Barbie Effects On Children
Do you ever catch yourself looking in a mirror wishing you were as skinny and beautiful as Barbie? Children go through a stage in their life when they are constantly worrying about what they look like, how much they weigh compared to others. Barbie helped sustain this negative attitude with the boys and girls. Young girls look up to the barbie doll wanting to be her when they were older and not realizing that she is not a realistic image. The children suffering or who has suffered down this path could be avoiding this path. You don't need barbie as a toy at any point of your life. You can find other toys that are more realistic looking who can help you to maintain a positive and healthy lifestyle. By portraying extreme beauty expectations,
…show more content…
barbie sets up a standard for young children who are willing to harm themselves trying to achieve an unrealistic body image.
Have you ever thought that you wanted to look like Barbie?
The price of beauty is more than you’re willing to pay. Barbie does not have a realistic body image. Young girls have a theory that since Barbie is so beautiful they must look like her. "Playing with Barbie has an effect on girls’ ideas about their place in the world" (Sherman). Playing with Barbie has an effect on girls’ ideas about their place in the world. It creates these young girls to believe that when they grow they have to look like Barbie and only barbie. "Childhood development is complicated, and playing with one toy isn’t likely to adapt a child’s career aspirations" (Sherman). Toys such as dolls or action figures can influence children's ideas about their future. Children are influenced by the toys they play with. Toys are given to young children part for play and part as a tool for real life practice. "That’s why we have housekeeping toys, toy doctor kits, toy pots and pans, baby dolls and so on". Through play, children learn about the world and their place in it. Barbie teaches children that it is alluring to be very thin. They teach children to strive for an unrealistic body image. These young women most likely played with Barbie dolls when they were younger before they discovered theirs eating disorders. By portraying extreme beauty expectations, barbie sets up a standard for young children who are willing to harm themselves trying to achieve an unrealistic body
image. Picture this women 6 Feet tall, weighs 100 pounds, and sizes that are impractical. We are talking about the most perfect doll, Barbie. “The average girl from ages 3-11 owns at least 10 Barbie dolls and spends hours playing with them and dressing them up”(SarenDipity). The more time anyone spends with anything, the more influence it has on them. This perfect doll has not had the best impact on young girls. “It’s estimated that 8 million people in the United States has an eating disorder, and only 10-15% of them are male. Which leaves the 85- 90% of them to be female. And 80% of those females are under the age of 20”(SarenDipity). Girls admitting they started worrying about their weight when they were between the age of 4 and six years old. That is around the age that a girl gets her first Barbie doll which then shortly is diagnosed with an eating disorder. Young girls playing with barbie led to believe that the only way to be successful and have happy life is to be just like Barbie. “The iconic Barbie doll has received a lot of criticism for teaching kids to aspire to unrealistic body types, so Barbie decided to create a new barbie doll that is “normal barbie” named Lammily”(Jenee). This doll has the realistic body proportions of a young girl. This doll can have tattoos, warts, acne, stretchmarks, and other realistic skin flaws that most teenagers would get. It is important that the kids are given these flaws for their Barbie doll. Now children can apply flaws that they have of their own onto Barbie. This will help girls be okay with what they look like because now Barbie looks similar to a normal girl. By portraying extreme beauty expectations, barbie sets up a standard for young children who are willing to harm themselves trying to achieve an unrealistic body image.
It is necessary for children to be open minded about their body and how they look. No child should be set on looking like one thing. This one thing is a doll. When these young girls are playing with their Barbie doll, everything about Barbie is recording in their head. "How popular and perfect she is, and so naturally these girls are beginning to want to be just like Barbie, happy and perfect all the time, which starts many of them on their way to eating disorders"(chubbuck). The children don’t understand that Barbie is just a doll. “Fashion dolls can be really fun, but the most common fashion doll—Barbie—has become so riddled with problems that it’s a poor choice for little girls, even when balanced out by other toys. And I don’t just mean the body image issues everyone has heard about”(Hains). Parents should be concerned about Barbie and body image issues. It’s not that parents should not allow their children to play with Barbie dolls, if a kid has a Barbie doll their parents need to promote the impractical body features. Parents do also have a choice to not give their children a doll that advocates an unrealistic body image. Parents can give their children toys other than dolls and if they parents chose to give their children a doll they have to understand that it is just a doll. “Even young children can begin to develop a critical eye towards these things if provided with some guidance in that direction”(Muhlheim). Parents need to be aware that even though Barbie is just a doll it is a doll that can cause many problems towards children and their futures. Children need to know that Barbie’s beauty is harmful and delicate. The greatest part about being a parent is watching your children grow up being successful and healthy. When a woman thinks back to their childhood you automatically think of of the toys you played with. You think of Barbie doll. Barbie is not only a friend, but a role model. Barbie dolls have become a way of life for Americans, and they have shaped the lives of many. The doll has led many girls toward eating disorders, body image issues, and lowered confidence. People love you for who you are, not something that you try to be.
barbie sets up a standard for young children who are willing to harm themselves trying to achieve an unrealistic body image.
Have you ever thought that you wanted to look like Barbie?
The price of beauty is more than you’re willing to pay. Barbie does not have a realistic body image. Young girls have a theory that since Barbie is so beautiful they must look like her. "Playing with Barbie has an effect on girls’ ideas about their place in the world" (Sherman). Playing with Barbie has an effect on girls’ ideas about their place in the world. It creates these young girls to believe that when they grow they have to look like Barbie and only barbie. "Childhood development is complicated, and playing with one toy isn’t likely to adapt a child’s career aspirations" (Sherman). Toys such as dolls or action figures can influence children's ideas about their future. Children are influenced by the toys they play with. Toys are given to young children part for play and part as a tool for real life practice. "That’s why we have housekeeping toys, toy doctor kits, toy pots and pans, baby dolls and so on". Through play, children learn about the world and their place in it. Barbie teaches children that it is alluring to be very thin. They teach children to strive for an unrealistic body image. These young women most likely played with Barbie dolls when they were younger before they discovered theirs eating disorders. By portraying extreme beauty expectations, barbie sets up a standard for young children who are willing to harm themselves trying to achieve an unrealistic body
image. Picture this women 6 Feet tall, weighs 100 pounds, and sizes that are impractical. We are talking about the most perfect doll, Barbie. “The average girl from ages 3-11 owns at least 10 Barbie dolls and spends hours playing with them and dressing them up”(SarenDipity). The more time anyone spends with anything, the more influence it has on them. This perfect doll has not had the best impact on young girls. “It’s estimated that 8 million people in the United States has an eating disorder, and only 10-15% of them are male. Which leaves the 85- 90% of them to be female. And 80% of those females are under the age of 20”(SarenDipity). Girls admitting they started worrying about their weight when they were between the age of 4 and six years old. That is around the age that a girl gets her first Barbie doll which then shortly is diagnosed with an eating disorder. Young girls playing with barbie led to believe that the only way to be successful and have happy life is to be just like Barbie. “The iconic Barbie doll has received a lot of criticism for teaching kids to aspire to unrealistic body types, so Barbie decided to create a new barbie doll that is “normal barbie” named Lammily”(Jenee). This doll has the realistic body proportions of a young girl. This doll can have tattoos, warts, acne, stretchmarks, and other realistic skin flaws that most teenagers would get. It is important that the kids are given these flaws for their Barbie doll. Now children can apply flaws that they have of their own onto Barbie. This will help girls be okay with what they look like because now Barbie looks similar to a normal girl. By portraying extreme beauty expectations, barbie sets up a standard for young children who are willing to harm themselves trying to achieve an unrealistic body image.
It is necessary for children to be open minded about their body and how they look. No child should be set on looking like one thing. This one thing is a doll. When these young girls are playing with their Barbie doll, everything about Barbie is recording in their head. "How popular and perfect she is, and so naturally these girls are beginning to want to be just like Barbie, happy and perfect all the time, which starts many of them on their way to eating disorders"(chubbuck). The children don’t understand that Barbie is just a doll. “Fashion dolls can be really fun, but the most common fashion doll—Barbie—has become so riddled with problems that it’s a poor choice for little girls, even when balanced out by other toys. And I don’t just mean the body image issues everyone has heard about”(Hains). Parents should be concerned about Barbie and body image issues. It’s not that parents should not allow their children to play with Barbie dolls, if a kid has a Barbie doll their parents need to promote the impractical body features. Parents do also have a choice to not give their children a doll that advocates an unrealistic body image. Parents can give their children toys other than dolls and if they parents chose to give their children a doll they have to understand that it is just a doll. “Even young children can begin to develop a critical eye towards these things if provided with some guidance in that direction”(Muhlheim). Parents need to be aware that even though Barbie is just a doll it is a doll that can cause many problems towards children and their futures. Children need to know that Barbie’s beauty is harmful and delicate. The greatest part about being a parent is watching your children grow up being successful and healthy. When a woman thinks back to their childhood you automatically think of of the toys you played with. You think of Barbie doll. Barbie is not only a friend, but a role model. Barbie dolls have become a way of life for Americans, and they have shaped the lives of many. The doll has led many girls toward eating disorders, body image issues, and lowered confidence. People love you for who you are, not something that you try to be.