Problem with dolls

[jbailey313]

My daughter who has two amazingly beautiful waldorf dolls wants and american girl doll.... Thanks to my mother.... Anyway, I really don't want her to have one but my mother keeps pushing it for Christmas.

I do like the fact that they have a lot of wonderful stories/books that come with the doll and are historical, but I cannot get over the fact that they are vinyl.... ugg... so unnatural... Am I over reacting here?

I was looking at princess/fairy dolls for her by an etsy mama that make waldorf dolls instead b/c she is really into princesses and fairies now but I don't know what to do....

If you have any suggestions, please let me know TIA

[E.V. Lowi]

As much as I love Waldorf dolls, I believe every child should be allowed to choose their own companions and for whatever reason, your dd's dolls do not speak to her. Has she told you which AG doll she likes and why? Maybe it would be helpful for you to explore this with her a bit more. Maybe it's just the accessories she likes and not so much the doll, itself? AG stuff is pretty awesome and the catalog is hard to resist.

[jbailey313]

I honestly think the "pushing factor" here might be my mother. As much as I love her she is very consumeristic or may I say extremely!! Another reason why I think she might want one is a very sweet older girl (9 y/o) that she plays with occasionally who lives across the street has one but it only comes out occasionally as something "special" that the girl has. Lastly, maybe it is the purple that they wear or that she can dress up like them or that they have so much "stuff". I am not sure. Another doll she was drawn to is our MOPS group had a yard sale to help others as well as raise money for a good cause and she had to have a tinkerbell doll, she would not put it down and it was for $1. She didn't know it was tinkerbell, but she said she liked her blue purple eyes and that she was a fairy.

Her other two waldorf dolls are amazing. One is from Joy's Waldorf dolls, it is a heavy baby, she received it when she was 2 for Christmas. She's always loved to hold and cuddle with at night. Actually she sleeps with it every night during the winter, I warm it up and she just loves to cuddle with it and falls right asleep. Then for her 4th birthday, I ordered an amazing waldorf dolls from hillcountry dollmaker and it was dressed in a tie die purple and had a few purple ribbons in her hair. She is beautiful and dd plays with her occasionally but I guess not as much as I thought she would....
http://hyenacart.com/prod_details.php?id=72603&vid=742 It is the first doll pictured and the doll pictured on the front for the 18" customs. I think maybe she is not drawn to the tie die? I am not sure but I think this doll is a work of art but again I did not show her these dolls before I gifted it to her.


I think she is drawn to anything extremely purple, frilly, silks, etc. The american doll she was drawn to 2 years ago and still is drawn to now is a doll called felicity. She comes in a purple outfit, it is a big and puffy dress and she wears an old fashioned cap on her head (I think she is drawn to this b/c we watch tv one time a week on family night as a family event and we watch a lot of the little house on the prairies and this is the cap you see on them when they go to bed).


Anyway, since I can remember she has been into silks, purples, princesses, flowers, and fairies. She loves lots of sparkly things and Iridescent or sequin fabric especially.

On the mothering forum one day I saw this amazing doll on etsy that I knew she would love, when I showed it to her she was very drawn to it (it was princess Erin) http://www.etsy.com/transaction/25331383 She was in awe when she saw it and she said she really wanted one in purple and seemed very excited about the doll that it was a princess and a fairy (what is better than that right . So that is where we are right now.... and I would like to stay with things in our home that are as pure and natural as possible!

[JudiAU]

American Girl dolls don't bother me as much as million other toys. I find the pricing absurd for the quality and made-in-China but kids do seem to love it, maybe for the accessories. We have a store near us and there are always a bunch of stary eyed girls floating outside. I think a certain type of grandparent likes to "own" brands that they view as "status-orientated" and come with a lot of accessories. They seem to associate with the brand. At least the clothing options are fairly modest and the books aren't terrible. I wouldn't say that it is my preference but at least it doesn't actively subvert them.

http://www.bratz.com/?section=bratzc...category=dolls Just the song on this website makes me want to cry.

[Zuzu822]

Well, Felicity is being discontinued so maybe that's your out?? ;-)

Seriously, I agree about preferring natural dolls, but my DS1 does really love his newborn sized Corolle doll. It fulfills a different need for him, especially when his brother was born and now preparing for another new baby. I think here can be a marriage between our beautiful Waldorf dolls and the more mainstream choices.

AG dolls came out when I was young and my sister and I had three dolls each! (Yikes!) Today we are both Waldorfy, natural-minded mamas. :-)
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[Bird Girl]

My DD has two American girls dolls--my old one from my childhood, and the one my MIL bought her. Honestly, she takes their accessories and uses them with her Waldorf dolls. My DD is a little older than yours--she's eight now--and I will say that it's something she plays with when her schooled friends come over to play. I like that she doesn't feel left out or deprived because she doesn't have one.

I bought my DD two Waldorf dolls when she was five and six--the Sweetheart dolls from Kathe Kruse. But the two Waldorf dolls she plays with the most were the ones she picked out, at age 6.5 and age 7. There is something about the way a child relates to his or her doll that can't be replicated.

[kimberb]

Hello!

We've gotten around this, and enhanced my daughter's play I think, but purchasing a few American Doll clothes/accessories for her Waldorf doll. We're fortunate that they fit quite well on our 16" doll. I think that is really the draw with the American Girl Dolls, it's fun for them to have clothes and bits and pieces that go with pretty much any activity they can think of!

[jbailey313]

http://www.bratz.com/?section=bratzc...category=dolls Just the song on this website makes me want to cry.[/QUOTE]


ugg.. this nauseates me too, how horrible that they would promote this to little girls....

[jbailey313]

Originally Posted by kimberb

Hello!

We've gotten around this, and enhanced my daughter's play I think, but purchasing a few American Doll clothes/accessories for her Waldorf doll. We're fortunate that they fit quite well on our 16" doll. I think that is really the draw with the American Girl Dolls, it's fun for them to have clothes and bits and pieces that go with pretty much any activity they can think of!

This sounds good!! I am going to try this! Maybe I can find some 100% cotton clothes that they have and go from there... or.... I can try to take up sewing myself and make some outfits! If I get daring!!