Joys of Toys: Girls

A while back, I wrote this post about boys toys. I promised I'd write another for girls, and I'm just now getting around to it. Sorry 'bout that.

Leah's current fav is Barbies. Yay. I don't really have anything against Barbies in general, since I played with them quite a bit growing up and seemed to have turned out just fine. Granted, I did a lot more dressing and styling hair than actual storytelling, but that may be because I played them far too long. In fact, my sister once told me that she remembered the day I quit playing Barbies with her. She said she asked, and I said something like, "No, I'm reading," and that was the day Peter Pan grew up. After a couple beats of "that was so sad for me", she added, "of course, you were probably about 13 years old." Um, yeah, it was probably about time.

Now, Bratz dolls I have some issues with. But they are all the same ones everyone else has, so I won't get all worked up about it here. (I can hear the sighs of disappointment out there...) By the way, those are links to older posts from random blogs - I just Googled "Bratz are evil" and took what I could get! Anyway, if you aren't familiar with reasons why I might object to Bratz (hint: THEIR NAME) just email me and I'll fill you in!

Anyway, back to toys my daughter actually has. My Little Ponies. Did you know that the whole body-image controversy has hit the Ponies? It's true. I found my old Ponies (well played with, also, I can assure you - I loved those things!) and they looked *gasp* chubby compared to Leah's newer version! Littlest Pet Shop. Those Pet Shop critters are about the cutest things ever - and will be strictly monitored once this baby becomes mobile - the accessories are about microscopic in size.

Dress Up. Leah loves to play dress up, and she got about 3 pairs of pretend high-heels to fill her dress up suitcase. I have learned that if I'm going to pick up a fun item to add to the collection, I should get at least two sets - one for her, and one for her friend. I remembered this when there were Easter gloves in the dollar aisle at Target. Too bad I didn't think of that when I found butterfly wings at the dollar store!

At the top of most little girls' wish lists are imitative play things like dolls and kitchens. Although Leah has both, it seems that she's not too interested in either. However, the toy baby stroller is a great thing. Every kid who comes into the house plays with it. Several try to ride in it.

We do have a good-sized dollhouse (a hand-me-down from a friend!) that has been a big hit. She also likes the Fisher-Price Little People sets, and the bonus there (and with the dollhouse, since I got a boy doll on Ebay) is that Ben and Leah play with them TOGETHER. Double bonus!

Maybe because of my influence, Leah has always loved puzzles and games. After all, these are things that are easy for me to do WITH her. And let's face it: I would go nuts playing dolls with her for more than 5 minutes. I honestly admire the moms who can play that way with their kids. It's not for me.

Oh, and have we mentioned BOOKS? Not that these, or puzzles & games for that matter, are gender specific at all, but they are the things that Leah leans towards. Another benefit of two kids: Leah is learning how to read, and loves to practice on... her brother! Yes, and DOUBLE yes!

I know I'm forgetting something. Hmm...Babies, Ponies, books, baby dolls....well, that's pretty much what I played with! Anyone else?