mind it, as she does it once or twice a week when I need a break but I think she is a bit young to be getting DVDs and expesive themed gifts. She would have been happy with something much cheaper or whatever. Not fussed about it though.

fruitful · 27/12/2008 19:01

Age range for Bratz/Barbie etc is "when they can put the clothes on and off by themselves"!. Until then, definitely too young. . They use the dolls to play imaginative games - mostly "Barbie Teaches School" and "Barbie looks after her pony" in dd's case (she is 6.5). She plays with the dolls but no longer wants all the merchandise - Barbie is for little girls, apparently.

Charlie & Lola is much loved by both dd and ds1(3).

Dd also loves HSM, has for about a year. I avoided it for about a year before that, till I realised that her friends had all seen it, and my dd was the geeky kid who got taken to museums and read classic childrens' stories and didn't have a clue about the trendy stuff that they talk about at playtime. . So we caught up.

Clary · 28/12/2008 00:41

Hello Kitty - I guess 5-6 maybe?

Charlie and Lola - aimed at pre-schoolers surely.

HSM - any age from 4 up, it's totally anodyne.

Barbie not keen, but lots of pre-schoolers have them; certainly most fans I know are over them by 7-8 yo.

Bratz - as Barbie except really not keen

Hannah Montana - biggest with DD's 7yo pals. A bit old for anyone under 5 I would say.

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