I'm talking about this.
Barbie's. I bought Maya a Barbie movie that she absolutely loves. I then bought her a Princess Tiana doll for Christmas.
She loves it. Well one thing led to another and now she is obsessed with Merliah the mermaid Barbie doll. She LOVES the movie and wants to watch it over and over again (which she doesn't get to but that is another battle story for later).
I was completely fine with her obsession until yesterday.
While Maya was going potty she said she didn't want to have brown skin. Instead she wanted skin like daddy and me. My heart sank. I didn't want her to already be talking about her skin color. Maya has said a few random comments before regarding wanting long hair like Barbie, but nothing big. This time her comment came out of left field and she was very serious about it. How do you respond to this especially while your child is on the potty? I didn't ignore it but instead reassured Maya that her skin is absolutely beautiful. It must have worked because finally Maya commented she liked both brown and "orange" skin. Conversation done.
I talked to Dave about it later yesterday and he commented about a book he had read (he couldn't remember exactly which book) about this very topic. Apparently the book said that kids Maya's age may make these comments but they really don't understand the meaning behind it. They see the difference in color, but are not yet equating it to race. I think that is true, at least I hope it is in this situation. Regardless, I need to be prepared for when this topic arises again. I never want Maya to want to be "white". I want her to love her own skin and feel beautiful in it.
I just wondered how much of this stemmed from the Barbie's. I wonder if she wants to have the skin like Merliah. Maybe this is why other parents don't allow their young children to play with them? I don't know. Maybe I am making too much of it . This one is tough.
3 comments:
I'll be praying for you because I have no answers ... but I think you handled it well! :)
My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE (can't say it enough) the Barbie movies! Barbie and the Mermaid Tale is their current fav. They really really really want to be mermaids now, like persistently asking when they will be mermaids like Merliah.
As far as skin color and Barbie we have all different types of Barbies and it hasn't really been an issue. Wuby in the past mentioned that she wanted to have light skin when she was younger and before Sifan came home. Since then we have repeatedly mentioned how beautiful their skin is. After lotion we say, "Your beautiful brown skin was thirty...now it looks so fabulous!" Same with hair, I mention that I wish I had such great curls. It has honestly helped that the girls are both from Ethiopia for us because they have someone who looks like them in the family. I am sure it will always be a topic as the girls grow older, just in different forms.
Was the book "I'm Chocolate and You're Vanilla"?
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