How appropriate is this website?

[PrincessFiona]

Check this out:

http://myscene.everythinggirl.com/webis ... sodes.aspx

Amanda got 5 my scene dolls this year at her birthday party (all from friends). I thought realy nothing of them or of the my scence website. I thought it was all pretty innocuous. Lately though, she talks endlessly about boys, crushes and kissing.

Last night, I checked out the website she was at and I was shocked by these little videos. Keep in mind that these are barbie toys and are targeted to ages 7-10 or so..... With that in the back of your head, are these videos inappropriate? All of the dolls are very scantily clothed and there is non-stop talk about boys, crushes and there are a few loud kisses (on the cheek...but kissing nonetheless). Seriously...check out as many as you can. They all start off inoccuously, but even the 'girl's just wanna have fun in the sun' has a part in it where the umbrella pops open and a bottle of water just 'happens' to spill on the boobs of the dolls.

kris

Keep in mind that these are barbie toys and are targeted to ages 7-10 or so.....

I am going to guess it is targeted more to the "or so" age group..... they look like spoiled teenage kids...
If they were trying to get kids, particularly girls, to think that everything required, like, a "shopping spree!!" and that all 16 year olds are going to get everything that their hearts, like, desire, like a SWEET ride, and a hottie with an accent, and that they should be rail thin with long hair and straight white teeth, then they have accomplished that. I can hear the family discussions starting now....

If they are targeting the 7-10 age group, they are putting on the fast forward to skip those years altogther and get grown up in a hurry.

I didn't even open the videos because it looks too much like animated porn from the get go...

[DCJenn]

Along the same lines, my friend was telling me that finding girl baby clothes that weren't "brittney spears"/slutty/'ho clothes was nearly impossible. And she's not talking about dressing her daughter in Amish dresses, but finding a bathing suit that didn't expose more skin than it covered- on a 1 year-old. She said trying to find a dress for her first birthday that wasn't satin with spangles, glitter or slits was horrible. She ended up with a Laura Ashley dress from Costco.

Jenn

Jenn, there was a report a few years back that more traditional girl clothes are more expensive than the miniho stuff.

I see lots of cute, not sexy girls stuff in Gymboree and The Children's Place. Gap Kids has nice stuff too.

[HeartRN]

Target is our favorite....and I must confess, regarding the swimsuit thing...my little girl has a two piece, (just because that's how it came with the swimsuit-in-the-bag thing at Target for $8! v. $17 suits elsewhere), and DH said "A bikini? Isn't she a little young for that!?" Already the protective Dad, but rightly so given all the influences and weirdos out there!!!

[Vanquisher]

Regarding the bikini on a baby. I bought one for my dd, and I am happy I did. Well, it's more of a tankini, but it still shows some tummy.

First of all, she is tall and there is nothing more uncomfortable then a one piece riding up. THis way it will be sure to fit her better.

Second, I would rather she showed her cute rolly tummy now then when she is a preteen and walking around without holding my hand. I lvoe looking at her cute tummy.

Third, it is easier for changing diapers.

A lot of the clothes are very inappropriate though. What is with having a toddler with clothes that spell out "brat" in glitter?

That's it, I'm locking Bryn in the closet and she can't come out until she is 23.
Seriously, that is for 7-10 year olds? That is way inappropriate!

I can't believe the stuff on that site. Just the other day I was in the Target toy section and saw dolls being advertised with "Flirty Swim Suits". I don't have any idea on the brand of doll, but I thought that was over the top.

Did anyone read the little bios on the dolls? All the guys have "what I look for in a girl" sections, and one of them says "Someone who's sweet.....but can get sassy, too!" I can't believe this is meant for 7-10 year old girls!

I'll also second Gymboree and Children's Place as having nice not-sexy stuff. (I can't quite get over the fact that its even a topic associated with toddlers' clothing though)

[Rapunzel]

Oh boy - the world of girls' clothing - welcome all to my nightmare! My 6 year olds have just entered "big girl" clothing at sizes 6X to 7. Oh my! It's really hard to find something that covers the butt, tummy, shoulders, AND also doesn't ride up their thighs high enough to make a stripper blush. Seriously - there are some true perverts in the world of children's clothing design methinks. I've also noticed the trend towards hoochy-mama clothing trickling down into the younger set's clothing. My 3 year old wears size 5T and it's been getting harder and harder to find modest clothing for her - and she's freakin' THREE YEARS OLD.

I don't mind a bit of cute little baby nudity. Heaven knows we think it's cute around here if a toddler "escapes" from a bath and runs around buck naked giggling like a crazed loon. It's too funny! BUT, what I find disturbing is the sexualization of little girls. Our society already sexualizes adult females to no end - can't we let kids be, well, KIDS?!

OK, that's one of my really big peeves right now - and it will probably remain so until my youngest daughter goes off to college (that would be, oh, 18 years from now ).

OK, places where I've found little girl clothing to be completely nonsexualized (I doubt that's a real word btw):

- Hannah Andersson
- April Cornell
- Land's End
- Carter's (they sell adorable kid's clothes through size 7)
- Gymboree

ALL of these places are much more $$$ than I would like so it pays to find outlets and hit them during the sales. Oddly enough it seems like the clothing chains that are based in Europe or in the far north U.S. seem to be more modest in their girls' clothes (hmmmm.... maybe it has to do with the temperature being a wee bit too cold to dress like a hooker? :| ).

Jennifer

[Rapunzel]

Oh yeah, I got too carried away in my thread hijack.

No, the site is just not appropriate for girls 10 and under.

Jennifer

[Phoebe]

This is one of my greatest concerns right now with my 3.5 year old. She will be 4 in 3 months, but regularly thinks she is 20 yo. She is way too big for her britches and it drives me nuts. She doesn't want to watch Noggin anymore and bugs me to watch Disney shows that are way out of her league (I blame her father introducing them to her when I am not around as well as older neighbor girls). She brings up phrases like I am "so busted" and talks about her friend down the street being her boyfriend. She doesn't really understand the concept of a boyfriend or marriage and becoming a parent. When her younger sister was born she tried to nurse her and thought she could have a baby too.

I can't fathom these ideas with my child yet and I regularly dismiss that the kid next door is her boyfriend or her future husband. I don't know where she gets this language, except for TV. She is very much into Disney princesses who get married in the movies so that adds to her interest. She has already wondered where babies come from and I just want her to slow down.

I hate those Bratz dolls and the my scene dolls. Avery is very into Barbies and Polly Pockets and pours over them in the toy aisles. I have vetoed Barbies so far because I haven't wanted her to get into them so soon. However, I caved at Christmas time and allowed the Princess Barbies and hope to put off the regular ones as long as possible.

As far as the clothes, both girls own bikinis, but my older daughter's at least has a skirt on the bottom so it isn't showing much of her behind. My daughter is also very long-waisted so many of the shirts in her size end up showing off her belly and I have to fight with her about clothes because she gets stuck on certain shirts and doesn't care if she out grows them. I like to shop at Lands End overstocks and Kohl's because they seem to have a lot of affordable, non-offensive children's clothes.

I don't think the baby bikinis are so bad. My 4 yo has some too but they are not skimpy-style bikinis.
I agree that Land's End, Gymboree, and Hannah's have great clothes that let kids look like kids. I subscribe to their emails so I get first shot at the sales. I love the mini-Boden catalog but it's too $$$ and I can't find sale stuff. I'm dreading that transition to 6x-7 next year because it seems like it all goes down the tubes, clothing-wise.

I don't mind bikinis/two peice suits for preschoolers and highschoolers +.

Its the in between stage that scares me.

Girls seem to be developing a lot earlier, and you have some 13 year olds out there with bodies fit for a 19 year old. And pervos who don't care!

[houseelf]

Sorry for the late response,

but YES! AMEN! YES!

....and I'm about to hijack like nobody's business....

I can't believe the crap (clothes and media) marketed to kids. As a 32 year old, I wouldn't wear some of the clothes that are marketed to these girls who are barely bigger than babies. For the record, I'm not an uber-conservative parent either. We just spent two weeks with my parents who have satellite TV. I honestly, honestly CAN'T believe what was on Nickolodean and similar "kids" channels. The characters on these shows were: 1) mean; 2) oversexualized and wearing inappropriate clothes; 3) sassy; 4) outright disobedient to parents and authority figures: and 5) hyper violent. Seriously, it wouldn't suprise me if there are more violent acts on "children's" programming than regular tv.

My only hope lies in the fact that I hope to keep my kids outdoors and reading as much as possible, although the lure of TV is strong. I hear too many parentes complain about this. Who is in charge here?

Kelly