What's worse than Barbie? I could name a few things ...

Barbie
Photo Source: Migraine Chick via Flickr

Life goes on as usual for the Barbie franchise. People are still donning party hats and toasting to her 50th birthday. The latest celebratory move was nabbing Bollywood star Katrina Kaif. Apparently the Indian versions of the Barbie will be modeled after her face.

However, amidst this celebrations, there are the angry naysayers. I refer to those who liken Ms. Barbie to an evil toy that purportedly saps a child's self-esteem. Given their vehement protests, you'd think Barbie was the real-life rendition of Chucky! This brings me to the inevitable question – if there was no Barbie, what toy will fill this gap?

1. Will the real Chucky please gurgle?

So let's say that there has been a Barbie wipe-out of epic proportions. And thus all Barbies and all details related to her creation has been lost for good. What would children play with?

The most obvious answer, right now, is the baby doll. Anyone born before 1980s will recall the immense popularity of these dolls. Other than filling in as stunt doubles for baby actors, such dolls promised hours of fun for little girls. The problem is that playtime with goo-goo-gaa-gaa doll didn't open up a world of possibilities for the child. With a baby doll, life was all about changing nappies, feeding the little one and long walks in the pram. I'm not saying that having a baby was bad. It's just not the first message I would send out to my child. Alright little one, babies are a fact of life, but you should know what you want to do in life and how you will support a kid before you venture down that rather grown-up path.

Suddenly Barbie doesn't seem like a bad idea, does it? At least kids were projecting their dreams of being an independent grownup onto her. You know, as opposed to hours of day dreaming in class where she's thinking “I can't wait to have my own baby”!

2. Fluttering away into the big cyberworld

In this day and age, it's better to forget about baby dolls that say “Mama”. Kids don't want anything old school; no, they are signing up for the whole social networking bonanza. And this is a whole new can of worms.

Comedians on The Now Show has joked several times about the idea of TV show competing with studies for a kid's attention. Oh no, they said, TV is grumpy about stiff competition from none other than the internet. And so, children are 'tweeting', joining Facebook or MySpace or blogging. Worse, they might be putting up video blogs on Youtube. Anyone expressing surprise at this statement have obviously not come across music reviews on the popular video site. Go forth and shudder! Well, here's a wakeup call to parents. Children are not dreaming of being an adult; many of them are probably leading virtual lives on various networking sites. No, they don't fully understand what it means to be or act like an adult. But they are going to try it anyway.

Compare this scary notion to the clean cut Barbie. She is a toy and a child plays with her in the safety of your home. Play time activities depend on what interests the child as well as what you teach that child. What the blonde doll wears or how the child reacts to her so-called influence depends on the guidance and emotional support provided by parents.

At this point, let me emphasize that I am talking about pre-teens. I think that is too young an age group to be accessing the internet? On the other hand, there are many educational and kid-friendly online activities so would you shut them off from the net? In a nutshell, the main issue with the internet is what your child accesses as opposed to having access to this service. Thereby, the arguments against the “evil that is Barbie” also apply to this issue, that bad influences can be decreased by taking an active role in the child's life. The point is that compared to the influences on the internet (here may I point to the disturbing notion of scantily-clad teen idols and their I-ooze-sex-appeal-though-I-am-too-young-for-it music clips), having a Barbie is like a safe stroll in a family-friendly park.