Are Bratz dolls a bad influence on little girls?

[happysally]

Hi, I am a new member and mother to two young girls. My sister lives in Australia and has just sent me an article about Bratz dolls and some of their new stuff - apparently they are making padded bras aimed at girls my niece's age (six) and everyone in Australia is in outrage. There's apparently some new Bratz dolls which come in leather and lingerie. I'm just wondering what other mums thinks about the Bratz range at all? Is anyone else concerned that these dolls are too risque for our children? Would really appreciate hearing other mum's views as there is so much pressure on little girls to grow up so fast.

I agree with you there moomin. Mn is full of families where the thong-wearing little plastic monsters are just not relevant to much else that happens in a child's life
But I do think they encapsulate a worrying wider trend to sexualise little girls. There are lots of people out there who encourage their small prepubescent girls into padded bras and the like - and I think it's very probable that some of these children don't have a counterbalance to Bratz and suchlike to help keep a sense of perspective.

I hate them because the Bratz birthday cake on sale in tesco looks like a mountain of chemical goo, and DS keeps coming home from parties with that blue icing smeared all over his nice party shirt!

Moomin, I certainly didn't think you were being hysterical, I completely agree that they could be a malign influence in the absence of decent guidance at home, and I do wish they hadn't been invented. I just wrestled with the idea of banning them and couldn't really make myself believe that they were going to do dd any real harm. She greatly prefers Polly Pockets, and Playmobil, and Sylvanian Families, but she does like playing with the Bratz dolls every now and then, and she really likes having the same things as her friends. I wasn't allowed to have Barbies, but I don't honestly think it had any influence either way other than a lasting, niggling sense of being hard done-by

yes ditto tamum

My parents had a Barbie ban and being different to friends hurt more than not having the Barbie.
I was permitted to have Sindy's bosomless little sister Patch though and geek that I was, made her some medieval clothes and sent her on Rosemary Sutcliff wayfaring adventures with a set of pencil-top trolls as her evil pursuers...

PMSL at Ken having to croon through the letterbox to gain access to the shared home! FAB. You are clearly a major positive influence in your dd's life batters

I cut my sindys hair off and made her wear a boilersuit and live in a caravan where she was mum to about 9 weird kids including peggy the faceless doll and humpty the furry lump with no arms or legs

Ah Marina, we are obviously twins separated at birth- I was only allowed bosomless dolls, too, so I got Tressy's little sister Toots To be fair my granny took pity on me and bought me a Sindy when I was 10, by which time I nearly had bosoms of my own

I am also in awe of batters' dd

I remember Barbie having a limo and some extremely slutty clothes... I however grew up wanting to be a mum and a scientist (and clearly a slut )

I wasn't allowed Barbie either, but mercifully Sindy was permitted. My mother thought Barbie was an unhealthy influence & didn't like the tarty outfits she came with!!! God only knows what the poor woman would make of Bratz .

just looked at new sindy with 3 year old daughter who said ooh mummy will you buy me one of those dollys. So I asked her if she was nicer than a bratz doll and she said yes because she has lots of clothes. She loves dolls but she has more fun playing outside whacking stones with sticks.

I'm very interested to see this thread. As others have already pointed out, very young children will regard them in complete innocence but in doing so, they are sort of absorbing the idea that young girls should be dressed like that and it's okay to have a permanent sneer on your face.

Am I being hyper-sensitive ? ...... I find them repulsive, and the Baby Bratz range even more sinister than their older "sisters". They appear to be covered in slap and dressed way beyond their years. Most of us disagree with the creeping sexualisation of young girls through provocative clothing sold in many shops, and I kinda feel Bratz falls into the same argument. From the minute I saw them, I thought they would have been more aptly called "Slutz" or "Tartz" quite frankly.

Why FFS, is it acceptable to sell dolls which, were they real children, would be aged between 2 - say - and maybe 11 or 12, dressed up in tiny skirts and loads of makeup ??? Would any sensible mother send her 12 year old out in such tarty costumes, let alone a 2 year old toddler ?

Horrid, revolting, repulsive things.

And yes, whilst I appreciate that you can level many criticisms at the likes of Barbie or Sindy (impossible figures for one) I was always under the impression that they were at least supposed to be a representation of a young adult woman. These Bratz are representing children in a tarty manner. There would be an outcry if a magazine showing girls between 2 and 12 dressed in tiny belly revealing crop tops and micro-skirts, complete with thick heavy make-up and a staged sneer on their faces suddenly appeared in WH Smiths wouldn't there ?

Yes, I agree about the Baby Bratz, they are horrible. The original Bratz dolls are meant to be teenagers though, surely? They have adult figures (apart from their feet coming off, of course ).

I think they are horrible. Don't know whether DD will have them or not. I was rather annoyed that when I went in Asda to buy her some knickers the only ones in her size (18-24) were Bratz. What is that about for a toddler? Was also annoyed that today they didn't have any tights in age 2-3. But I think I am veering off the issue and onto Asda's clothing stock....

I hate them , think they're horrible and inappropriate and alarming etc etc. But I am aware that my kids are only 2 and nearly 4 - and it must get progressively more difficult to keep them away from things you don't like. I don't like power rangers and combat trousers and bloody toy weapons either - nasty aggressive shite IMO - but with two boys I imagine there's a limit to how long I can have total control over what they play with. I often say now that I won't buy that stuff myself, and if they were girls I wouldn't buy Bratz - but confronted with a tearful child who is being left out at school and just wants what "everyone else" has got - I just don't know.

I spose i ought to think myself lucky that i've been able to fend Barbie off until now - one appeared in her pile of b'day presents last week, not, alas, a 'fantasy' mermaid or fairy Barbie but one with a guitar round its neck, amp attached blaring out a tiny excerpt of what will probably be some kind of Barbie 'anthem' in the next dvd marketing. Why can't rock-star Barbie resemble someone like Chrissy Hynde instead of Jessica Simpson???!!!!

but at least we didn't get any Bratz, so i should be grateful for small mercies. If we do ever get one I shall insinuate to dd1 that she is the 'baddie' doll of her collection due to the sneer on her face and the absence of a nose (wots all that about?) and see if dd1 catches on.

and btw, my Sindy used to have regular sessions with my brother's action man, even though her head was roughly twice the diameter and length of his and they couldn't kiss properly. But it was better than the coupling between him and Pippa - she was just too too tiny for him.

poor sindy ended up with no hair too and biro all over her face

(the psychiatrists would have a field day with me, looking at what i did with and to my dolls)

None of my dolls had any hair either.

And I got a sweet and innocent "Florence" doll (from Magic Roundabout) who I hated for some reason and whose nose I bit off.

catsmother, did you hate Florence because you really really wanted a barbie but mum wouldn't let you have one?

I think I got the Florence when I was about 4 or 5 long before I even knew about Barbies ..... but I can remember hating her with a vengeance - goodness know why.

Florence did have a very dull character. I mean, even Ermentrude was more exciting than Florence.

I wasn't allowed a Barbie doll growing up, and was finally given one by Mum at my 21st! I think Barbie is awful and Bratz are even worse and we will be avoiding them.

If, however, DD is desperate for one (as little children so often are) then I will get her one I suppose. I think its important to teach your kids to critically evaluate the media, so discuss what they see on the telly, magazines, toys etc.

You can teach preschoolers that ads on the telly are not 'real', that the people who make ads are trying to make them spend their money etc, and you can ask things like "gosh, Barbie looks very skinny! Do we know anyone who is that tall and skinny? She must surely be ill! etc.

Likewise we can 'immunise' our kids against sexist stereotypes etc ("all the Mummies in this story book are cooking...who does the cooking in our house? Does daddy sometimes?)

Having said this, I do think Bratz (and Barbie, and mini skirts for toddlers, and PADDED BRAS for little girs) are awful, creepy and, actually, just plain wrong, because little girls are little girls and not little women.

That's a great post Astrophe. I would like to think that with creative parenting like that, we can get our kids though a 21st century childhood unscathed - but it's daunting. They are being marketed at more and more relentlessly every year and from a younger and younger age.