Sunday 5 March 2017

Dads Who Play Barbie

Eva is now 4 years old and most of her time spent playing with her toys is now based around imaginative and role play. Every toy becomes part of a wonderful story or situation she has made up in her head. Lots of the time these stories involve either myself or her daddy. In actual fact she favours playing toys with daddy over me, much to my anguish. Perhaps he's more enthusiastic than I am. 


He loves it when she wants to build things or play with cars but also in reality he more often than not is playing with dolls, hosting tea parties, dressing up or putting on fashion shows with her much loved Barbies.


We were recently contacted by Mattel, the makers of Barbie, to see if we would like to take part in their #DadsWhoPlayBarbie campaign. The campaign aims to celebrate the magic of the father-daughter relationship and how time spent together in their imaginary world is an investment in her real world. 
This campaign is supported by global research that found that strong male advocates empower girls, and that two thirds of UK dads believe that joining in their daughter's playtime helps build their self confidence. 

We jumped at the chance to be involved. After all, daddy is always involved in playtime in our house and Eva relishes it.


Mattel kindly sent us a 'you can be anything box' which was filled with some of the new Barbie's and accessories from the 2017 range. This included a new career Barbie, Fashionista Barbie and a made to move Barbie. Eva was ecstatic.


I remember the Barbie's that I use to play with back in the 80's and early 90's. She had the typical tiny waist and perfectly proportioned hips and boobs and beautiful long blond hair. Well in reality most of us don't look like that. These new Barbies celebrate all shapes and sizes which is much more reflective of society today. 


I adore the new career range. We were sent the scientist doll and I have already got my eye on the nurse. We were also sent the skateboarder Barbie from the made to move range. These dolls have 22 movable joints which makes them more flexible and gives a great range of motion. We were also sent a couple of dolls from the fashionista range. Each doll in this range has it's own unique style whether that's tres chic or boho. This again is a great reflection of society today.

These new Barbie ranges send such a positive message to our children. You can be whoever you want to be, look however you want and be comfortable and confident in your personality. This is definitely the same message that both hubby and I are trying to teach our girls.

I watched the two of them engaging in some imaginative play with the new dolls. Apparently they were at a talent show but some of them were too nervous to perform. Daddy managed to convince scientist Barbie that she could perform in-front of the crowd. Eva wasn't sold on this idea at first but after listening to Daddy's confidence boost talk (from one Barbie to the other), she was able to build up the courage. 



This is exactly what the #DadsWhoPlayBarbie campaign is all about. Dads teaching kids to follow their dreams and to be right there beside them for support and motivation. 


The video below is part of the campaign and shows 6 real dads playing Barbie. 


What do you think about this campaign? We think it's great.


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15 comments

  1. I used to love Barbie, would have loads of Barbies when i was a kid x

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  2. Erin loves playing with her dad. She's not quite old enough for Barbies though

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  3. I used to love barbie and my dad would always humour me and play along, he even made me an awesome barbie house x

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  4. What a brilliant idea! I think some Dads of yester year (including mine) didn't know how to play dolls with girls but I think today's Dads are much more up for it and better equipped. Great campaign too!

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  5. Absolutely love that dad is happy to get down and play Barbie. I think it shows a real man when they are willing to do that! Imaginative play is so important for kids and dad has the power to be such a valuable role model for your little girl!

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  6. Dada and daughters do have a specual relationship. Nice to see barbie reflecting the real world and bice to see dads getting involved with their daughters play and dolls

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  7. I love the new range of barbies and this ad campaign. It's really nice to see dated social barriers being knocked down... finally!

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  8. I loved Barbie as a kid. My daughter in only 2 and has not succumbed to Barbies powers, only a matter of time

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  9. What a fantastic campaign celebrating father / daughter love. Dad's can play with Barbies too!

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  10. What a fantastic campaign. My daughter loves Barbie.

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  11. Love this. Those new career Barbie's look fab too :)

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  12. This is so sweet! I can't wait to watch Freddie and Emmie play barbies together xx

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  13. I love this campaign - very cool. John plays with the boys loads wether that be with trains or their dolls it's great for roleplaying an imagination

    Laura x

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  14. I think kids and grown ups should be allowed to play with what they like rather than having gender rules which upset some people. It should all be personal choice

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