Bratz dolls have pre-adolescent figures and are sexy in a pedophilia kind of way. Is this what you want for your 7-year-old?
Mall stores are carrying the most offensive video games money can buy. The biggest seller is “Grand Theft Auto.”
Posted on 12/04/2005 11:20:04 AM PST by wagglebee
Shopping for kids seems to be getting harder every year. I hear from parents across the country who are shocked every time they shop — not just by the prices, but by the toys and other desirables on children’s wish lists.
Do we really want our 4-year old princesses dressing dolls that look like street-walkers? Do we want our teenage daughters to dress that way? Do we want our adolescent sons spending hours playing video games that make a sport of killing policemen and prostitutes? What does it say about our country that some of the most popular products are so offensive? And, what can we do about it?
At one mall, mothers have been protesting a Victoria’s Secret for a store window displaying mannequins in sexually explicit S&M poses. The mannequins model the kinds of microscopic underwear that used to be reserved for strippers, but are now on the wish lists of young teenagers.
But it was not just the merchandise but also the poses that were too offensive, even by today’s standards. Parents don’t like having to walk past sexually explicit store windows with their children — call them crazy, but they don’t think its appropriate for a family shopping mall.
And they don’t want G-strings marketed to adolescent girls. The mall management responded by accusing the politely protesting moms of violating the mall code of conduct!
Mall stores across the country are carrying many of the most offensive video games that money can buy. The all-time biggest seller, “Grand Theft Auto” — now in its third version — finally graduated to an “adults only” rating, which means the game “should only be played by persons 18 years and older” and “may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.” Several major chain stores will not carry “adults only” games, fortunately. Unfortunately, they all carry video games labeled Mature, often geared to pre-teens and young teens, even though they are “suitable for persons ages 17 and older” and contain “intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language.” Believe me, they look more like X.
Parents hope that these ratings don’t matter, since it is “only a game” and since kids see so much sex and violence on TV, movies and the Internet. They do matter. Research shows that playing a game that rewards violent and offensive behaviors is even more likely to influence what kids think and do than passively watching it.
Perhaps you’re now thanking your lucky stars that you can shop for dolls instead. But millions of Bratz dolls, dressed like what used to be called “tarts” (now it’s called “attitude”), are sold to preschool and elementary school girls. These dolls have preadolescent figures and are sexy in a pedophilia kind of way. Is this the ideal you want for your darling 7-year-old?
A Bratz TV show helps sell the dolls and electronic Bratz gifts — including telephones and TVs for your child’s room. For parents and grandparents who care about their children, a TV or computer in the room may seem a very reasonable choice. Unfortunately, kids with TV’s in their room watch more TV, watch more TV that their parents would consider objectionable, read less and sleep less. And kids who watch more TV tend to be more violent, are more likely to be overweight and tend to do less well in school.
The advantage of having TV in a child’s room? There aren’t any, unless you want to see less of your child and not hear what they are watching.
Computers in a child’s bedroom are a mixed blessing. Computers are great for schoolwork, but when they are in the bedroom, children are more likely to view pornography or be “educated” in chat rooms in ways you never dreamed of. Research shows that one in five kids receive unwanted online sexual requests.
So, if there is another room in your house for your child to use a computer, instead of their bedroom, that’s a safer choice.
What can we do? If we keep buying sexualized dolls and violent video games, companies will keep promoting more of the same. One solution is to talk to family members who buy gifts for our children, letting them know, for example, what a Mature or Adults Only rating means on a video game. We can also talk to the parents of our children’s friends, to cooperatively establish standards that parents can agree on and avoid the “all my friends have it” line that is otherwise so effective.
And, we can all check Web sites such as www.toysafety.org and www.mediafamily.org to avoid the worst offenders.
Happy holidays? We will be happier if we make sure the things we buy our kids won’t harm them. And we can ask mall managers for help, starting with a real code of conduct for what is sold in their stores.
I am THRILLED that "peasant" styles seem to be coming into fashion. The skirts actualy hit *gasp* slightly below the knee. My daughter is 10 going on 15, and thinks I am a real downer. I must be doing my job correctly. :)
LOL!
Dang, get a load of those clodhoppers on that Baby Bratz kid. I do agree, things like that are just horrendous.
You should have dealt with me by the time I got to college........
I had classes in the morning and worked on Wall street in the afternoon. I was getting some threats from some folks not happy about policies I had instituted in our program's lounge and a couple of the guys would walk me to the subway station after class.
One day we encountered a former boyfriend of mine and he said something to me and didn't like my retort (I don't care to post the comments publicly - I'd get zotted real fast) and backhanded me across the face.....I just reacted - with my right fist and my knee.
I spent the better part of the afternoon using my adding machine one handed because the other hand had an ice pack on my majorly swollen lips - but it was worth it when I got a phone call from one of the guys who witnessed the incident - the former boyfriend was not only sporting a black eye, speaking in soprano, but had a broken nose and none of the guys had laid a hand on him :)
You think so? I’m not so sure…
But the options are, so far as I can see, three: 1. personally refuse to buy these things, and convince friends and family to do likewise 2. organize boycotts of the stores that sell them and people who accept ads from them 3. Create a government department, funded on the taxpayer dime, to approve toys. Like the FDA, but for toys and games (TGA?). It could hire clerks to screen each toy to be sold according to formal standards drawn up by a panel of experts or cronies appointed by some politician.
Check for me on 1 & 2, albeit with little success on the latter. Local merchants sell what people want to buy, and for some reason, many people think that dolls of pre-adolescents and babies wearing skimpy outfits & thongs are AOK. But it’s different strokes for different folks, & we ghave to accept it.
Of course 3 is absurd, and no one is calling for the federal government to ban these dolls. It would be preferable if parents would actually start parenting their children and say no to such vileness. But I can’t see that happening any time soon. Not everybody will do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. And the government shouldn’t and can’t enforce that.
However, local governments have been known to ban the sale of items they deem dangerous to minors such as candy cigarettes & alcohol or hemp-flavored lollipops. One may not agree with such actions, but they are within their rights to do this.
I do take issue with the claim that items should NEVER be banned from the markets. Some things should not be placed on the market, not ever. (Child pornography and heroin come to mind.)
Yeah, that "Bratz babies"...that's just downright disturbing.
Until you step on them in bare feet...
At our house, we are big car fans, so Hot Wheels definitely have stood the test of time. At one time, I went on eBay to see if I could pick up a bunch cheaply for my son, and I had to laugh. Seems like everyone on eBay has "collector" type Hot Wheels, guess I was the dunce because I actually was looking to buy some for my son to play with!
Let's put here where she belongs.
Sorry.
She reminds me of the chick in NCIS.
-----There are PLENTY of toys out there for little kids. If your kid is too young for a certain toy, DO NOT buy it. I know I will get flamed here but as far as The Sims game goes, I have them all. I do not play it but I design furniture and homes for players to download into the game at my website.
http://lamb41163.tripod.com/
It is all innocent. You make the game what you want.
I would never let my 5 year old play with it but it is a parents job to supervise what is bought for them and what is inappropriate.
Sizes Slim, Medium, and HUSKY!
I agree with all of this and would add one more thing. At that time, parents would actually punish the kids at home too rather than coddle the child. I didn't get in many fights, but still remember the sore backsides I would get if I ever said anything bad to my mom.
Yes, if your children think you're totally out of it, that's a good sign!
Yes, if your children think you're totally out of it, that's a good sign!
Agreed
>>I have to buy a size three or four otherwise they're too short.<<
Isn't that sad? You can't find a lot of "everyday" dresses at those department stores. Most of what they have is either really formal - like "Sunday Best". The rest of what they have is all above-the-knee.
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