American Girl Dolls: The Conservative Mom's Dilemma

So I come to this site to read about parenting, and I get this conservative "woe is me" diatribe? Come on parentdish... you can do better then this! Leave politics somewhere else.

How about you take these as learning moments, so you can teach your child your opinions yet leave them to form their own opinions. Don't like Annie because of how Daddy Warbucks (come on...) is portrayed? How about show your child why your opinions on free market are correct and different. For the record, if you were to actually read and understand the comic that the movie is based on... the author Harold Gray was a strict capitalist and this was one of the hero's of the series.

i guess being a conservative mom is all the rage these days. And just because you heard that the tax rates are going up on Fox News / Conservative talk radio doesn't make it true, might want to look up facts before spouting off garbage in comments. Calling people Nazi's makes me fear for our children.

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Many people I talk to are not against the dolls and ideas themselves. they do teach about history ect. It is the rediculous price of the dolls and accessories.

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Ok, maybe it was an especially tough week but this was a very hard blog for me to follow, but then I'm not a conservative looking for the anti-conservative conspiracy in everything, And I have an 8 year old son who's really happy reading "Shredderman" and the new Dan Pilkey book (title is: "The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Kung-Fu Caveman From the Future" and I'm just glad he's reading, even these books!). But seriously, Rachel, you have a very intelligent daughter who has been raised by intelligent (conservative) parents who have taught her to question everything and to see all perspectives, esp the conservative one. I really wouldn't stress about these dolls - it's the "lessor" of the evils (but maybe that's easy for me to say as a liberal).

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Whoa Rachel - up the meds and back-off the paranoid everyone is against me and my "conservative" values. Like seriously, I promise you, people just want to be able to do their own thing - no one is against you or trying to program your children. If you are always looking for the negative I PROMISE you you will find it.

I also think Rachel means "Republican" values, not the actual meaning of the word conservative since anyone who is conservative would not spend the exorbitant amount of money on the American Girl dolls and just get a suitable age appropriate dolls (there are MANY other competitors aside from Bratz dolls).

This post is not a parenting blog but an opportunity for Rachel to campaign for her husband.

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Rachel - I think you're reading a bit much into these scenarios. I've seen the Arthur episode- they woman against bike paths isn't portrayed as a "Republican" but as a cranky woman who didn't care about the community - now if YOU see a Repulican image in that, that's on you. Same w/the American Girl series - Uncle Hendrick is not a Republican (unless that's the way you choose to frame him) but a man who doesn't see the virtue of helping out his family. You seem to see all these characters as negative and YOU are the one labeling them as Republicans (like Bev above I won't use the term "conservative" since I am very conservative in certain arenas but not a Republican which you have taken the word conservative to mean). So it stands to reason that maybe you have some conflict with your belief system, but there is no political indoctrination occuring.

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I completely empathize with Rachel on this one. While this ultimately provided an opportunity to teach her daughter to think critically about how things are presented to her, it is frustrating to see children's products and media promote economic illiteracy and stereotypes and subtly push a more socialist worldview.

Rachel, you're an author and you have a background in economics. I see an opportunity here. While there are some good resources for adults that examine whether the New Deal policies helped end the Great Depression or prolong it, I'm not aware of any that are written for children or teens. Have you ever considered writing or co-authoring something like that? (like Amity Schlaes' The Forgotten Man, but for younger readers)

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Ugh... Are you claiming that Robin Hood ("the ultimate redistributor of wealth") espoused liberal values and therefore was a liberal? Does that make Prince John a conservative? I guess that means that a conservative could care less about those living in dire poverty (like those in Nottingham) and deserves to be robbed. Surely, this can't be what you mean... It would seem a simple enough conversation to have with a child to explain that a monarchy is a different entity than a capitalist democracy, and that the latter inherently provides more distribution of wealth.

Please stop assuming that Bratz dolls and the like are being encouraged by liberals. Profit-hungry corporations are to blame. Please stop assuming that conservative parents have it any harder than liberal or apolitical parents. We all struggle with messages and images that are contrary to our own family's values.

I don't identify as a conservative, but I normally enjoy reading your blog and often agree with portions of your posts. I've also read and agree with portions of your book. But this entry seems angry, logically mistaken, and reflective of someone who isn't interested in positively viewing or partnering with those who don't share the same political ideals for the betterment of our children. And that's disappointing.

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When the American Girl doll was first conceived, it was to be a doll that would appeal to grownups who wanted to give daughters and grandaughters a doll to love and care for, to identify with. It developed into much more than that, for profit as well as for good. The stories that go along with each one, from Samantha to Rebecca, are written by people who want to emphasize good human values to the young girls who will read them. I consider those stories, all different, about different times and places, to be a wonderful source for those values. Just as each girl is different, each doll with her story provides different challenges for different times.

The recent Chrissa doll's story, about bullying, was watched over and over by a grandchild who had a soft heart and worried about others being bullied because that child felt bullied sometimes, and knew what it feels like. It teaches great lessons. If good human values are to be passed on to our children, the best way is with stories. Some of us will tell our children and grandchildren our own stories, but they can seem strange to a child, who sometimes can't imagine that we were ever little or young. So it is the book that a girl will read and place herself in that will teach the great lessons of life.

I remember a story I read long ago, about three girls whose mother was in a hospital for a year. Rosemary, the oldest, feels very much that she has to be a good example and finds it hard sometimes not to just be 12; the middle one, Sara, 10, was a stubborn tomboy, and felt she could do something bad in order to do what she thought was good,, and had to be taught a lesson; and a little sister, 6, who was babied, and liked that position, but finally had to learn to be more responsible. I read and re-read it, I could imagine being like Rosemary.

I am today grateful for that book. I know what good values are. They are to learn to be a good human being, to care about others, to be aware of who in this world of ours is worthy of respect, and to understand why some are not. It seems the story of Kit Kittredge got some flak for its portrayal of human beings. I hardly thought it was about being conservative or liberal, it was about someone not caring about his own family enough to be considerate and polite while being served at the table. I agree with someone's comment to the effect that if inconsiderate and impolite people are likened to conservatives, that might be because that kind of behavior is acceptable to conservatives. Wasn't the scene of welcoming the homeless at the end of Kit Kittredge heart warming and wonderful! How many of us would do that today. In general, though, I think that all moms want their daughters to learn to accept and care about others. I think that the American Girl series of stories shows that.

I was there at the beginning of that whole idea in the mind of Pleasant Rowland, to provide a doll that a girl could love, the American Girl doll Samantha was based on a doll in a great museum; she has a wonderful wardrobe, for whom a story could be told. And the giver of the doll would be pleased at what the story taught.

The cost is brought up as a problem for some, and that is true. But I know people who find another doll, sew for it themselves or help the child sew for it, or make accessories for it, and buy the books alone. Dolls are for pretend play, and it is in pretending that a child learns what is real. And the stories are what help that learning along.

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It is essential to remember that there are many many different viewpoints in the world. What, to you, seems a monstrous threat to your own political indoctrination of your child should simply be viewed as a differing opinion -and there is nothing at all wrong with knowing that differing opinions exist. In fact, that knowledge can be very healthy. If you are opposed to something your child reads in a book, open a discussion about it; don't simply whine about something being inappropriate because of one or two vague references to a fictional character's political position. You said yourself that your daughter described the character that you disagree with as 'the bad guy.' I think it's safe to say she's getting your message.

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My Sibling and My Pal 18" girl and boy dolls are high quality, reasonably priced companions to the American Girl doll. The booklets that come with our dolls are about important themes for children like caring for the environment (My Pal for Going Green) and being a peacemaker (My Pal for Peace) in which they can write their own story. Our doll program benefits teens and adults with developmental disabilities.

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Why is this column listed under parent dish on AOL? Can we please have this column written by a child expert and not a political conservative canvassing for her husbands political career?
What are her qualifications that will allow her to be dishing out parental advice-that she was on MTV's The Real World? I would look forward to reading this column written by a parent with some formal education on the topic-please. If this is an unrealistic request, please offer a liberal counterpoint.

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Boy what a lot of vitriole out there! I totally agree with you Rachel. Another series my kids like that I think is troublesome at times is the Berenstein Bears. Many of the stories portray Papa Bear as some bumbling idiot. My husband brought this up and I have to say he is right, now that I am aware of it.
I think it is important to be aware of view points that are being subtly or not so subtly portrayed in kids literature. Use it as an opportunity to teach and discuss. As for the high price of American Girl dolls, my daughter (now 20) saved up her allowance and birthday and chore money and helped to pay for it. Quality costs more!

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I'm concerned that the idea of -not- wanting to help others is being seen as conservative.

What happened to compassionate conservatism?

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Let's face it, a lot of Hollywood writers obviously came from dysfunctional families. They write what they know and that dysfunction is played out in our livingrooms. Also, they have been indoctrinated by liberalism, as have many of the previous posters on here, so they don't recognize it as liberalism. It is just fact to them. I don't think liberals understand that sometimes people have different opinions than they do, and perhaps they should try to be as tolerant to others as they expect everyone else to be towards them.

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"For the politically conscious conservative mom, that means double duty work, monitoring for sexual content and political indoctrination in our kid's toys and entertainment."

Right--the political indoctrination should come from her conservative mom, I guess. Very interesting, the hypocrisy of going from wanton ways on the RW to staunch so-called "family values."

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Hang in there Rachel.
My brother was recently completely horrified to discover the American Girl books presented losing a job as a reason for divorce...

Anytime you post traditional values, the libs are going to jump all over you and call you names.... It just means that you are being effective.
Keep it up !

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Wow, this blog is really hard to identify with. There are bigger problems in the world and tougher issues facing moms than if an American Girl doll books portrays a "rich" guy as good or bad. A lot of moms can't even afford an American Girl doll for their daughter, not to mention the clothes and furniture and other accessories you are mentioning. Stop taking your wealth for granted.

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