Here’s a video introducing “My First Princess” baby dolls by Disney. I saw some of these dolls at Target today. Oy vey! I don’t even know where to start! What’s next? A Disney partnership with pharmaceuticial to develop and manufacture shots for each girl fetus in utero, ensuring her first word will be “Belle”?
Though my daughter loves her “babies,” Cinderella will not eat my daughter. I just hope Merida doesn’t see these creatures at the store.
Want a better splurge? Buy yourself Peggy Orenstein’s book.
And if you want a really cute baby for little kids, find a Corolle Mini Calin. I think Corolle doesn’t make them anymore, but you can find them in various skin colors on eBay or other online shops. They are machine washable and very sweet, perfect for small hands and imaginations. Uneeda makes cute little babies, too.
Rebecca Kuder 
Though you may find these baby dolls disgusting, I believe Merida will be more effected by your attitude then by the dolls themselves. I witnessed a surprising scenario at the local coffee shop. A mom who home schools had brought her boys in, she was working on her computer and they were just sitting near me, playing and talking about the customers. The mom has an art installation about the occupy movement with photos from all over the world up at this coffee shop. The barista calls out an order, the boys look longingly at the hot cocoa, and one says to the other “If no ones comes to get that I will take it.” The barista picks up the cocoa and takes it to the customer. “Why didn’t they pick it up themselves” one boy says to the other angrily, ” maybe they are rich and want people to serve them”. I was shocked. What sort of perspectives had this mother placed in her children’s heads that they were already at 6-7 making this sort of judgement? I had to turn around and say to them. “She just didn’t hear her order come up, and the barista was nice enough to take it to her.” Our children see everything through our eyes, and our tirades bring intolerances to our children. Just last week I heard our son say “I hate republicans”, I had to have a little talk with him about how the political choices of individuals do not automatically define them as good or bad, it is their actions in the rest of their life that define that. Such a fine line.
How do we instil tolerance, and
Nita, sorry to have missed this comment and only now be replying!
What a scene at the coffee shop! I agree that it’s what children see us DOING that matters more than whatever we preach at them. It is a very fine line, and I struggle with this all the time. Today my daughter referred to the inhabitants of the Disney Princess magazine she likes to look at (but we won’t buy for her) at the grocery store as “those princesses you don’t like.” Paying for the groceries, I said to her, somewhat distractedly, “Yeah, there are other princesses I like better,” because I didn’t want her (or the cashier, who had a pierced lip) to think I was mean or humorless… it’s such slippery stuff, all this saying and doing and being imperfect role models. Later, Merida referred to whichever princess as “Oriole” and I knew she meant Ariel. In order to avoid having her corrected by someone who doesn’t love her as much as I do, I said, “Do you mean ‘Ariel’?” And she said, “No, I mean Oriole.”
Maybe there’s a bird princess on that glossy page that I missed!
You’re daughter has the name of a Disney princess, but can’t play with them. Huh, Strange…
Your 😊
Audi: My daughter was named Merida way before the Disney princess Merida, in “Brave” emerged. :) In other words, she was not named after a Disney princess.
Thanks for stopping by!